The direct drive from Phoenix to Flagstaff on Interstate 17 covers roughly 149 miles (240 km) in about two and a half hours. The scenic route via the Coconino National Forest, Sedona, and Oak Creek Canyon covers roughly the same distance — but it moves through four completely different landscapes and two climate zones before dropping you into a ponderosa pine city at 7,000 feet (2,134 m) of elevation. The distance is nearly identical. What you give up is about an hour. What you get back is a day you’ll actually remember.
This guide covers the full scenic route in the order you’ll drive it, including a stretch most road trip blogs gloss over entirely: Schnebly Hill Road — a historically significant, vehicle-specific back road into Sedona that has no business being reduced to a bullet point.
Use this alongside the MyScenicDrives route map and turn-by-turn itinerary, which shows the stops in sequence with driving segments and distances.
Route at a Glance
The scenic route makes four main stops between Phoenix and Flagstaff: the Red Rock Scenic Byway (SR-179) through Sedona; Schnebly Hill Road (4WD vehicles only); Oak Creek Canyon on SR-89A; and Flagstaff itself. Total driving distance is approximately 144–150 miles (231–241 km). Allow a full day — around eight to ten hours including stops — to do this route properly. If you only have half a day, skip Schnebly Hill Road and stay on SR-179 into Sedona and SR-89A through Oak Creek Canyon.
Phoenix: Where the Route Begins
Leave Phoenix via Interstate 17 North. The first 60 miles (97 km) of the drive run through the Sonoran Desert on a wide, fast highway — this section is not scenic, and that’s fine. Use it. Get the miles done. The transformation happens suddenly and dramatically at around mile marker 298, where you take the exit toward SR-179 and Sedona. If you’ve been watching nothing but saguaro cacti and dry scrub brush, what happens next will stop your breath.
If you’re leaving Phoenix early, Camelback Mountain and Piestewa Peak are worth knowing about for a pre-departure stretch — both offer punishing but rewarding hikes with 360-degree views of the Valley — but neither is on the scenic route itself. Save that energy for Sedona.
The Red Rock Scenic Byway (SR-179): Sedona’s Front Door
At I-17 exit 298, turn onto State Route 179 — the Red Rock Scenic Byway, one of only about 40 roads in the United States designated an All-American Road by the Federal Highway Administration. The designation requires that a road possess nationally significant qualities that are a destination unto themselves — not just a connector between places.
The opening miles give little away. The landscape is dry and relatively flat. Then the road bends, and the red rock formations rise all around you simultaneously: Bell Rock, Courthouse Butte, and Castle Rock appear in sequence as you drive north, each one a different stack of Permian-era sandstone, limestone, and basalt laid down over 270 million years. The byway runs for about 7.5 miles (12 km) from exit 298 to the Y-intersection in Sedona, where it ends.
The Red Rock Visitor Center sits just after the landscape shifts to red rock, shortly past the Village of Oak Creek. Stop here. The parking area behind the building has an overlook with some of the best unobstructed views of the byway’s rock formations. Rangers are on hand, trail maps are available, and you can buy or confirm your Red Rock Pass here before reaching the trailheads.
The Red Rock Pass: What It Is and What It Isn’t
If you plan to park at any Coconino National Forest trailhead in the Sedona area — even briefly for photos — you need a pass displayed on your dashboard. The Red Rock Pass costs $5 per day, $15 per week, or $20 per year. Buy it at trailhead kiosks (card only), online at recreation.gov, at the Sedona Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center, or at many local businesses and hotels. If you hold an America the Beautiful Interagency Pass (the $80 annual national parks pass), it covers most Red Rock Pass sites — but not the five concessionaire-managed sites, which require a separate Coconino Pass purchased on site.
Slide Rock State Park, Red Rock State Park, and Grasshopper Point are Arizona State Parks sites — they charge their own admission fees and are not covered by the Red Rock Pass or any federal pass.
Sedona: Don’t Just Drive Through
Sedona sits at the junction of SR-179 and SR-89A (known as the Y intersection), surrounded by some of the most photographed rock formations in the American West. The Coconino Sandstone that makes the rocks glow red-orange at dawn and dusk was deposited as sand dunes in a Sahara-like desert roughly 270 million years ago. The colour comes from iron oxide — essentially rust — in the stone. Beneath it, darker Hermit Shale visible at the base of many formations marks an older, wetter era when ferns and conifers covered the land.
Two stops worth making in Sedona proper:
Chapel of the Holy Cross (chapeloftheholycross.com) — a 1956 Catholic chapel built directly into a red rock spur off Chapel Road. Non-denominational visitors are welcome. The views from the approach road and from the chapel’s large front window are exceptional. Parking is limited; arrive before 10am or after 3pm.
Indian Gardens Café & Market on SR-89A at the south end of Oak Creek Canyon offers a last chance for supplies before the canyon narrows. The outdoor booths also sell authentic Hopi and Navajo handmade arts and crafts — a better source for this than the tourist shops on Sedona’s main strip.
Schnebly Hill Road: The Back Road Most Blogs Only Mention in Passing
Schnebly Hill Road deserves more than a bullet point. It’s the oldest road connecting Sedona to the Colorado Plateau and carries a history that most visitors driving past the entrance never know about.
The road traces the route of the Munds Wagon Trail, used in the 19th century by rancher Jim Munds to drive cattle from the Verde Valley up to the pastures on the rim. In 1902, J.J. Thompson improved the trail with funding from Coconino County fruit growers and ranchers. The road was named after the Schnebly family — the same family after whom Sedona’s post office was named. It wasn’t until 1930 that the version of the road that still exists today was built. That’s the road you drive on now, largely unchanged.
The route climbs from roughly 4,500 feet (1,370 m) in Sedona to approximately 6,000 feet (1,830 m) at Schnebly Hill Vista, a gain of about 2,200 feet (670 m) over 12 miles (19 km). At the top, the Vista overlooks the entire Sedona valley, Steamboat Rock at the mouth of Oak Creek, and the mineral-rich Mingus Mountains to the west. At this elevation, you’ve crossed from the Sonoran Desert into the transition zone — juniper and pinyon give way to ponderosa pine. On clear mornings, the light hits the valley below at an angle that makes the red rock formations appear to glow from within.
Vehicle Requirements — Read This Before You Decide
The lower section of Schnebly Hill Road, from Sedona’s end up to Schnebly Hill Vista, requires a high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicle. This is not a suggestion. The road has shelf sections, loose rocks with obstacles up to 12 inches (30 cm) high, and single-lane passages where you must watch for oncoming traffic. Trail reports from FunTreks and AllTrails consistently rate it between 4 and 5 out of 9 on difficulty. A Range Rover has been observed grounding out. A sedan will not complete it. Air down your tyres to around 24–28 psi before tackling the lower section.
If your vehicle isn’t up to the lower section, you can access Schnebly Hill Vista from the top instead: take I-17 exit 320 (not exit 298 for Sedona) and drive 5.7 miles (9.2 km) on Forest Road 153 to the Vista. From this direction, the road is a standard forest road suitable for most high-clearance vehicles, including the majority of crossovers and SUVs. It is a dramatically different experience from the Vista than from the valley floor, but the views themselves are identical.
The road closes in winter — typically from around December through April — between Merry-Go-Round Rock and the top of Schnebly Hill Road. Check the Coconino National Forest road status page (Red Rock Ranger District, Forest Road 153) before heading out, or call the Red Rock Visitor Center at (928) 203-2900. Dispersed camping above Vista Point is permitted when the road is open — no camping, no campfires at the Vista itself.
Note: Several major car rental companies, including Avis, explicitly prohibit taking their vehicles onto Schnebly Hill Road. Check your rental agreement before attempting this section in a hire car.
Oak Creek Canyon: The Drive Everyone Photographs but Fewer People Understand
From Sedona, State Route 89A north enters Oak Creek Canyon almost immediately. The canyon runs for about 12 miles (19 km) and is often described as a smaller cousin of the Grand Canyon — a fair comparison in geological terms, if not in scale. The canyon was carved by Oak Creek along the Oak Creek Fault beginning roughly 8–10 million years ago. The fault created an asymmetry that you can see from the road: the west rim of the canyon sits approximately 700 feet (213 m) higher than the east rim, with an average west rim elevation of around 7,200 feet (2,195 m). The canyon walls expose Kaibab Limestone at their northern end — the same geological formation visible at the very top of the Grand Canyon.
The road through the canyon is two lanes, paved, and accessible to all vehicles. It winds through lush riparian forest — cottonwood, sycamore, Arizona walnut, and Arizona alder — that closes over the road in places like a green tunnel. Oak Creek runs alongside for most of the drive and is one of the few perennial streams in northern Arizona’s high desert. You’ll see fishing spots, swimming holes, and picnic pullouts throughout. The canyon’s depth ranges from 800 to 2,000 feet (240 to 610 m).
Slide Rock State Park: Plan Ahead
Slide Rock State Park sits about 7 miles (11 km) north of Sedona and 21 miles (34 km) south of Flagstaff on SR-89A. It’s one of Arizona’s most visited state parks — attracting 278,330 visitors in 2024 alone — and for good reason: an 80-foot (24 m) natural sandstone flume on Oak Creek channels cold water fast enough to slide down into a pool below. Algae makes the rock surface slick, which is what creates the speed — wear water shoes or trainers with grip, not bare feet or flip-flops.
Beyond the slide, the park contains a 43-acre (17 ha) working apple orchard. The land was first homesteaded by Frank Pendley in 1907 under the Homestead Act; he planted the orchard in 1912 and built an irrigation system still in use today. In late summer and early autumn, visitors can walk the Pendley Homestead Trail past the original family home, apple-picking shed, and historic cabins dating to the 1930s. The park’s homestead is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Parking fills early on summer weekends. Arrive before 9am or after 3pm. Slide Rock charges its own admission fee (separate from the Red Rock Pass); current fees are on the Arizona State Parks website.
Oak Creek Vista: The Viewpoint at the Top
As SR-89A climbs out of the canyon toward Flagstaff via a series of steep switchbacks, it reaches Oak Creek Vista at the canyon rim. Pull over here. The overlook gives a panoramic view back down the canyon — the same canyon you just drove through, now spread below you like a map. Local Navajo and Hopi artisans often set up vendor booths here selling handmade jewellery, rugs, and artwork. This is one of the more reliably authentic places along the route to buy directly from Indigenous craftspeople.
Flagstaff: More Than a Destination, It’s a Basecamp
Flagstaff sits at 7,000 feet (2,134 m) — you’ll feel the altitude and the temperature drop as soon as you step out of the car. The city is sometimes called the City of Seven Wonders for its proximity to the Grand Canyon, the San Francisco Peaks, Sunset Crater, Wupatki and Walnut Canyon National Monuments, Oak Creek Canyon, and Coconino National Forest. The Grand Canyon’s South Rim is 80 miles (129 km) north — about a 1.5-hour drive. If Phoenix to Flagstaff is Day 1, the Grand Canyon is a natural Day 2.
Historic Route 66 runs directly through Flagstaff’s downtown — at 7,000 feet, this was the highest-elevation city on the entire original Mother Road. The train depot in the centre of town still operates as an Amtrak station and houses the Flagstaff Visitor Center. The Lowell Observatory, perched on a hill west of downtown, is where astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930. Night sky programmes run most evenings in summer; Flagstaff is an official International Dark Sky Community and takes light pollution seriously in a way most cities don’t.
Flagstaff’s elevation gives it a climate unlike anything else in Arizona — it averages 108 inches of snowfall annually and has genuine autumn foliage. If you’re doing this route in late September or October, the aspen and maple colour in Oak Creek Canyon and around the San Francisco Peaks will make the drive back south even more rewarding than the drive up.
Practical Information
Distance and Time
The scenic route via SR-179, Sedona, and SR-89A through Oak Creek Canyon covers approximately 144–150 miles (231–241 km) — nearly identical in distance to the direct I-17 route. The difference is roughly 45–60 minutes of additional driving time, plus however long you spend at stops. Allow a full day (eight to ten hours) if you want to stop properly. The minimum comfortable version — SR-179 through Sedona and SR-89A through Oak Creek Canyon, no Schnebly Hill Road — takes about four to five hours with stops.
Best Time to Drive
Spring (March–May) and autumn (September–November) offer the most comfortable temperatures across all sections of the route. Summer works well above Sedona in Oak Creek Canyon and Flagstaff, but temperatures in the lower red rock sections can exceed 100°F (38°C) from June through August — carry significantly more water than you think you need. Winter is possible on SR-179 and SR-89A (both paved and maintained), but Schnebly Hill Road closes, and Flagstaff may have snow. The autumn colour window in Oak Creek Canyon — cottonwood and sycamore turning gold — typically runs from late October into early November.
Vehicle Types
SR-179 (Red Rock Scenic Byway) and SR-89A (Oak Creek Canyon) are fully paved two-lane highways accessible to all vehicles, including low-clearance sedans and campervans under height restrictions. Schnebly Hill Road (lower section from Sedona) requires a high-clearance 4WD vehicle — not AWD, not a crossover, not a standard SUV. If you’re in a hire car, check your rental agreement: some companies explicitly prohibit this road. The upper section from I-17 exit 320 to Schnebly Hill Vista is a standard dirt forest road accessible to most high-clearance vehicles.
Fuel
Fill up in Phoenix before you leave, or top up in the Village of Oak Creek (at the start of SR-179) where there are petrol stations. There are no fuel stops on Schnebly Hill Road. Sedona has fuel. Flagstaff has ample fuel options. Do not attempt Schnebly Hill Road on a low tank.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the driving distance from Phoenix to Flagstaff on the scenic route?
The scenic route via SR-179 through Sedona and SR-89A through Oak Creek Canyon covers approximately 144–150 miles (231–241 km), nearly the same as the direct Interstate 17 route. The difference is in driving time and what you pass through — not in the miles.
Do I need a special vehicle for the Phoenix to Flagstaff scenic drive?
Not for the main scenic route. SR-179 and SR-89A are fully paved. Schnebly Hill Road (lower section) requires a high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle and is a separate, optional side trip. If you don’t have an appropriate vehicle, access Schnebly Hill Vista from I-17 exit 320 instead.
What is the Red Rock Pass and do I need one?
The Red Rock Pass is a day-use fee required to park at Coconino National Forest trailheads in the Sedona area. It costs $5 per day, $15 per week, or $20 per year. Buy it at trailhead kiosks (card only), online at recreation.gov, or at the Sedona Visitor Center. An America the Beautiful Interagency Pass covers most Red Rock Pass sites. It does not cover Arizona State Parks sites like Slide Rock State Park.
Is Schnebly Hill Road open year-round?
No. The lower section from Sedona to the top of the rim closes roughly from December through April, depending on weather and road conditions. The upper section from I-17 exit 320 to Schnebly Hill Vista is generally open year-round. Check the Coconino National Forest road status page or call (928) 203-2900 before attempting it.
What is the best time of year to drive from Phoenix to Flagstaff the scenic way?
Spring and autumn offer the most comfortable driving conditions across all sections. Autumn adds a significant bonus — the cottonwood and sycamore trees in Oak Creek Canyon turn gold from late October into early November, making the drive through the canyon one of Arizona’s best seasonal displays.
Can I take a bus from Phoenix to Flagstaff?
Greyhound runs direct bus services from Phoenix to Flagstaff, taking approximately three hours and fifteen minutes. However, the bus travels on I-17 and does not pass through Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon, or any of the scenic stops on this route. This is specifically a road trip guide.
What mountains will I pass between Phoenix and Flagstaff?
On the scenic route, you pass near the Mingus Mountains (visible from Schnebly Hill Vista to the west) and arrive at the base of the San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff — the highest mountain range in Arizona, with Humphreys Peak reaching 12,633 feet (3,851 m). The Bradshaw Mountains are visible to the west along portions of the I-17 section.