Gateway Towns: Route 66 Williams, the 1901 Grand Canyon Railway, Flagstaff & Red-Rock Sedona

Approaching the Grand Canyon from Phoenix or Las Vegas takes you straight through the pine-forested volcanic highlands of northern Arizona—linking the best-preserved town on Historic Route 66 (Williams), the astronomy capital of Flagstaff, and the glowing red sandstone buttes of Sedona.

1. Williams, Arizona (1 Hour South of the Rim) & Riding the 1901 Grand Canyon Railway!

Sitting at the junction of Interstate 40 and Arizona Highway 64, the mountain town of Williams features six blocks of intact 1950s neon signs, soda fountains (Twisters and Cruisers), Western saloons, and the drive-through wildlife park of Bearizona. Right in the centre of town stands the historic 1908 Fray Marcos Depot, where the Grand Canyon Railway (operating since September 1901!) departs every morning at 09:30 AM:

• Skip Driving & Parking at the Rim: the vintage train (featuring 1920s Harriman coaches, 1950s glass-topped Observation Dome Cars, and an outdoor wrought-iron Luxury Parlor Car platform!) chugs 105 kilometres north across the high desert and Kaibab forest with strolling Western musicians, pulling right into the 1909 Log Depot below El Tovar Hotel in Grand Canyon Village at 11:45 AM—giving you 3.5 hours on the rim before departing back at 15:30 PM!

2. Flagstaff (Lowell Observatory & Walnut Canyon) & Red-Rock Sedona (2 Hours South!)

1. Flagstaff (90 Mins South-East of the Rim at 2,100m Elevation): a vibrant university mountain town beneath 3,851-metre Humphreys Peak (Arizona's highest mountain!). Visit Lowell Observatory (where astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930—look through the original 1896 Clark Telescope at night!), walk inside 700-year-old cliff dwellings at Walnut Canyon National Monument, and see the 1.2-kilometre-wide crater of Sunset Crater Volcano and Meteor Crater!
2. Drive Scenic Highway 89A Down 'Oak Creek Canyon' Into Sedona (45 Mins South of Flagstaff): instead of taking the I-17 freeway, wind down the dramatic hairline switchbacks of Highway 89A through lush Oak Creek Canyon (Slide Rock State Park) directly into Sedona—where towering crimson sandstone monoliths (Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, Boynton Canyon and the Chapel of the Holy Cross built right into the cliff!) rise 300 metres above the town!