Sedona Arizona and Antelope Canyon

Sedona is closer to the south rim of the Grand Canyon (2 hours) than Antelope Canyon, which is nearly 3 hours away. Since the tour at Antelope is pretty short I don't think I would want to do it as a day trip from Sedona.

Hi -
It's about a 3-hour drive between Sedona and Page so to do it as a day trip would mean 6 hours on the road for a 1 hour tour of either Upper or Lower Antelope. That would be too much road time for me personally.

Where to see the Grand Canyon? Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim. No question. Plan to stay at least one night (two is better, IMHO) and call for reservations at any of the lodges IN the park NOW as they fill quickly in advance of spring/summer/fall seasons. Lots of info on the website:

https://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/eatingsleeping.htm
https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm
https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/maps.htm

Coming in the South Rim's East entrance (up 89 from Flagstaff to Cameron, and then west on 64) you can visit Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and Wupatki National Monument along the way. That route also provides you a killer first look at the canyon from Desert View overlook; the first of several along Desert View Drive to Grand Canyon Village, where most of the hotels are. You will be using your feet and/or the free park shuttles to explore overlooks to the west of the village on Hermit Road out to Hermits Rest. At the end of your stay, you could exit the park via the South entrance (64 through Tusayan) heading back towards Phoenix.

https://www.nps.gov/sucr/index.htm
https://www.nps.gov/wupa/index.htm

Our lodge of choice at the South Rim is Bright Angel. I read that food at the park has been a bit of a challenge lately what with the restaurants being short staffed so bring a cooler and breakfast/lunch fixings with you. The best seat in the house is a packed sammie somewhere in front of THAT VIEW; something no restaurant there can provide anyway!

Do you recommend that we then stay near Antelope Canyon or do it as a day trip from Sedona?

Depends what the start time is of your Antelope Canyon tour. Sedona to AC is ~160-170 miles, so at least 2.5 hrs of driving.

If I were driving from Sedona to the AC tour, I would look at then spending a night ( or more) at the Grand Canyon, rather than 'commuting' from Sedona to the Grand Canyon

You do realize it's a 5 hour drive from Phoenix to Paige, and that's without stopping? Paige is closer to the North Rim than it is to the South Rim. You're going to want to stay at least one night somewhere near Paige.

If I was going that far north I'd visit the Vermillion Cliffs and the North Rim, both of which are much less visited than the South Rim. Especially if I could take the time to hike around. Another option would be to take another couple hours and go to Bryce or Zion. I love Zion but, since it's busses only in the canyon, Bryce gets my vote when I'm touring down there.

Sedona would be a destination stop for a night or two on the way to, or from, Paige.

Why not fly into Flagstaff and save hours of driving?

If I was going that far north I'd visit the Vermillion Cliffs and the
North Rim,

Grand Canyon North Rim will still be closed in late April. It won't open for the season until May 15.

Side note: if you are planning to spend any time in Phoenix, the Heard Museum of American Indian Art is excellent.

https://heard.org

With a week you should definitely plan to visit the Grand Canyon - either as a day trip or overnight (preferred)!

Sorry for the additional post but I'm sort of a big fan of our grandest canyon, and would love for others to become big fans as well!

The reason I recommend at least 2 nights, whenever possible, is so that you get more than one shot at a sunrise and sunset. The colors and contrast at their most dramatic earlier and later in the day, when the sun is at an angle. In the middle of the day when the sun directly overhead, the landscape, while still very impressive, can go a little flat. You need those morning/evening shadows for definition and depth.

The other reason is that it is possible to hit a foul weather day. We've been there when the view was obscured by heavy rain, wind and/or fog. The poor folks who'd only planned part of THAT day to explore were not happy. Fortunately, we've always planned for 3 nights so losing a big chunk of a day wasn't a major bummer.

As far as some of the interesting non-hiking stuff to explore on the South Rim, it's difficult to judge right now what will and will not be open at the end of April. Kolb Studio (currently open) is a gotta do as it's a fascinating piece of history; do some reading up in advance:

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/art-exhibits.htm

A peek at the historic train depot (constructed 1909/10) - still in use for the Grand Canyon Railway between the village and Williams - is well worth the trot in its direction.

https://www.nps.gov/places/000/train-depot.htm

There are a number of other historic buildings that survive from the park's early days. The best of them were designed by Mary Colter; one of the country's first female architects, and the creator of a style known as "National Park Service Rustic", which was adopted by others of the parks later on. From a piece I'd once written about her, "Her philosophy was to employ natural materials found in the landscape to create lodges and other facilities which would harmonize rather than distract from the colors, scale and texture of their surroundings, and reflect the ancient indigenous human and geological history of the region." Anyway, you should be able to explore Hopi House, Lookout Studio, Bright Angel Lodge and Desert View Watchtower of her above-rim designs for the park:

https://www.nps.gov/articles/marycolter.htm

The Pioneer Cemetery is one of my favorite spots. Buried here are settlers, former rangers and superintendents, the Kolb brothers of the studio, guides, range riders, Harvey Girls, scientists, trail builders and all sorts of other folks who figured into the park's history over the past century. This is the best resource for a bit of background on many of them:

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/669406

Add in the various visitor centers, ranger walks and/or talks (free!), a geology museum, bike rentals, a self-guided audio tour..... there's a lot to do in addition to the view! Note that info currently shown is for winter; keep checking the site as the time of your trip gets closer.

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/full-steam-ahead.htm
https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/sr-programs.htm
https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/visitorcenters.htm

Alma de Sedona Inn gets my vote if you choose to stay in Sedona. Sedona lodging can be very pricey, and this inn is a nice middle of the road. It is very private with good views and they cook a delightful breakfast each morning.