Flagstaff

Understand

Visitor information center

Place Flagstaff Visitor Center

📍 1 E Rte 66next to the Amtrak station☎ +1 928-774-9541

MapsWebsite☆ Want to go

Climate

Although located in Arizona, Flagstaff has a very different climate from the southern desert areas of the state. Winters are cold and sometimes very snowy, depending on the year. Temperatures can dip below 0°F in the coldest months. Snow tends to melt quickly, as the temperature is usually above freezing during the day, even in winter. The spring season is windy and chilly, albeit otherwise mild, with occasional rain and snowstorms.

Flagstaff's summer begins around May, when temperatures warm substantially; the highs can exceed 90°F during the hottest days. During the monsoon season (roughly June - September), intense, frequent rainstorms occur, lowering temperatures and ending the dry spell that tends to set in when the weather warms. The cool temperatures and frequent rain continue into the fall, and the first snowfall is often in November or December.

Get in

By car

Flagstaff is at the intersection of I-40, which runs west to California and east to New Mexico (following historic Route 66) and I-17, which runs south to Phoenix.

By train and bus

Go Amtrak Station - FLG

The daily Southwest Chief Chicago-Los Angeles line makes a stop in downtown Flagstaff. The westbound train arrives at 9:51PM and the eastbound train arrives at 6:06AM.

📍 1 E Rte 66☎ +1 928-774-8679

MapsWebsite☆ Want to go

By plane

Flagstaff Pulliam Airport (FLG) American Airlines provides service from Dallas-Fort Worth and Phoenix Sky Harbor as the only commercial airline to Flagstaff. Otherwise the airport serves a general aviation airport.

The nearest major airport is Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX). Driving time between Flagstaff and Sky Harbor is greater than the 150-mile separation would suggest: the airport is on the east side of Phoenix, traffic jams in Phoenix are a problem, and I-17 can be shutdown for accidents or wildfires. Allow 2½ hours or more to get from one to the other by car.

Get around

Flagstaff is stretched out along historic Route 66, which runs roughly east-west. The fairly small (about 5 blocks square) downtown is on the western side of town, near the base of Mars Hill, the location of Lowell Observatory. The I-40 highway and the BNSF railroad tracks run roughly parallel to Route 66. Northern Arizona University is south of downtown and the tracks, but north of I-40. Here the north-south oriented Milton Road, which becomes I-17, is the main thoroughfare, with Route 66 heading west north of the railroad underpass.

The city is fairly bike-friendly, with many roads having bike lanes. In 2006 Flagstaff was designated a "Bicycle-Friendly Community" by the League of American Bicyclists. The Flagstaff Urban Trails System (FUTS) includes more than 50 miles of paved and unpaved trails that wind throughout the town and are used extensively for recreation and transportation. One well-traveled FUTS path runs along the south side of Route 66 from downtown to the east side of town.

The Northern Arizona Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority operates The Mountain Line, fixed-route bus service that extends throughout Flagstaff and carries more than one million passengers per year.

Stay safe

Although Flagstaff is well within the southern half of the U.S., it receives more snowfall than just about any other American city. Always come prepared in wintertime.

There is not a huge crime problem, but certain areas noted below should be avoided, mainly at night:

Sunnyside, one of Flagstaff's larger neighborhoods, is on the east side of town (bordered by Cedar Ave. on the north, 4th St. on the east, Izabel St. and Cedar Hill on the west and Route 66 on the south). Sunnyside is an incredibly diverse and interesting neighborhood but is also one of the most poverty-stricken neighborhoods in the city. Most points of interest are restaurants located on the edge of the neighborhood in the business districts which are generally safe any time of day. The area has been afflicted with some gang activity, mostly in the very center of the neighborhood. Just don't walk the neighborhood at night or hang out in an area that seems unsafe.

The other area that becomes unsafe at night is some areas of what locals call the "South Side". South of the railroad tracks, west of Lone Tree Road, east of Milton and north of the NAU campus is the general designation of this area. The exception being most of the areas along South Beaver St. and South San Francisco St., which are safe even at night because of the night-time music, restaurant and bar scene that takes place along these streets. Areas closer to campus and on side streets such as South O'Leary and South Fontaine should be avoided at night. Though a lot of college students inhabit the area, drug addicts and transients do also, and there is some gang activity.

Go next

An unusual number of national parks and monuments are close to Flagstaff, the largest and most famous of which is the Grand Canyon, but there are three right nearby. Note that there is a $25 Flagstaff Area National Monuments Annual Pass which works for all three monuments, and covers entrance fees for up to four people which may be cheaper for groups visiting multiple sites.

See Walnut Canyon National Monument

Contains a number of Native American cliff dwellings built in a narrow canyon. Two trails allow good views of the ruins and the canyon.

🕒 Nov-Apr daily 9AM-5PM, May-Oct daily 8AM-5PM💲 $5, good for 7 days; Park Pass applies☎ +1 928-526-3367

MapsWebsite☆ Want to go

See Wupatki National Monument

Contains a collection of Native American ruins scattered along a circular drive that also passes by Sunset Crater (an extinct volcano). Probably some of the finest outside of Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. Plan on spending most of the day on this loop drive.

🕒 Daily 9AM-5PM, closed Dec 25💲 $5, good for 7 days at both Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki National Monuments; Park Pass applies☎ +1 928-679-2365

MapsWebsite☆ Want to go

See Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

At the southern end of the loop drive that connects it to Wupatki National Monument, this monument contains a relatively new volcano. The main eruption around 1064 C.E. built most of the cinder cone, with the last eruption in 1260 C.E. adding the spectacular to the cone's top.

🕒 Nov-Apr daily 9AM-5PM, May-Oct daily 8AM-5PM💲 $5, good for 7 days at both Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki National Monuments; Park Pass applies☎ +1 928-526-0502

MapsWebsite☆ Want to go

For more of the canyon landscape: the Grand Canyon is just a short drive further north, and to the northeast is Navajo Country and Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. The detour through Sedona on the way south to Phoenix offers a scenic route west of I-17.

For more forested high-country, head southeast to the Mogollon Rim area or southwest towards Prescott.

For more of Historic Route 66 and the Old West, head east towards New Mexico, going through Williams and onwards to Gallup, Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Or head west to Kingman, with options to continue into California towards Barstow and eventually Los Angeles, or veer north at Kingman from Route 66 to Hoover Dam and Las Vegas.