15 Weekend Getaways From Phoenix, by Drive Time

The Grand Canyon's South Rim is 3h 30m from Phoenix, which turns a day trip into seven hours of driving for a day of looking. The 15 weekend getaways here all sit past two hours, from Saguaro's cactus forest to Zion's canyon walls.

Book the Grand Canyon first. Save Page and Zion for a three-night weekend, and Flagstaff for October. This November, Joshua Tree and Las Vegas are in season, and Zion's crowds thin while its Narrows are closed. For a single day out, the day trips from Phoenix cover Jerome, Sedona, Tombstone and Kartchner Caverns.

Costs are in US dollars for two people and cover gas there and back, two nights in a comfortable hotel, food and activities. Drive times are one-way from downtown Phoenix by road.

The short list

Two nights covers everything up to Petrified Forest at 3h 35m. From Palm Springs on, every drive runs past four hours, so take three nights.

Best for the Grand Canyon and canyon country

Grand Canyon South Rim

Plan a May weekend at the Grand Canyon's South Rim and start at Mather Point. Hermit Road is closed to private cars from March 1 to November 30, so ride the free shuttle out to Hopi Point. Then drive Desert View Drive 23 miles east to the Desert View Watchtower.

As of November 2026, the park is open for day use. The South Rim hotels have taken no overnight guests since August 31, after a flash flood damaged the park's waterline. "Reservations arriving November 20 and later are currently proceeding as planned," the concessioner reports. Phantom Ranch, at the bottom of the canyon, is closed through at least January 31, 2027.

Until the park's hotels reopen, sleep in Williams or in Tusayan, whose hotels outside the park were not affected. The Grand Canyon guide carries the current status.

Grand Canyon Village

≈ USD 1,000–USD 1,400

Marine 69-71 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Williams

Ride the Grand Canyon Railway from Williams on its two-and-a-half-hour run to the South Rim while the park's own hotels are shut. Williams itself is a Route 66 town in the pines, with more than six blocks of historic buildings. Add Bearizona Wildlife Park for a second morning.

Williams

≈ USD 1,000–USD 1,400

Bill Morrow (CC BY 2.0)

Page

Antelope Canyon, outside Page, is open only on a guided tour, so book one of the operators Navajo Nation Parks lists before you leave Phoenix. Watch the light change over Horseshoe Bend, a deep curve of the Colorado carved into sandstone. Between tours, see Glen Canyon Dam and the Carl Hayden Visitor Center.

Page

≈ USD 1,100–USD 1,400

PRA (CC BY 2.5)

Zion National Park

Zion National Park, as of November 2026, has the Narrows and all of its slot canyons closed for hazardous weather, and the Watchman Trail closed for repairs. Come in November for the fall color, which reaches the canyon at the end of October and early November, and for the thinner November crowds.

At about 6h 5m from Phoenix each way, Zion needs three nights. Ride the Zion Canyon shuttle up the scenic drive to the Temple of Sinawava and follow the paved Riverside Walk along the Virgin River between sandstone walls. Between the shuttle's last day on November 28 and its return on December 26, you can drive the scenic drive in your own car. The Zion guide and the 3-day Zion itinerary have the rest.

Zion National Park

≈ USD 1,100–USD 1,400

Tobias Alt (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Best for desert national parks

Saguaro National Park

Saguaro National Park's western Bajada Loop Drive is closed as of November 2026, after a flash flood warning, so base the weekend in the eastern Rincon Mountain District. The park comes in two districts on either side of Tucson, about 2h 10m from Phoenix. Drive the paved Cactus Forest Loop there and hike the Tanque Verde Ridge Trail. Lock valuables out of sight at trailheads. February, with mild winter days, suits it.

Saguaro National Park

≈ USD 1,000–USD 1,400

Joe Parks from Berkeley, CA (CC BY 2.0)

Petrified Forest National Park

On the Blue Mesa Trail in Petrified Forest National Park, the offbeat pick, petrified logs lie among badland hills of bluish clay. The Crystal Forest loop shows logs with crystals inside. The Painted Desert Visitor Center is closed for renovation until about June 2027, and its operations have moved to the Painted Desert Inn. The park road is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas, so give it a full day.

Petrified Forest National Park

≈ USD 1,000–USD 1,400

Finetooth (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree National Park is mild in November, ahead of the spring-break crowds of March. See Skull Rock and Keys View, and reach Barker Dam and Hidden Valley before 9 a.m. in the busy months, October to May. The Geology Tour Road is closed as of November 2026.

Joshua Tree

≈ USD 1,100–USD 1,400

Tuxyso (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Best for cool pine country

Flagstaff

Flagstaff in September and October has fall color in Arizona's high country, two hours and change from Phoenix. Visit Lowell Observatory and walk Walnut Canyon National Monument. The Flagstaff area hosted science training for the Apollo astronauts, and the Cinder Lakes crater field is part of that story. Come back in winter to ski Arizona Snowbowl.

Flagstaff

≈ USD 1,000–USD 1,400

Derek Cashman at en.wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The White Mountains

In June the White Mountains of eastern Arizona stay cool, a pine-forest region of small lakes. Start at Woodland Lake Park in Pinetop-Lakeside, with trails around the water, then ride the summer chairlift at Sunrise Park Resort.

The White Mountains

≈ USD 1,000–USD 1,400

Adventurepiece (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Best for an old copper town

Bisbee

Take the Copper Queen Mine tour first, an hour underground in Bisbee, a former copper-mining town in the Mule Mountains. Back in daylight, look into the Lavender Pit, then walk the galleries along Main Street and Brewery Gulch. Go in October, when the Bisbee 1000 stair-climb race runs through town.

Bisbee

≈ USD 1,000–USD 1,400

Russell Lee (Public domain)

Best for lake towns and desert resorts

Lake Havasu

Between late fall and early spring, hike the Crack in the Mountain trail at Lake Havasu, a slot canyon in SARA Park that suits kids. Lake Havasu City itself is a desert lake town built around the London Bridge.

Lake Havasu

≈ USD 1,000–USD 1,400

Marine 69-71 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Palm Springs

Tahquitz Canyon in Palm Springs is the hike for March or April, when the streams to its waterfall run highest. Ride the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, then spend an afternoon among the town's midcentury modern architecture and boutique hotels. Sunnylands Center and Gardens is the slower afternoon.

Palm Springs

≈ USD 1,100–USD 1,400

Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (CC BY 4.0)

Las Vegas

Las Vegas is 4h 45m of desert highway from Phoenix, and November is its month. Watch the Bellagio fountains, walk the Fremont Street Experience and book a show such as O by Cirque du Soleil. Spend a morning out at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

Las Vegas

≈ USD 1,100–USD 1,400

chensiyuan (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Best for the coast

San Diego

For the ocean rather than a lake, San Diego at 5h 25m is the nearest beach weekend from Phoenix, and September is the month for it. Walk the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum, then head down to La Jolla Cove. Give the San Diego Zoo a morning, and save Old Town San Diego State Historic Park for the history.

San Diego

≈ USD 1,100–USD 1,500

Dirk Hansen (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Tijuana

Tijuana, at $670 to $900 for two, costs less than any other weekend on this page. See the exhibitions at the Tijuana Cultural Center and walk Avenida Revolución. For the drive back into the US, US Customs and Border Protection accepts a passport, passport card, enhanced driver's license or trusted traveler card such as SENTRI.

Tijuana

≈ USD 670–USD 900

Urbaner44 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Which to skip, and when

Skip Lake Havasu and Saguaro in summer, when highs pass 40 °C (105 °F). Skip Zion's slot canyons while the weather closure lasts. On monsoon afternoons from July to mid-September, stay off Flagstaff's trails. Skip Antelope Canyon if you have not booked a tour.

Common questions

What's the best weekend getaway from Phoenix?

The Grand Canyon's South Rim, about 3h 30m north of Phoenix, is too far to see in a day, so it is the weekend to book first: Mather Point, the shuttle out Hermit Road and the drive to the Desert View Watchtower. As of November 2026, stay in Tusayan or Williams until the park's own hotels reopen.

Are the Grand Canyon South Rim hotels open?

The Grand Canyon's in-park South Rim hotels, El Tovar and Bright Angel Lodge among them, have taken no overnight guests since August 31, 2026, after flash flooding damaged the park's waterline. The concessioner says stays arriving November 20 and later are going ahead as planned. Phantom Ranch stays closed through at least January 31, 2027. Hotels in Tusayan, outside the park, were not affected.

What's the closest weekend getaway from Phoenix?

Saguaro National Park, about 2h 10m south of Phoenix on either side of Tucson, is the closest of these 15 weekend getaways. Flagstaff is next at about 2h 20m, then Williams at about 2h 40m.

How much does a weekend getaway from Phoenix cost for two?

A weekend getaway from Phoenix costs about $670 to $1,500 for two people on this page, covering gas, two nights in a comfortable hotel, food and activities. Most land at $1,000 to $1,400, and Tijuana costs $670 to $900.

Which weekend getaways from Phoenix are worth a long weekend?

Palm Springs, Page, the White Mountains, Joshua Tree and Las Vegas sit 4 to 5 hours from Phoenix, and San Diego, Tijuana and Zion 5h 25m to 6h 5m. Each is far enough to reward three nights rather than two.

What's a cool weekend getaway from Phoenix in summer?

Flagstaff, about 2h 20m north of Phoenix in the pines, and the White Mountains, about 4h 25m east, are the summer escapes. Flagstaff gets monsoon thunderstorms from July to mid-September, so plan hikes for the morning.

Where's the nearest beach weekend from Phoenix?

San Diego, about 5h 25m west of Phoenix, is the nearest beach weekend on this page, with La Jolla Cove, the USS Midway Museum and the San Diego Zoo. Lake Havasu, at about 3h 10m, is the closer weekend on the water.

How far is Zion National Park from Phoenix?

Zion National Park is about 6h 5m from Phoenix by road, which makes it a long weekend of three nights rather than two. You do not need a permit or reservation to enter, and the Zion Canyon shuttle runs until November 28 in 2026.

What do you need to drive from Phoenix to Tijuana and back?

To drive back into the US from Tijuana, a US citizen needs a valid passport, passport card, enhanced driver's license or trusted traveler card such as SENTRI. Tijuana is about 5h 40m from Phoenix by road.

Do you need a tour for Antelope Canyon?

Yes. Every Antelope Canyon location near Page is open only on a guided tour with a Navajo Nation Parks tour operator. Book an operator before the 4h 20m drive from Phoenix.

What's an offbeat weekend trip from Phoenix?

Petrified Forest National Park, about 3h 35m northeast of Phoenix, is the offbeat pick: fossil logs lying among badland hills of bluish clay on the Blue Mesa Trail. As of November 2026, its Painted Desert Visitor Center is closed for renovation until about June 2027.

The bottom line

For November, take Joshua Tree or Las Vegas. Then book the Grand Canyon for May, and Flagstaff and Bisbee for October. Plan your weekend trip free to see these ranked for your dates and budget.

Browse more weekend getaways by city and the day trips from Phoenix.

Drive times are routed by road from downtown Phoenix in November 2026; costs come from the same pricing the planner uses. Park closures change with the weather; check each park's page before you go. Cover photo: Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix, by w_lemay (CC BY-SA 2.0).