Phoenix/Las Vegas Road Trip

[Fobulous]

Hello All,

The wife and I have decided to take a 10 day road trip south of the border. As we have it planned out right now we are driving to Phoenix with a stop over in Salt Lake City for the night. Spend a few days in Phoenix and than make our way over to the Grand Canyon and off to Las Vegas.

On our way back to Calgary we plan to stop in Butte, MT and than back into town.

Has anyone done a similar road trip? Any tips?

Also, as far as things to do in the Phoenix area? We are golfing 2 of the 3 days but as far as night life goes any ideas? Or other things to do in Phoenix?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks CP!

-FoB.

[troutman]

It's a long drive - two days down, and two days back. Be careful where you stop in Utah - there are "dry" towns where it's hard to get a drink.

Grand Canyon is 5 hours from Las Vegas.

It will be extremely hot there this time of year, too hot perhaps to golf.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

In Phoenix, it depends where you are staying, but if you're anywhere near the Jobbing.com Arena (where the Coyotes play), there is actually quite a bit going on around there. Granted I've only been there on a game day, but really it's the Coyotes, chances are the fact there was a game there had nothing to do with why it is a popular spot.

There's a Margaritaville, and a few other bars/pubs, and it's right across the street from Cabelas (if you're into that sort of thing, and even if you're not, it's still pretty cool, think Bass Pro, but with less fishing, and more hunting).
It's kind of way off on it's own from Phoenix proper, but there are hotels right near by, so if you don't have those booked yet you can stay right there.

[transplant99]

In 1982 myself and a good buddy did a 17 day driving trip that consisted of Calgary to Vegas to to Phoenix to LA to San Fran and then home.

We were "burgled" in Vegas while we slept after driving 20+ hours to get there. We were pulled over at gun point on some backroad highway in Arizona after blowing past a trooper at 90 MPH who was in an unmarked pick-up truck. I was arrested in Vegas for being a complete idiot and driving after drinking for a good 8 hours. We almost capsized the boat we were on outside LA after watching an airshow that featured the Blue Angels. We were awoken at 2 AM in San fran when gunshots rang out...about half a block from our hotel.

It was an awesome venture.

[Scoopdogg]

If you're into clubs, then you have to check out old town Scottsdale. Definitely the best clubs in the Phoenix area.

[Clever_Iggy]

Salt Lake to Phoenix will be a long stretch and you could easily stop in Vegas on the way down too.

I did the exact same trip 2 years ago. We stopped at Zion National Park in Southern Utah. Wonderful place - better than the Grand Canyon, IMO. Even better if you have time to get out and explore a little. You don't need to invest days into a hike as many trails are 1-3 hours. We also went off the beaten track a little and stopped in Colorado City, Arizona. Polygamist hotbed and the base for the book "Under the Banner of Heaven." Interesting, to say the least... don't stay too long though.

In Phoenix - Scottsdale is nice, but for me, very uncomfortable. Lots of popped collars and people trying to appear better than they are. Tempe is more of a college feel with ASU being so close. I can't really comment too much more. To stay (hotels) Scottsdale has the most and nicest.

The drive from Salt Lake to Vegas (or vice versa) allows you to check out the Hoover Dam on Hwy 93. They were building a super overpass that spanned the canyon when I was going through so traffic still had to proceed across the actual dam. Pretty cool. I'm sure you can still elect to drive this way, subject to search for bombs. We didn't stop for the tour, so I can't comment.