Weather 🌞
The weather is hot in Arizona in the summertime. We found Page and Tuscon to be the hottest. The temperature seems to climb into the 90-100 as early as 11 am and doesn’t come back until sundown. The weather in Sedona and Grand Canyon National Park is tolerable for most of the day. We found the temperatures are highest for a couple hours in the afternoon. We recommend always carrying a water bottle for the pets and people with you as well as keeping some gallons of water in the car for emergencies.
Hot day at the Saguaro NP
Grand Canyon National Park 🏞️
We found it easiest to stay in the park in terms of proximity to the things we wanted to see. We have stayed outside the national park on previous trips and felt it increased the driving times. We loved the location of the Yavapai lodge. The lodges in Grand Canyon Village are wonderful as well. However, none of them are pet-friendly and they might be a bit more pricey. There are way more trail options in this national park than we explored on this trip. Most of the trails that go into the canyon have specific requirements such as carrying a certain amount of water, leaving before a certain time in the morning, turning back at a certain time etc… We stayed mostly on the South Rim trail due to it being pet-friendly. Food options in the park are a bit limiting, but we didn’t mind. More choices are available in the town outside of the park.
Grand vistas of Grand Canyon NP
Saguaro National Park 🏞️
This park is divided into two separate areas. They are about 30 minutes away from each other. If you only have time to visit one side, the Western side has more concentration of Saguaros and better views. However, we thoroughly enjoyed the couple hours at sunset we spent driving around the eastern part too. Visiting later in the evening and early in the morning are highly recommend in the summer months.
Huge saguaro in Saguaro NP
Mesa Verde National Park 🏞️
This national park is pretty spread out. From the entrance of the park to either of the two scenic drives to see the ancient cliff dwellings is about 60-90 minutes one way. The road is a bit windy as it climbs the mountains, however, it is well paved. It took about 90 minutes to see all the overlooks from the scenic drive we took. If you book a tour of the cliff dwellings, it should be done well in advance allowing plenty of time for getting to and from the trail head. We did not have an opportunity to explore any other trails as they are not pet-friendly. There are restrooms in the visitor center and close to the overlooks. Not many options for food in the park. We recommend packing a lunch or eating before getting here.
Cave dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park
Pets 🦮 🐕 🐩 🐕🦺
Since this was a summer trip, we always had plenty of water available for our dog and offered water often. We tried to adjust our times on trails so he wouldn’t have to walk on extremely hot asphalt. We did not have any trouble finding pet-friendly patio restaurants and stay options in this trip.
Viewpoint near the Sedona airport for sunset.
Sedona 🥾 🚵🏽
Sedona was extremely pet-friendly. Dogs are allowed on most trails, restaurant patios and even shuttle buses. The weather was hot in the afternoon from like 12 - 4 pm. After that the temperature seemed to cool about 10 degrees. The food options in Sedona were almost limitless and we enjoyed everything we ate.
Soldier pass in Sedona