Santa Barbara to Sedona in June

[patrick cambier]

Hello. Just a request from those "in the know" of the best route, and any particular key points of interest for a one way trip planned in mid-June: Coastal Cali to Sedona. Thanks.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Just a request from those "in the know" of the best route, and any particular key points of interest for a one way trip planned in mid-June: Coastal Cali to Sedona.

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum! The members of this road tripping community who frequent this forum never know quite how to answer a request for the "best" route anywhere. Ask 100 roadtrippers you would easily get 110 different ideas (some of us can't make up our own minds...) so the first thing I would need to know from you is how long will you have? What kinds of things interest you more -- scenic roads or places to hike? Fun roadside diners, etc. You could cover this distance in two days or two months. So... maybe you could share a little more about this trip for us?

Mark

[patrick cambier]

Hello. Just a request from those "in the know" of the best route, and any particular key points of interest for a one way trip planned in mid-June: Coastal Cali to Sedona. Thanks.

OK, how about: What is the most interesting, yet "lets do it within 24hours" type of trip from Santa Barbara to get to the Enchantment Resort as not to miss an 0500 Balloon trip the following day.....whew. You know, largest ball of twine, major adobe structures, etc.... Seriously we are a big photography family, and are looking for routes that would justify me jeopardizing my SUV rental agreement to get some good shots in. Thank you!

[W. Larrison]

Santa Barbara to Sedona in a day? That's a full day's drive in itself.. Shortest route is about 560 miles, which will be at least 10 hours in the car, and possibly 11-12 hours to get to your destination (assuming a stop for lunch, traffic, any stops, etc).

You've got 2 options on routes from SB to Sedona. The first and shortest, is to drive down to the 101 freeway through LA, and then east on the I-10 through the LA basin to Phoenix, and the north on I-17 to Sedona. But that takes you through nasty traffic areas in several places. It does take you near Palm Springs, Indio, Joshua Tree National Park, and through the Mojave.

Your alternative route would be somewhat longer, but I think will be roughly a wash in time, if you factor in traffic. That would be take the 126 from Ventura to Santa Clarita, and then the 14 to Palmdale. From there you can either continue east to the I-15 at Victorville on the 138, or north to CA-58 at Mojave, and then east to Barstow. From Barstow you'll take the I-40 east to Flagstaff, and then south to Sedona.

This might be a more scenic route -- you'll be skirting through and behind a couple of major mountain ranges, with peaks up to 10,000' If you go north from Palmdale to Mojave, you'll be going past Rosamund dry lake, and possibly see some interesting aircraft. Rosamund dry lake is the home of Edwards Air Force base where a lot of advanced aircraft are flown, and Mojave is the same for commercial firms, plus being a major boneyard for unused major aircraft. Kramer's junction (395 and the 58) is home of some of the world's largest solar energy installations. If you go on I-40, you can either veer a bit south on the "national trails highway" (actually old route 66) through Amboy with its volcanic flows and craters, and through some desolate areas. As an alternative, from I-40 if you veer a bit north, there are major sand dunes at Kelso. There are other interesting and very scenic spots in these areas, but you won't have much time to stop - if at all - to make it to Sedona in a day.

On either route, you'll really need to be making tracks all day, and can't get off your route very much at all.

[patrick cambier]

Thanks for the insight, now I'm getting somewhere. Is there anything in particular for the photographer in us that would justify a stop for an overnight along the way?

With the liberal speed limits out there, I thought distance covered would be a little bit better than 10 hours. Is there something I'm taking for granted?

[roadie]

You could stop at Oatman, AZ. It's an old mining town.
"Wild" burros troll main street for carrot handouts.

Also along the way is the town of Seligman. Stop and have a malt at
the Snow Cap burger stand.


Photos from a trip that I took in 2004 along I-40.

Near Sedona is the town of Jerome.
Jerome is an old mining town built on the side of a hill.

The classic photo location near Sedona is Cathedral Rock from Red Rock
Crossing. This is on my list of places I'd like to visit and photograph.

[patrick cambier]

Thank you for the suggestion, I'll be looking for it.