TOP 15 Things to Do in Flagstaff with Kids

As a travel family we love going on road trips to Arizona. Arizona is the land of contrasts, the land of amazing and unexpected. While many people travel to Phoenix, Sedona and Grand Canyon, I would like to take you on a trip off the beaten path to Flagstaff.

There are so many fantastic things to do in Flagstaff with kids! It is true that visiting Grand Canyon is one of the most popular things to do in Flagstaff because this National Park is only 80 miles away from town. However, I have a totally different itinerary for Grand Canyon which you can review, if you are interested: Arizona Road Trip Itinerary: Phoenix to Grand Canyon.

THIS itinerary is about finding the best hidden gems around Flagstaff that are fun and educational. If your kids like dinosaurs, space exploration, wildlife encounters, unique hikes and train rides – your family will have a blast in Flagstaff. The day by day itinerary is at the end of the article.

The Town of Flagstaff

Downtown

The Town of Flagstaff has a very interesting downtown. Start your exploration from the Visitor Center set up within the rail road station. If your kids are trains fans – this is the place to be. It is also a great place to get a free map of downtown.

Here are my favorite four things to do with kids in Flagstaff downtown:

1. Search for art installations at Heritage Square, the main square in town. It is also the place to see the Flagstaff’s Christmas Tree, if you are are travelling during the holidays, like we did.
2. Check out Weatherford Hotel – is a cute historic hotel that is 120 years old and is famous for its “Pinecone Drop” on New Year’s Eve (as an alternative to the Ball Drop on Times Square in New York). The picture below is taken a couple days before Christmas with the pinecone hanging beautifully and proudly.
3. Taste local honey at The Golden Hive store. Here you can also buy various bees wax products: candles, beauty products, etc.
4. Grab a piece of UK at Cornish Pasty Co. I lived in UK for 5 years and Cornish pies are one of the best and yummiest comfort foods in the world. Unfortunately, you can hardly find them anywhere outside of Great Britain. Imagine my surprise when I saw this food joint in Flagstaff! Believe me, I tried a LOT of Cornish pies in my day and the Cornish pies at the Cornish Pasty Co are the most amazing, authentic pies! Eating here is the most delicious experience you can have in Flagstaff with kids.

Lowell Observatory

Lowell Observatory is one of the leading and oldest observatories in the country. Pair it with one of the best night skies in the U.S. at over 7000 ft elevation and little light pollution and you get a perfect, not to miss, highly educational thing to do in Flagstaff with kids.

During the time of Covid-19 Lowell Observatory only does private telescope viewings just for 1 household at a time. It means a safe private viewing just for you, no crowding, no waiting in line to get to the telescope.

You can book an evening and a day time viewing and there are lots of themed programs to choose from.

To take our night stargazing experience to another level in Flagstaff we brought our portable telescope with us so that we could enjoy the amazing Northern Arizona sky every evening. We have this Celestron telescope that is relatively small (it fits in a standard size backpack) and easy operate for beginners but it offers a really great view. And it is also inexpensive compared to many other telescopes

Celestron 21024 FirstScope Telescope

If buying a telescope is out of the question for you, you can also use good binoculars which are less expensive and also usable during day time:

Occer 12×25 Compact Binoculars with Clear Low Light Vision, Large Eyepiece Waterproof Binocular for Adults Kids,High Power Easy Focus Binoculars for Bird Watching,Outdoor Hunting,Travel,Sightseeing

You will also find this night sky guide extremely useful for stargazing in Arizona:

Walnut Canyon

Walnut Canyon National Monument is located only 11 miles outside of Flagstaff and it is definitely worth a trip. My son kept saying that it is like Grand Canyon but with trees. Walnut Canyon indeed has amazing vertical walls that plunge 350 down and a seasonal creek flowing at the bottom.

Walnut Canyon is mostly famous for cliff dwelling located within its walls that are 900 years old. There are two main trails at this National Monument: a trail that goes down into the canyon and a trail along the rim of the canyon. Both are really cool and not too strenuous. It is a fun and education experience hiking in Walnut Canyon because you can find many interpretive stands along the rim trail that tell you about the life of people in this area almost a thousand years ago.

Sunset Crater

If you you have volcanoes and geology fans in your family, visiting Sunset Crater National Monument is a must thing to do in Flagstaff with kids. Sunset Crater is a relatively young volcano that last erupted 1000 years ago and now you have a fantastic opportunity to walk on the frozen rivers of lava! Yes, the trails were made ON the lava itself, not next to it.

The whole scenery at Sunset Crater is very unique and it literally feels out of this world. Even in its frozen form the lava looks quite menacing. However kids have tons of fun exploring peculiar lava formations and learning about volcanic activity.

To learn more about volcanoes, I strongly recommend this excellent book for kids to prep for this trip:

Wupatki National Monument

Wupatki National Monument is located next to Sunset Crater and it makes sense to visit them both in one day, especially because there is one entrance fee for both if you visit them the same day.

Wupatki National Monument is a fascinating collection of several ancient pueblos and one hundreds of years old MYSTERY. The biggest and best preserved pueblo complex is called Wupatki. It has living and working quarters, a ball court, a gathering plaza and… a BLOWHOLE the purpose of which has been puzzling archeologists for years,

When it is cold and the air pressure is high their air is being sucked into the hole. When the air pressure is low and it is warmer the air is being blown out of the hole. No one knows the purpose of this structure. Do you have a brilliant engineering mind and would you like to come visit and figure out the ancient mystery?

Dinosaur Tracks

For dinosaur fans there is no better things to do near Flagstaff than exploring a plateau covered with dinosaur tracks. Dozens of perfect, well preserved, millions of years old tracks tell amazing stories. Here an adult dinosaur stood still on both feet – was he searching for pray or enjoying the scenery? Here a dinosaur walked firmly and confidently. And here a baby dino was closely following his mom!

This area is not part of a National or State Park so it is not too easy to find. Before COVID, representatives of the local Native American tribe would show you the tracks for a small fee. When we came in December, there was no one there so we had to spend a fair bit of time to locate the tracks ourselves.

Here are the directions how to find this amazing place (it is best to combine the visit to this location together with Sunset Crater and Wupatki):

1. Drive North from Flagstaff on HW-89 (or North from Wupatki, if you are following our suggestion)
2. Turn right on HW-160 towards Tuba City
3. Drive about 5 miles and turn left into a parking lot, there will be a sign “dinosaur tracks” before the turn
4. Park on the left side of the parking lot, the tracks will be all around behind the parking lot. They are engraved in stone, so look for stony, not dirt surfaces.

Here are some great fun and educational activity books and guides for kids to accompany your dinosaur journey:

Meteor Crater

What? Another crater? Yes, absolutely! Because Meteor Crater Natural Landmark is an amazing crater from a meteor impact that happened 50,000 years ago., which is located only 43 miles east of Flagstaff. And not just A crater but one of the best preserved ones on the planet! Being 700 ft deep and 4,000 ft across it is a truly stunning spectacle.

But wait! Taking stunning photos of a unique National Landmark is not the only thing you can do with kids at Meteor Crater. There is is a big visitor center with 3 cool attractions: 1. a museum with lots of hands on exhibits(designing you own asteroid model and projecting its impact was our favorite activity); 2. An educational movie being shown every half hour; 3. A 4D ride into the asteroids belt (better than Disney, seriously)

In addition to all of that you can catch free presentations about the fateful impact and guided tours of the Crater itself. I honestly think that Meteor Crater is one of the best family attractions near Flagstaff.

Petrified Forest National Park

A family trip to Arizona is not complete without visiting at least one National Park. This time we decided to explore Petrified Forest. I can tell you right off the bat that it is totally worth 1 hour 45 minutes drive from Flagstaff and makes for a great day trip.

Petrified Forest National Park is one of the least visited National Parks in the U.S. but it is nothing short of amazing. The focus of the park are millions of years old trees turned into amazing colorful mineral deposits sparking in the sun like true gems. However, the Park offers more than just mineralized trees. Here you can see an awe inspiring landscape of the Painted Desert and unusual geological formations. This is a great park for hiking in late fall, winter and spring when it is not hot.

One mistake to avoid while visiting Petrified Forest National Park if you are doing just a day trip with kids from Flagstaff: do NOT combine it with Meteor Crater visit. Yes., Meteor Crater is located on the way to Petrified Forest and it seems logical to visit both in one day, but don’t! We spent over 2 hours at the Meteor Crater just exploring the exhibits, no guided tour. Add a lunch on top of that and it comes to 3 hours, at least. Allocate two more hours for the drive and you are looking at getting into Petrified Forest in the afternoon, which only gives you a couple of hours to explore the Park before it closes and it is definitely not enough time.

I strongly suggest devoting the entire day to Petrified Forest National Park – you will thank me later. 😉

Oak Creek Canyon

Oak Creek Canyon is an absolute gem of Northern Arizona. Most people go visit Oak Creek around Sedona or Slide Rock State Park but both are too crowded for my tatse, especially during the weekends and holidays. To see Oak Creek Canyon at its best with little to no people explore it closer to Flagstaff.

Start driving from Flagstaff on HW 89A towards Sedona and once you are in the Canyon and driving along the Creek, stop wherever there is a place to park and go hiking. We parked along the road near the entrance to Cave Springs campground and right from there we could easily find a trail going to Oak Creek and then along the water.

We did not meet a single person on the trail. It was gorgeous – just us, the forest, the creek and the wildlife. We saw lots of fish in Oak Creek and a magnificent blue heron up close. And it is an absolutely FREE adventure – what not to like?

Verde Canyon Railroad

Out of all the things we did in Flagstaff with kids, riding Verde Canyon Railroad was one of their most favorite adventures. Their classic scenic rail tour is 3 hours long and it takes place during the daytime. You ride the tracks inside the Canyon along the beautiful Verde River. Some people call Verde Canyon the Younger Brother of the Grand Canyon and for a good reason. There is an educational narration during the tour and you can learn lots of things about Arizona in general and this area in particular. We did this day tour a couple of years ago.

This time since we were visiting during our Christmas vacation, so we opted out for the evening holiday ride, which is just an hour long and includes visiting the North Pole and a meet and greet with Santa. There are additional activities at the train station like exploring the Christmas Village and visiting the Bold Eagle (the real live one!) It was super exciting for both kids and adults! See a detailed video of the entire experience below:

Tuzigoot National Monument

If you are going to do the train ride on Verde Canyon Rail Road, it makes sense to stop at Tuzigoot ruins that are located just 5 minutes’ drive from the train depot. Tuzigoot National Monument is another great example of an elaborately built ancient (900 years old) 3 stories high pueblo with 110 (!) rooms.

There is also a museum on site where you can learn a a lot about the life of Sinagua people who built the complex.

Bearizona

If your family love wildlife encounters then visiting Bearizona should definitely be on your list of things to do in Flagstaff with kids. Bearizona is a unique kinds of wildlife park because here humans are driving around locked in a car and animals are roaming free on their own huge territory. In the “drive through” section of Bearizona you can see bears, wolves, bison and mountain sheep and goats. This is a perfectly safe attraction during the time of pandemic.

There is also a walk through section with smaller animals, most of which are local to Arizona, such as: beaver, foxes, porcupine and many others. There are raptor shows daily in normal circumstances but unfortunately during the time of Covid-19 pandemic the shows were suspended.

Please, see our detailed video tour of Bearizona below:

Kingman

If you are driving to Flagstaff from Northern or Central California, you are bound to pass by Kingman, Arizona, which is a fun little town on the intersection of HW 40 and Route 66. I strongly suggest making a stop here to learn more about the most famous road in the U.S. and check out some cool attractions., especially if you love the movie “Cars”.

There a three great attractions in Kingman Arizona:

1. Arizona Route 66 Museum has lot of interesting educational exhibits about the history of Route 66 and a fabulous exhibition of electric cars.
2. Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner, which offers fantastic 1950s atmosphere and the yummiest burgers and shakes ever!
3. Locomotive Park – definitely worth a stop if your kids love trains

Check out our detailed video tour of Kingman AZ in this video:

Additional Tips for a family trip to Flagstaff

This list of best things to do in Flagstaff with kids would be enough for a week’s long vacation either in winter, spring or late fall. Most of the places on the list may be too hot to visit in summer. If you plan a visit in winter, please, note the sharp temperature differences in the evening/at night vs. daytime. The temperature may be in the 20s F if you want to stargaze in the evening.

Also, if you visit in the winter, there may be snow on the ground and an occasional snow storm. If there is snow, there are tons of great outdoor things to do in Flagstaff with kids such as skiing and sledding. If there is an occasional snow storm, some roads may be closed for a day or so but it is a very rare occurrence.

If you are planning to follow this road trip itinerary I strongly suggest considering purchasing National Park Service annual pass to save money. There are several National Monuments and 1 National Park on this list of things to do in Flagstaff with kids, which are covered by the pass.

Proposed Itinerary Summary

Based on the location of all these great thing to do near Flagstaff and the time needed to explore each attraction, here is my proposed itinerary for you:

Day 1: Flagrstaff downtown, Lowell Observatory, Walnut Canyon

Day 2: Sunset Crater, Wupatki, Dinosaur tracks

Day 3: Bearizona, Oak Creek Canyon

Day 4: Verde Canyon Rail Road, Tuzigoot

Day 5: Petrified Forest National Park

Day 6: Meteor Crater

Explore more

Where to stay in Flagstaff

When we travelled to Flagstaff this winter we stayed at an Airbnb (here is a link to get 35 USD discount at Airbnb if you are using it for the first time).

If you prefer to stay at a hotel, check the best available deals on various local hotels below:

Booking.com

Where to eat in Flagstaff

There are lots of good restaurants and cafes in downtown Flagstaff – definitely check out Cornish Pasty Co. that I talked about above. Since we rented a house we cooked most of the time at home and during the day trips we just took a picnic lunch with us. Bearizona has a good restaurant on site: it has nice food and phenomenal decor – check it out in my Bearizona video.

This Arizona road trip turned out to be one of the best family road trips that we made. But wait, this is not the end. Next will tell you about great things to do in Southern Arizona. Stay Tuned!

If you found this itinerary useful, please, share it with others as it may help them with their travel plans. Also, don’t forget to my social media channels: I post useful travel tips on Instagram several times a week!

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