5 days by RV from Phoenix: the Lost Dutchman legend, Jerome, Sedona and Meteor Crater

At sunset the Superstition Mountains turn orange above the campground, and somewhere up there, the story goes, a German immigrant hid a gold mine that nobody has found since he died in 1891. Three days later you stand on the rim of a hole in the ground more than 4,000 feet across, made in seconds about 50,000 years ago. In between: red rocks that some visitors say hum with energy, and an old copper town on a hillside that has a habit of sliding.

This is a five-day RV loop from Phoenix: Lost Dutchman State Park, Jerome, Sedona, Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff and Meteor Crater, with Winslow's Route 66 corner on the way home and an optional day for the Petrified Forest. It's a different trip from our 7-day Phoenix → Grand Canyon itinerary: no Grand Canyon, more stories. We tell the legends the way the places themselves tell them, and we label them: we never claim that lost gold, ghosts or vortex energy are real. Every price, opening hour and RV rule below comes from the operator or a public agency, with the date we checked it. Anything we estimated is marked [A].

When to go

1. JanToughFlagstaff lows 18 °F
2. FebToughfreezing nights north
3. MarGoodcold nights north
4. AprBestPhoenix 86 °F
5. MayGoodPhoenix 95 °F
6. JunToughPhoenix 104 °F
7. JulToughPhoenix 107 °F
8. AugToughPhoenix 105 °F
9. SepGoodPhoenix 100 °F
10. OctBestmild days
11. NovBestcold nights north
12. DecToughFlagstaff lows 17 °F

Our rating [A], based on NOAA 1991–2020 normals: Phoenix averages highs of 104–107 °F from June to August; Flagstaff, at the north end of this loop, averages lows of 17–20 °F from December to February [R25]. Spring and autumn are easiest. In winter, snow can slow I-17 and I-40 around Flagstaff, and RV water lines can freeze overnight [A]. Meteor Crater is about 8 °F warmer than Flagstaff, says the operator [R18].

Route map

The 5 days at a glance

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Distances and drive times are our estimates for an RV at legal speeds without stops, from a road router [A]. Add 20–30% for photo stops and Phoenix traffic. Day 5 is long: check your RV return time before you book, or add a sixth day (see alternatives).

Before you go: checklist

1. Book Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood for nights 2 and 3. More than 100 large RV sites; most pull-throughs take 40 ft motorhomes, with water and 30/50 amp power. $50 a night with electricity, $25 without, plus a $3.60 reservation fee. The park is often sold out in spring and fall. Generators are not allowed [R6].
2. Book Lost Dutchman State Park for night 1: 135 sites, 68 with electric (50/30/20 amp) and water, and no size restrictions on RVs; $50 a night with electric, $35 without, plus $3.60 [R1][R3]. Check-in is from 2 pm; arrive before noon and you pay the day-use fee as well [R1].
3. Book the Meteor Crater RV Park for night 4: all pull-through, full hookups (30/50 amp) $70 a night plus tax, water and electric only $60–65; dump station, showers, laundry and fuel. Full payment at booking [R20].
4. Plan your days of the week. Best start: Thursday [A]. Sedona's trailhead shuttle runs Thursday–Sunday, and daily in spring break and some holiday weeks, including November 19–29, 2026, except Thanksgiving Day [R8]. Jerome's free town shuttle runs Friday 11 am–4 pm and Saturday, Sunday and some holidays 11 am–6 pm [R12]. Lowell Observatory is closed on Tuesdays [R16].
5. Know your RV's length. A Class C does not go up to Jerome [A]; a short campervan can, with care. If you're between the two, our RV size guide helps.
6. Bring cash and a magnetic-stripe card. Lost Dutchman takes only cash or Visa/Mastercard with a readable stripe: no chip, tap or phone payment [R1]. The Verde Shuttle bus takes exact cash or the Token Transit app [R9].
7. Buy a Red Rock Pass ($5 a day, $15 a week) only if you'll leave a vehicle at a Forest Service fee site around Sedona. An America the Beautiful pass works at many of those sites, and shuttle riders need neither [R10][R8].
8. Plan your tanks. Lost Dutchman's dump station is not open to the public [R1]. Leave Phoenix with empty tanks and dump at Dead Horse Ranch, which has a dump station for campers [R6].

RV access, stop by stop

RV ok paved, parking for a typical campervan or Class C up to ~30 ft [A] · Caution possible, with a catch · No RV leave the RV and walk, take a shuttle, or skip

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Not sure your rig fits? Our RV size guide explains length, height and what "unpaved" means in a rental contract.

Where you sleep: hookups and dump stations

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Lost Dutchman's dump station is not open to the public [R1], so arrive with empty tanks and dump at Dead Horse Ranch on day 2 or 3. Sedona's own RV parks fill early in spring and fall [A]. For what to do when every campground is full, see our plan B guide.

Day by day

Day 1 — Land in Phoenix, pick up the RV, Lost Dutchman State Park (~36 mi)

Fly into PHX and do the RV walk-through slowly: photos of every scratch, tank levels, generator and A/C test. Do one big grocery and water run in Phoenix [A]. Then take US-60 east to Apache Junction and AZ-88 north to Lost Dutchman State Park, about 36 miles [A]. Arrive after 2 pm, when check-in starts; before noon you'd pay the day-use fee as well [R1]. The gates are locked from 8 pm to 6 am [R1].

The park sits right below the cliffs of the Superstition Mountains. Walk one of the short desert trails in the late afternoon. The Siphon Draw trail to the Flatiron is a hard climb [R1], best saved for a cool morning and an extra day [A]. Bring plenty of water whatever you hike [A].

Sleep: Lost Dutchman State Park, electric and water. No dump for visitors here [R1].

Day 2 — Lost Dutchman → Cottonwood → Jerome (~145 mi)

Leave early. Cross the Phoenix area on the freeways and take I-17 north, climbing from the Sonoran Desert to the Verde Valley [A]. At Camp Verde, take AZ-260 west to Cottonwood and check in at Dead Horse Ranch State Park, about 143 miles in total [A]. Dump and fill here [R6].

In the afternoon, go up to Jerome, about 9 miles away [A], without the motorhome (see the Jerome box). Take a taxi or rideshare from the park; a short campervan can drive up and park at the free 300 Level lot [R12].

Jerome is a copper town perched on a hillside at over 5,000 feet, below Cleopatra Hill. The first mining claims were filed in 1875; in the boom years of the early 1900s, nearly 15,000 people from more than 30 nations lived here [R13]. Mining ended in 1953, and by the late 1950s fewer than 100 people were left [R13]. Today about 444 people live there (2010 census) [R13], among galleries, wine-tasting rooms and restaurants in the old brick buildings. After the high-grade ore ran out, huge underground blasts shook the town, and the major slides followed; the town itself lists "sliding topography" among its disasters [R13]. The lower pay lot is still described as the one "next to the Sliding Jail" [R12].

Two stops if you have time. The Jerome State Historic Park is in the Douglas Mansion, built in 1916 by James S. Douglas on the hill above his Little Daisy Mine. It is now a museum of mining history, with a 3-D model of the town and its underground mines and a panoramic view of the Verde Valley [R14]. It's open daily 9 am–4:30 pm, $10 for adults [R14]. And just walk: up and down the stairs between the streets, past the ruins [A]. You'll hear plenty of ghost stories in Jerome. They are legends; the town's own history page tells the real story [R13].

Sleep: Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Cottonwood.

Day 3 — Sedona without the motorhome

Leave the RV plugged in at Dead Horse Ranch. The Verde Shuttle, a Cottonwood Area Transit bus, connects central Cottonwood with West Sedona, Uptown Sedona and the north end of SR 179, every hour, every day, 6 am–10 pm [R9]. It costs $2 between Cottonwood and Sedona and $1 per ride within Sedona, paid in exact cash or with the Token Transit app [R9][R8]. The park is a few miles from the nearest stop, so plan a short taxi ride or ask the rangers [A].

From the North SR 179 Park & Ride, the free Sedona Shuttle takes you to the Cathedral Rock trailhead, Thursday to Sunday, 7 am–5:30 pm [R8]. While it runs, the trailhead's own parking is closed to the public, and shuttle riders don't need a Red Rock Pass [R8]. The Forest Service lists the Cathedral Rock trail as 0.7 miles with 600 feet of climbing: short, but steep, with scrambling near the top [R10][A]. Other shuttle routes go to Soldier Pass, Dry Creek Vista (for Devil's Bridge) and Mescal [R8]. Don't take the RV to the Park & Ride lots: RVs, campers and buses may not park there [R8].

In the afternoon, walk Uptown, or take the Verde Shuttle back west and stop at Airport Mesa for the view over town [A]. Leave every rock where you found it: the Forest Service asks visitors not to stack rocks or build cairns [R10].

Got a short campervan? You can drive into Sedona yourself (about 21 miles from Dead Horse Ranch [A]) and park at ordinary trailheads such as Bell Rock early in the morning. You'll need a Red Rock Pass, $5 a day, at Forest Service fee sites [R10]. An America the Beautiful pass covers it too [R10]. Want to sleep in Sedona? Rancho Sedona RV Park is about a quarter mile from the shops, at $56–124 a night [R11].

Sleep: Dead Horse Ranch State Park. Dump and fill before you leave [R6].

Day 4 — Cottonwood → Flagstaff (Lowell Observatory) → Meteor Crater RV Park (~105 mi)

Go back to I-17 at Camp Verde and drive north up to Flagstaff, which sits at about 7,000 feet [A]. Don't take the scenic SR-89A road through Oak Creek Canyon in a big RV: it's narrow and winding, with switchbacks at the top [A]. Our 7-day Phoenix itinerary describes it.

Lowell Observatory, on Mars Hill at 7,250 feet, calls itself the "home of Pluto's discovery" [R16]. It opens at noon, closes at 10 pm and is closed on Tuesdays and a few holidays, and general admission is $35 for adults, $30 for seniors 55+ and $20 for ages 6–17 [R16]. That covers guided tours, more than 150 exhibits and the historic buildings; the planetarium costs extra [R16]. The visitor lot takes RVs, first come, first served; there's no overnight parking or camping on campus, and no pets [R16].

The Clark Telescope is the observatory's oldest celebrity. Percival Lowell commissioned it in 1895 and used it to study Mars, "searching for signs of intelligent life" [R17]. He never found any, and his Martian canals turned out not to exist [A]. The same telescope later helped make detailed maps of the Moon for the Apollo missions [R17]. The telescopes open for public viewing around sunset, which can be as early as 4:30 pm in winter [R16].

Two choices for the evening. Stay for the telescopes and drive the 39 miles east on I-40 to the RV park in the dark [A], or leave in the late afternoon and arrive in daylight [A]. Your call; with the RV, we'd leave in daylight [A].

Sleep: Meteor Crater RV Park at I-40 exit 233, full hookups [R20]. Guests get discount coupons for the crater, five miles up the road [R20].

Day 5 — Meteor Crater → Winslow → Phoenix (~235 mi)

Be at the crater at 8 am, when it opens [R18]. It's about 5 miles from the RV park [R20]. Meteor Crater, also called Barringer Crater, is privately owned: the Barringer family still owns the land [R19], so national park passes don't apply [A]. Tickets cost $29 for adults, $27 for seniors 60+ and $25 for juniors aged 6–12; under 6 free [R18]. Tours down to the crater floor are paused for trail restoration; the guided rim walk takes about 30–40 minutes [R18]. Pets can wait at a shaded pet ramada [R18].

The story here is science, not legend. About 50,000 years ago, an iron-nickel meteorite about 150 feet across hit the plain at about 26,000 miles per hour [R19]. In seconds it blasted out a crater over 4,000 feet across; the floor today is 550 feet deep [R19]. Early settlers thought it was an extinct volcano. Even the chief geologist of the US Geological Survey, G. K. Gilbert, concluded after a brief visit that it was volcanic [R19]. In 1902 the mining engineer Daniel Barringer argued for an impact and spent the next 26 years drilling for a giant buried iron mass that, it turned out, didn't exist: most of the meteorite had vaporised or melted on impact [R19]. He lived just long enough to see his impact theory accepted [R19]. The crater is now called the first proven and best-preserved impact site on Earth [R19].

Then 26 miles east on I-40 to Winslow [A]. The town's Route 66 corner at Kinsley Avenue and 2nd Street is Standin' on the Corner Park, which celebrates the famous lyric from the Eagles' "Take It Easy": a life-sized bronze balladeer and a mural of the girl in a flatbed Ford [R21]. Park on a wide side street a block away [A]. The tourism office calls it a Route 66 landmark [R21]; the visitor centre is at 523 W 2nd Street [R21].

From Winslow, AZ-87 runs south-west through Payson to Phoenix, about 205 miles [A]. The road climbs over the Mogollon Rim and then drops steeply into the desert; use low gears on the descent [A]. Return the RV: dump, refuel to the level in your contract, sweep out and return on time [A]. Leave at least 3 hours between the RV return and your flight [A].

Fact or folklore?

Every claim on this route, sorted. "Tourism marketing" means the claim comes from the business or tourism office itself; it may be true, but nobody independent has checked it.

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What we left out, and why

• The Wave Cave as an RV stop. Peralta Road is unpaved until at least 2028, the old trailhead parking is closed, and the current lot bans vehicles over 37 ft [R4][R5]. Fine with a car on another day.
• SR-89A through Oak Creek Canyon by RV. Narrow switchbacks [A]; I-17 is the easier way to Flagstaff.
• Driving a Class C up to Jerome. See the Jerome box.
• Paid vortex, UFO or "energy" tours. Not needed: the tourism office says the sites are easy to visit on your own [R7]. We don't recommend tours that sell healing claims.
• The "Phoenix Lights". A famous 1997 UFO story, but there's no place to visit [A].
• The Wigwam Motel in Holbrook. A Route 66 classic, but we couldn't confirm its current rates or opening on an official page, so we don't list it [A].
• The Homolovi I pueblo. Temporarily closed after rain and erosion damage; Homolovi II and the trails are open [R22].

Alternatives: 6 days, Petrified Forest

Buffer day: if you can, add one spare day, ideally on the first night near the airport or right after the longest drive. It absorbs a late flight, a slow pickup, a closed road or bad weather without cancelling a booked campground. Our classic loops show where it fits.

• 6 days with the Petrified Forest (recommended if you have the time). On day 5, after Winslow, sleep at Homolovi State Park (I-40 exit 257, then 1.5 miles north on AZ-87): electric sites $35 a night from March 15 to November 14 and $40 in winter, pull-throughs with 30/50 amp up to 83 ft, dump station and showers [R22]. On day 6, drive to Petrified Forest National Park: I-40 east to exit 311, then 28 miles through the park and 19 miles on US-180 to Holbrook [R23]. Entry is $25 per private vehicle, valid 7 days; the park is open 8 am–5 pm [R23]. There's no RV or car camping inside the park [R23]. The park warns that GPS can mislead you around here; use a map [R23]. From Holbrook, AZ-377, AZ-260 and AZ-87 via Payson lead back to Phoenix [R23], about 180 miles [A]. This also splits the long last day in two.
• Volcanoes and pueblos near Flagstaff (+½ day). Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki National Monuments lie on one 35-mile loop road that starts 12 miles north of Flagstaff on US-89 [R24]. One $25 vehicle pass covers both for 7 days [R24]. It fits on day 4 if you skip the evening at Lowell [A].
• Combine with the Grand Canyon? Our 7-day Phoenix → Sedona → Grand Canyon itinerary shares days 2–3 with this one. With 9–10 days, do Lost Dutchman first, then follow that itinerary and return via Meteor Crater [A].
• Short on time? Skip Lost Dutchman and drive straight to Cottonwood on day 1 (about 110 miles [A]); you lose the legend, not the route.
• Further east? Our 8-day Very Large Array, White Sands & Roswell loop uses this trip's last day (Winslow, Meteor Crater) on its way back to Phoenix.

What it costs

Verified prices on this loop (checked 2026-10-28): camping at Lost Dutchman $50 a night with electric, plus a $3.60 reservation fee [R1][R3]; Dead Horse Ranch $50 a night, plus $3.60 [R6]; Meteor Crater RV Park $70 a night with full hookups, plus tax [R20]. That's about $225–235 for four nights before tax [A]. Entry: Jerome State Historic Park $10 per adult [R14]; Lowell Observatory $35 per adult [R16]; Meteor Crater $29 per adult [R18]. Getting around Sedona by bus costs a few dollars: $2 Cottonwood–Sedona and $1 within town, and the trailhead shuttle is free [R9][R8]. A Red Rock Pass is $5 a day if you need one [R10]; Jerome's pay lots $5 a day [R12]. The Petrified Forest option adds $25 per vehicle and a night at Homolovi from $35 [R23][R22].

The big items are the RV and fuel. At about 550 miles, a Class C that does 8–10 miles per gallon burns roughly 55–70 gallons [A]. Add taxis for Jerome and the bus stop if you leave the RV parked [A]. Put your own dates, vehicle and fuel price into the trip cost calculator (choose 5 days and about 550 miles).

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