Flagstaff Beertinerary
Background
Flagstaff is often used as a gateway to the Grand Canyon or a stopover for skiing in the Snow Bowl. It’s an old Route 66 stopover destination and maintains that welcome feel for travelers. It’s a tiny town. There are just over 70 thousand residents and over 20 thousand of them are college students at Northern Arizona University. With just two main drags of traditional chains of restaurants and shopping and then a historic downtown which is full of boutiques, coffee shops, bars, restaurants and breweries. It’s full of those travelers, hikers, skiers, granolas, college students, retirees, and lumberjacks. A perfect makeup for a beer town.
And it’s a great beer town. Did I mention the breweries? I believe I did. In 2019, I counted 9 places that brewed their own craft beer and served it on site. That’s just a crazy brewery per capita ratio. And most of them are in walking distance to each other. Which makes it a great stop for a beer vacation.
The Basics
Where to stay
You want to stay as close to downtown as possible. The town is small, but everything you want to see is downtown. There are a ton of Airbnb options which I think is the best choice for Flagstaff. But, if you were going to go for a hotel, I’d recommend the Weatherford Hotel. It’s a historic hotel that just fits the route 66 vibe. The Grand Canyon International Hostel is in a great location if you’re on a budget.
Getting Around
You can walk everywhere in Flagstaff. Uber is available though and wouldn’t cost more than $10 to get anywhere in town.
The Beers
The most common local beers you'll find on draft at local restaurants and bars is the Tower Station IPA from Mother Road and the Lumberyard Hazy IPA. You might find the pale ale from Wanderlust. But, that's it. If you want the local beers, you're better off going to the brewery itself. And that's more fun anyway.
Itinerary
8:00 am Breakfast at Macy’s European Coffee House & Bakery
It’s a vegetarian café. But, even if you crave meat in the mornings, don’t that let stop you. The food is all amazing, but the coffee steals the show.
9:00 am Hike Walnut Canyon
You can drive just 10 miles southeast of Flagstaff to find a short 1 mile hike that takes you down Walnut Canyon to find over 20 cliff dwellings from the Singua people in ancient times.
12pm Lunch at Diablo Burger
Back in Flagstaff for lucnh, park your car and head over to Diablo Burger. It's a local burger place that uses fresh ingredients and has several local craft beers on tap. You can get your first taste of what Flagstaff has to offer. I’d recommend hitting what you won’t get a later brewery. But, I won’t stop you from getting what you want.
1:30pm Flagstaff Visitor Center
Walk off some of those burger calories and head to the Flagstaff Vistor Center. I’m not sure I’ve ever thought about including a Visitor Center in any itinerary as I typically avoid them. I don’t like organized tours in general. But this center is in the old and still operating train station. You can get a quick background on Flagstaff's history. You can also take a picture in front of a big Route 66 sign.
2:30pm Lumberyard Brewery
Located in an old lumberyard, the brewers from the original Flagstaff brewery Beaver Brewery opened this one in 2010 and have one some beer medals and ribbons to show for it. The atmosphere is like a typical family friendly brewery restaurant and better to hit in the daytime when you can sit outside on their patio and watch the trains go by.
4:00pm Beaver Street Brewery
Owned by the same owners as Lumberyard, this was the first brewery in Flagstaff. It's a bit old and the beers aren't as "modern" But stop in for a beer out of respect for the brewery that started it all in this town.
5:00pm Mother Road Brewing
This is the perfect hipster brewery. Great outdoor seating, board games, and perfect beers. It’s cozy and cool at the same time. You can also order dinner from Pizzicletta two doors down without having to leave your table. Fantastic woodfire pizzas with thin foldable crust. Perfect for soaking up beers past, present, and future.
7:00pm Lowell Observatory
Nestled up in the hills just about Flagstaff, is the telescope that discovered Pluto (still a planet!). You can make the walk up. It’s about 25 minutes of moderate incline. It’s not that bad. It’s also a $7 uber. So, that decision is yours. I would recommend the uber back down as it will be dark and that’s a windy road without a sidewalk. This is a great break from drinking and a chance to check out the stars. You can see the old telescopes and when it's clear out, they will break out some telescopes and point out what's above.
8:30pm Dark Skies Brewery
You saw the dark skies and now it’s time to drink the Dark Skies. Probably the most innovative brewery in Flagstaff and the one with the best “bar” feel to grab a last beer is Dark Sky Brewery
Late Night
Most of the breweries shut down at 10pm. But, this is a college town so the night is still young. Flagstaff Brewery and Hops on Birch stay open late and would be able to keep your party going.