Sedona

I hadn’t really known much about Sedona before planning our trip to Arizona, but as I was researching what else to see in Arizona besides the Grand Canyon it kept popping up on my searches. Our long-time friends (Robin and Jennifer H.) that now live in Arizona heartily recommended it so we started our trip off with a bang by heading straight there from the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, a journey of two hours by car.

(My favorite dinner was at Mariposa – photo at top of post was taken from our table. The view, service, atmosphere and food were all superb.)

The landscape is filled with red mesas and Buttes that are literally glowing with color

What’s a mesa or a butte you say? A mesa is an isolated, flat top hill with steep sides. Buttes are the same, but slightly smaller. There are striated buttes everywhere, filling the landscape with colors that seemed to change as the sun moves across the sky.

Sedona is the gateway to Arizona’s red rock country. But why go to Sedona if you are also planning to go to the Grand Canyon? The difference between Sedona and the Grand Canyon is instead of looking down into a canyon, you are looking up at a horizon filled with red rock mesas. The Grand Canyon has much more raw grandeur. Sedona is more refined, but still with terrific scenery that can be enjoyed even if you don’t want to hike or drive to the Canyon’s edge.

Hiking trails everywhere for nature lovers

We managed to hike three days and were able to experience varied scenery each time. The first day we hiked a combination of Soldiers Pass to Brins Mesa to Cibola Pass. Some areas where it became unclear which way the trail was headed we would discover a line of purposefully-placed rocks indicating the trail edge and to not go that way. One app many people used to keep track of the their location was All Trails, but for the most part the trails were easy to follow.

Our second day of hiking was on the West Fork Trail in Oak Creek Canyon. This was a shadier trail that crossed over Oak Creek multiple times so there was an element of possibly getting wet. There wasn’t much elevation gain/loss on this trail so there were several kids hiking. There are several other gentler trails for people who want to experience nature without a grueling hike.

The last day we hiked Cathedral Rock which was the shortest, steepest and most rewarding for the views. It’s roughly a 1.2 – 1.4 mile hike out and back hike which isn’t much except it has 635 feet of elevation gain. (See pictures of Cathedral Rock under Vortexes, below).

Vortexes

Vortexes are energy centers said to be scattered around the landscape. There are several mystical spots, each with its own energy and sometimes you will come across someone meditating and soaking up the energy. The four best known Sedona vortexes are found at Airport Mesa, Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock and Boynton Canyon—each radiating its own particular energy. Some are thought to produce energy flowing upward while at others the energy spirals downward, entering the earth. We hiked up Cathedral Rock which has an uplifting vortex on the first half and supposedly the top (the saddles between the spires) is one of Sedona’s best combination Vortex (sometimes called electromagnetic) areas that supposedly interacts with who you are as a person spiritually. The view from the top is certainly outstanding and the climb was a challenging- perhaps I appreciated it more due to the proximity of the Vortex!

Tlaquepaque shopping

Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village is set on the banks of Oak Creek amongst sycamore trees in an old Mission that feels like an enchanted Mexican village. You can wander here and discover unique shops full of art and distinctive gifts in little corners and courtyards. There was gorgeous glassware and pottery displayed in the shop windows we walked by. I even just loved saying the name! At night the twinkling lights add a magical feel while we ate at Rene’s in their courtyard. It’s such a romantic place a bride and groom were sitting out in the courtyard with us dining, while another wedding took place in the adjacent courtyard.

Designated Dark sky preserve full of stars

It’s amazing how few stars we are able to see in the countryside where we currently live. In Sedona, however, with the dimmed outdoor lighting, the sky was glowing with stars. We were even able to see the Milky Way Galaxy clearly, which we happily enjoyed in quiet on our deck and also from the hot tub on the back patio of our Airbnb.

Magnificent Airbnb Listings

There are great Airbnb’s and bed and breakfasts sprinkled around. Really any place that catches your eye and fits your budget in Sedona, West Sedona or the Village of Oak Creek would be fantastic. My friend Amy G loved her B and B in the Village of Oak Creek just south of Sedona where you could get the scenery of Bell Rock and Courthouse Rock without some of the traffic of Sedona (which has only one main street traversing it). We loved our place called Happy Trails which shared with our friends and was on Panoramic Boulevard near the Airport. It had a terrific view of Thunder Mountain. You can also get the same view by driving up to the Sedona Airport Overlook.

When to go

March- May has very pleasant temperatures with highs of 60’s to 80’s with cooler nights and flowers blooming. Monsoon season is Mid-June to Mid-September with afternoon thunderstorms and highs that can approach 90-100. Mid-September-November is a similarly great time for a visit as the temperatures are again cooler. It’s important to remember that Sedona has an elevation of 4300 feet so it can be chilly compared to Phoenix, as well as in the evenings.

Expect Sedona to be crowded on the weekends with traffic jams down the main road, so allow extra time for driving. Also expect to wait your turn to get into a parking lot if you didn’t arrive early for your hiking on the weekends.

What to bring

 

• With all the red rock, imagine lots of red dust! This isn’t the place to wear new white tennies or rock that white denim jacket. Hiking shoes (my favorite is Merrell) or tennis shoes are recommended for hiking. We also used Keen water sandals for hiking through Oak Creek.
• Bring water if you’re going to hike. 
• There is little to no outdoor lighting, so I suggest bringing a flashlight if you’re going outside at night.
• Sunglasses! That Arizona atmosphere doesn’t have a lot of clouds or humidity to protect your eyes. 
• Lip balm- because that dry desert air gave both of us instant chapped lips
• A coverup or jacket- because when the sun went down, the nighttime temperature dropped 10-15 degrees.