Best time to visit Sedona – Spring and Fall, having said that, we visited in the summer of 2008, and it was crazy hot during the day. Below are a list of things you can do in Sedona :
- Scenic Drives
- Hiking – We did all our hikes in the evening or early morning as it was > 100F during the day
- Meander about Uptown Sedona which has great restaurants and red rock views
- Shop at the Outlets at Oak Creek
Sedona has a lot of shapely red rocks, and are named accordingly – Bell rock, Courthouse butte, Cathedral rock, Coffee pot to name a few. You have a hiking trail that leads to a viewpoint to each of these rocks from where you can admire them/take pictures etc. You can also view many of them on scenic drive around the area.
Scenic Drives
- Red Rock Scenic byway – 8 miles long and located along a portion of highway 179 between mile markers 302-310.
- Oak Creek Canyon Scenic road – 16-mile drive and takes about 90 minutes round trip if you don’t stop – From uptown Sedona, take highway 89A north as it twists and turns thru Oak Creek Canyon. You will pass Slide Rock State Park and West Fork hiking trail before reaching Oak Creek Vista.
- Red Rock Loop Road – located in west Sedona, the entire loop is 8-mile long and best done in the afternoon and you will get a great view of Cathedral rock. There are also some overlooks on the drive.
Start your driving tour in the Village of Oak Creek south of Sedona and see Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. As you travel up Highway 179, you’ll see the turnoff for Cathedral Rock and get a sneak peek of this most-photographed red rock formation. Continue north and you’ll see to the east the Mystic Hills above the Chapel of the Holy Cross, Chicken Point and finally Schnebly Hill. Turn West at the “Y” (the intersection of Highway 179 and Highway 89) and you’ll see to the north and northwest Coffee Pot Rock, Capitol Butte and Chimney Rock. Travel up Boynton Canyon (turn north at Dry Creek Road) to see the magical sites of the ancient Native American tribes. Back down in West Sedona, you can drive the Red Rock Loop to the famous Red Rock Crossing.
Hikes
Bell Rock and the Courthouse Butte Loop – Hike around Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock, a 4-mile trail that is easy and suitable for all ages and ability levels. This hike is done as a loop, so your views are always changing. At the end of the hike, you have the option to add on the climb up Bell Rock, for a phenomenal view.
Cathedral Rock – Cathedral Rock in Sedona offers some of the best views and is a short 1.5 mile hike round trip with a. 740+ ft elevation gain. As a bonus, you can scramble up a bit further past the saddle to get a better view with fewer people.
Devil’s Bridge – An easy two-mile walk to a natural arch and beautiful views. Fairly easy out and back available year-round. The highlight is standing on Devils Bridge, which forms a natural arch.
Teacup trail to Coffeepot Rock – Get to know this 2.6-mile loop trail near Sedona, Arizona. Generally considered an easy route. This is a very popular area for hiking, so you’ll likely encounter other people while exploring. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime.
Broken Arrow trail to Chicken point – 2.8 mile out and back – The trail is so called because, this was part of the area where the 1950 James Stewart movie ‘Broken Arrow’ was filmed. The end point called Chicken point, gets its name from years ago when Jeeps used to be able to circle around a large rock on the point. Supposedly you were “chicken” if you didn’t do it. This practice is no longer permitted.
Brins Mesa – Soldier Pass Loop – 6-mile loop – Since this hike is done as a loop, you can do this in two different directions. There are advantages to doing this in each direction.
If you do this loop in a clockwise direction, you will hike the Soldier Pass Trail before the Brins Mesa Trail. Devil’s Kitchen, the Seven Sacred Pools, and the Soldier Pass cave will come early in the hike. If you can get an early start (before 8 am), you can get to the cave before the crowds, so this is a huge advantage. There is one climb on this hike, as you hike up onto the mesa, and this will come in the second half of the hike.
Hiking the Brins Mesa – Soldier Pass Loop in the counter-clockwise direction, you get the climb over and done with early in the hike. Enjoy the sweeping views from the mesa before descending on the Soldier Pass Trail.
