Sedona, Arizona

Sedona: Red Rock Country With a Wellness Industry Growing Around It

The popular trailheads around Sedona now close their parking lots on busy spring and autumn weekends before 7am, which should tell you something about how to plan your day here. The city and the Coconino National Forest introduced a free shuttle system running Thursday through Sunday from around 7am to 5:30pm to Cathedral Rock, Soldier Pass, and several other major trailheads - which means you can skip the early alarm if you’re willing to park at the transit hub and ride. On peak days, the Cathedral Rock and Soldier Pass lots close to private vehicles entirely.

Sedona sits at 1,300 metres elevation in the Verde Valley of north-central Arizona, 50km south of Flagstaff, surrounded by sandstone and basalt formations that have eroded into columns, buttes, and mesas in iron-red and ochre. The geology is Permian and Triassic, the colours coming from iron oxide in the Schnebly Hill Formation. The hiking is serious, the landscape is extraordinary, and since the 1980s a parallel economy based on vortex tourism - the idea that specific rock formations channel spiritual or electromagnetic energy - has grown alongside the outdoor scene. You will encounter this regardless of your own beliefs. The massage therapists and crystal shops and vortex tour operators are as much a part of Sedona as the trails.

Hiking

The Red Rock Pass is required for parking at most Sedona trailheads: daily USD 5, weekly USD 15, available at trailhead kiosks and the Red Rock Visitor Center on AZ-179. It covers parking only, not the shuttle.

Cathedral Rock Trail is the photograph most associated with Sedona: a half-mile scramble to a saddle between two spires with a view back over Oak Creek. The trail requires hands-on scrambling in the upper section. Trail runners work fine. If you’re driving yourself, the trailhead at Back O’ Beyond Road off AZ-179 fills by 7:30am on spring weekends, full stop.

Devil’s Bridge Trail (4 miles round trip) leads to a natural sandstone arch 18 metres above the canyon floor, walkable across the top, which is where every photograph of Sedona’s natural arches comes from. The Dry Creek Road trailhead requires 4WD to access directly; otherwise add 3 miles via Long Canyon Road. Worth the extra distance.

Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte form a 4-mile loop with minimal elevation gain and consistent views. Best option if you want the rock formations without serious climbing. Trailhead on AZ-179 in the Village of Oak Creek.

Oak Creek Canyon

AZ-89A drops through Oak Creek Canyon north of town, 22km of switchbacks with the creek running at the bottom. Slide Rock State Park (USD 30 per vehicle) has a natural waterslide formation in the creek that’s been used for swimming since the 1910s when it was an apple orchard. It fills by 9am on summer weekends and turns cars away after capacity is reached. Go on a weekday or skip it.

Where to Eat and Stay

L’Auberge de Sedona on Kaleidoscope Lane is the reference luxury hotel, creek-side bungalows from USD 400 a night with outdoor tables on the water. The restaurant is expensive and the setting earns it. For mid-range, Amara Resort at Amara Lane has rooms from around USD 200 and a better pool situation.

Elote Cafe on Rd 3 is the place food writers mention when writing about Sedona: modern Mexican with local sourcing, full dinner USD 40-60, no reservations, 60-90 minute waits on weekend evenings. The wait is accurate; go hungry or eat somewhere else first. Coffee Pot Restaurant on Highway 89A has been open since 1950, serves breakfast all day, and costs USD 12-16 for a full plate. There is nothing remarkable about it and it is exactly right.

March through May and September through November are the months to visit. Summer exceeds 35 degrees C and the exposed canyon hiking becomes genuinely punishing.