Let me start by saying Sedona— I love you. Seriously, what a cool town. Rudy and I were blown away by the beauty of the red rocks and the massive list of things to do in this area of Arizona. I have to admit we were a little concerned about the heat since we were visiting this time of year (we went the 2nd week of July) but the mountains create a cooler environment for the town compared to the neighboring cities. It was hot, but not too hot. Just how I like it!
I got tons of questions on my DMs during our trip, so I wanted to put together a guide for any of you guys if you want to visit someday! We had a total 4 days in Sedona and we still didn’t get to do everything we wanted to (and it was a go-go-go trip so that’s saying something!).
Sedona is a very unique and spiritual place. It is known that it’s red rock formations have multiple sites of “vortex” energy that people all around the world come to for a place of inner healing and discovery. The vortexes are intersections of natural electromagnetic earth energy. A lot of the trees surrounding the high energy vortex areas are completely twisted and warped due to this. It’s crazy to see! It’s pretty amazing when you pick up on the vortex energy. We had an overwhelming feeling of calm and awe.
If you’re interested in hiking, nature, and culture, Sedona is the perfect place to visit! This guide is a mix of activities, places to eat, views to see, and the hikes we climbed.
STAY:
We stayed at the Amara Resort and Spa and highly recommend it for many reasons! The property is clean, there is a fantastic restaurant, Saltrock, with a view of the red rocks, and it’s located right in the center of town and beside Oak Creek. There is an infinity pool overlooking the trees by the creek, and it’s gorgeous. We walked down to the creek with a cooler of drinks/towels and posted up on a flat rock. The water is shallow in this area of the creek so we brought inner tubes so we could float. Try to bring some from home!
EAT:
The Hudson: great for early dinner. Sweeping views of Sedona, great cocktails and bruschetta.
The Vault: great for outdoor lunch or cocktails with a view of Sedona! If you’re looking for something fresh, they have a great quinoa salad.
Hideaway House: perfect dinner spot. It feels like you’re in a treehouse overlooking the beautiful red rocks and forest. So romantic! Order pizza and wine 🙂
Saltrock: This is the restaurant inside the Amara Resort and we went here multiple times for breakfast and dinner. For breakfast, order the passionfruit, prickly pear, and guava mimosa flight, and the huevos rancheros. Best huevos rancheros of my life. Fresh ingredients. For dinner, the chicken tinga tacos were amazing! Also, best margaritas in town. Need I say more?!
Pump House Urban Eatery and Market: this is a cute place for breakfast! They have eggs benny and a good vibe 🙂
Oak Creek Brewery and Grill: we didn’t end up going here but it was recommended to us! Maybe a good pit stop for some craft local beer?
El Rincon: we didn’t get to go here either but it was recommended to us for more authentic Mexican food and apparently the prickly pear margaritas are a *must*
HIKES
There are over 200 trails in Sedona and you can’t really go wrong! These are just the ones that we had time to do and what we thought about them. Whichever trail you decide to hike, make sure to bring plenty of water with you and lather in sunscreen beforehand!
Cathedral Rock: this was our favorite hike and in my opinion an absolute must! It’s a quicker and steeper hike— so fun! The views at the top are incredible. Make sure to explore around at the top and feel the energy of the vortex!
Devil’s Bridge: This is one of the most recommended hikes, which is why you’ll probably see more people passing by on the trail. We enjoyed it and the view at the top was gorgeous, but it wasn’t our favorite (mostly because it was the most crowded of the hikes). At the top there is a small line to get on the bridge for a cool picture.
St. Marg’s Trail: We loved this hike because we did not see a single person and we got really close to Snoopy rock and Camelhead Rock. The trail splits off many times so pay attention to the main trail, or venture off like we did! It was fun to “get lost”.
Airport Vista– you can hike this loop or just drive to the top and pay $3 to park. We drove here for sunset on the first night and it was incredible! Bring a blanket to sit on and enjoy the view. Everyone is very peaceful and quiet here.
Cool down at the Creek:
Grasshopper Point: Great spot for jumping off rocks and cooling off in the water! We did not do the cliff jumping because that’s where the crowd is (keep in mind we went during COVID so avoiding crowds was a priority for us). You can walk down and find your own private spot with a mini waterfall. Bring some snacks and beers! If the parking lot is full, just park along the road where there are some other cars parked and walk down the hill (where you park is where you’ll start going down the hill… you can’t walk alongside the road). This was on of the highlights of our trip!
Slide Rock: we didn’t get to go here but it was recommended to us! Try to go early when it opens at 8 am, otherwise you’ll be dealing with a full parking lot. You can see it as you pass it on the highway. It looks really cool!
Shopping / Activities:
Tlaquepaque Square: such a cute little Mexican village square! Go to the spice store and taste some olive oils, balsamic, and all the alcohol they source! They give you a sample of everything 😉
The main street going through Sedona (right where the Amara Resort is) has tons of cute shops where you can find Native American made household items, ceramics, Western fashion, crystals, etc.
Grand Canyon day trip! It takes about 2 hours to get to the South Rim at the Grand Canyon. Normally it’s packed but there’s not that many crowds right now because parts of the park are closed due to COVID. It was our first time seeing the Grand Canyon and we were totally awestruck. It’s so blue! We can’t wait to go back one day.
Notes:
Research about the vortex sites before / at the beginning of the trip! Overall everyone is very peaceful and nice. When you’re hiking, look at the mountains / forest / rocks and feel the energy! It’s wild 🙂
COVID notes: When we went, pretty much everyone was wearing a mask, which made us feel safe. At restaurants, you are required to keep your mask on until you get to your table. The only time people weren’t wearing a mask was during the hikes, that’s why we tried to avoid crowded trails.
Things we didn’t do but wanted to:
-Hot air balloon over town
-The Crack at Wet Beaver Creek – this spot looks super cool for a little day trip. 30-45 min drive from town, and then around a 5 mile hike in, but epic water fun, cliff jumps, and rock formations.
Here’s a little video from our trip!
If you guys have any recommendations to add to the list, leave them below in the comments! If you’re going there soon, enjoy your trip!
xx
Hi!!! Thank you so much for such an informative blog and beautiful shots. What app did you use to find these trails?
Of course! We did not use an app, we just used a trail map that was provided by our hotel and then googled the ones we were interested in doing for driving directions + photos 🙂
Great post! I love all your photos!!
I was curious to know what’s a good time to head out for hiking Cathedral Rock and St. Marg’s Trial?
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thanks Alexandra! We went in the summer so we tried to go early in the mornings before the heat picked up! It’s also beautiful to watch the sunrise while hiking, so anywhere between 5:30 am – 11 am is ideal 🙂 We started most of our hikes around 8 am.
Hope this helps!
Perfect! Will definitely keep this in mind. Visiting Sedona next week and staying at the Amara as well, really looking forward to this mini vacation.. Thanks for the all the recommendations! 🙂
You’re going to love it! The Amara is a great choice 😉 Enjoy!