Advice for trip to Sedona

[oakdeiros80]

Hey all,
I’m heading to Sedona for a few days (beginning of April) with my wife and 5-year-old. We don’t have any specific plans other than getting out and hiking. Family vacation, so there won’t be any hunting, but I’d love to do some wildlife viewing if at all possible. Never been to this area before. I would love to hear some tips and advice for cool things to do around there, especially opportunities to see animals.
Thanks,
Logan


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[Kevin Dill]

There is a huge amount of wonderful hiking and photography around Sedona, but I don't really know of any places where wildlife is abundant. The main attractions seem to be centered around hiking, eating and shopping. The road from Sedona to Flagstaff is breathtaking and might give you a glimpse of elk or mule deer, and the North Fork Trail (hiking) is on the way. One fun thing you can do is rent an ATV (many kinds) and spend some time riding backroads.

Get up early and see the sunrises. Breakfast at the Coffeepot or Hitching Post. Hit the small shops a Tlequepaque Arts & Crafts Village. Hike on Cathedral or Bell Rocks. Journey over to Jerome, AZ. Lots to do!

 

[Billinsd]

Along the I 17, Past Camp Verde, and past the exit to Sedona and before Schnebly Road, you could pull off the road on the west side and look down to the west and see elk, or deer. You'd need high magnification binos. You could drive down Schnebly road off the I 17 and head west, but it gets real rough. You could also drive schnebly from Sedona up to the east. There are 4x4 tours from Sedona. Then there are all the vortexes in Sedona, lol. My suggestion is to spend as little time in the town of Sedona as possible. That's just me, I hate touristy places.

 

[MCR]

Lots of great hiking in Sedona. Just Google it and you will find more than you want on the best hikes. Not a lot of wildlife right around Sedona. You could take the road through Oak Creek Canyon that takes you up toward Flagstaff. Its a beautiful drive. Lots of areas outside Flagstaff to glass for animals.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Take your wife to Garland's Indian Jewelry north of Sedona, and buy her something. Not kidding. Beautiful store inside with a huge amount of native artisan works and fine jewelry.

 

[Steve O]

Just there a couple weeks ago with the wife. Lots of hikes and “quaint” shops. Javelina Cantina had good margaritas and carne asada everything.

 

[dihardhunter]

Will be there next weekend for several days and will chime in upon our return.

 

[RoJo]

If you want to do something a bit cheesy and touristy, take one of the jeep tours. If you do that, make sure you choose one that goes through Broken Arrow, it is like a slow-motion roller coaster. Not hiking or wildlife oriented, but fun nevertheless.

For hiking, I would second the West Fork trail suggestion. But get to the trailhead early, parking is limited and fills up fast.

Or just get above the rim on 89A and hike through the national forest. You may see elk and deer, and might find a shed antler or two.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Beware the prickly pear margaritas.

 

[flatlanderhuffandpuff]

I spent some time mountain biking in Sedona in 2014. I was very impressed with the scenery and trails from a mountain biking perspective. We crossed some jeep trails and everyone in the jeeps seemed to be having a blast.

Make sure you take lots of water and drink more than you think you'll need.

Don't join a cult or get sucked into a vortex. Have fun!

 

[oakdeiros80]

Thanks for the tips guys, much appreciated. I’ll try to post back after my trip and throw in my 2 cents.
Logan


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[Smash]

I was out there last December and really enjoyed it. We drove all over but couldn’t do a ton of hiking because my son was only 6 months old. I’m not a giant fan of the desert coming from the Midwest so the closer I got to Flagstaff the happier I got. I did really enjoy Tonto natural bridge as well a little brewery in camp verde that I can’t recall the name of.

Picture of me and the boy at Tonto natural bridge.

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[cochran53]

If you like fly fishing, there are plenty of public access points to fish in oak creek canyon. My sister went to NAU in Flagstaff, so my dad and I always planned some fly fishing time while we were out there. Enjoy the trip!

 

[cochran53]

Take your wife to Garland's Indian Jewelry north of Sedona, and buy her something. Not kidding. Beautiful store inside with a huge amount of native artisan works and fine jewelry.

Right next to this is a nice little place to stop for food. The name is escaping me at the moment, but I haven't had anything there that I didn't like.

 

[dihardhunter]

Just got back from a week in the SW. Hiking the desert and the red rock country for 1 day around Sedona was definitely a highlight. Did the touristy hike up to Cathedral Rocks - spectacular views no doubt, but definitely a lot of folks out and about. Next, parked at a more distant trailhead (Mescula I believe?) and hiked to Devil's Bridge Arch and back. Quiet hiking until you hit the Jeep Trail about 2/3s way there and then rather crowded again, not insanely though. Best part was that we timed the hike to coincide with sunset, saw some muleys - does and bucks - as well as tons of javy sign on way back on quieter portion of the hike. The number of trailheads and easy hikes in that area are insane - tons of opportunity for whatever suits your fancy and the sight of the red rocks glowing in the sunshine never gets old.