24HRS IN SEDONA, ARIZONA

Sedona is such a special place where there is so much to see and do. Sedona is partly popular for its vortices which are thought to be swirling centers of energy that are conducive to healing, meditation and self exploration. Many feel inspired recharged or uplifted after visiting a vortex (source). Whether you believe in the power of that or not, I can confidently say Sedona is a magical and joyful place that I did not want to leave! When you have limited time, it’s sometimes hard to prioritize activities so I put together a couple of recommendations focused on the outdoors that we did while we were there for a little over 24 hours in May. We packed a lot in so this could be broken up over 2 or more days.

We drove from Phoenix and arrived around 7:30am on our first day in Sedona. The high temperature for the day was 95 degrees and we wanted to get as much hiking in as we could before it got too hot so we headed straight to the Boynton Canyon trailhead to hike Boynton Canyon & Subway Cave. To park at most trailheads in Sedona a Red Rock Pass is required which is $5 for the day unless you have an America the Beautiful Pass (National Park Pass). If you do not arrive at the Boynton Canyon trailhead early you may not be able to find a parking spot which would add milage to this hike having to park elsewhere. The Subway Cave is a detour off Boynton Canyon trail. It’s easy to miss so I’d recommend looking at a map to make sure you don’t hike past the junction as it is not marked and is not overly obvious. This was the perfect place for us to start and do a bit of a longer hike boasting incredible views right in the morning. It was also a great intro to the beauty of Sedona and I couldn’t help smiling ear to ear the whole journey through the beautiful red rock.

After Boynton Canyon we made our way to breakfast at Coffee Pot Restaurant for a yummy basic breakfast. The service was fast and it was in a great location to stop and eat before heading back to the trails. After breakfast, we hiked Fay Canyon Trail and we tacked on the offshoot to Fay Canyon Arch. There are a ton of trail options in close proximity to each other in Sedona and I really don’t think you can go wrong with any trail you decide to do. It does start to heat up quickly depending on the time of year you visit and there is little shade on some of the trails. Make sure you pack enough water, sunscreen, and a hat to stay cool in the hot temps. It’s highly recommended to hike in the morning to stay away from being out in the heat of the day. The view from the top of Fay Canyon Trail was spectacular and it turned out to be a great shorter hike with beautiful views to close out our first day of hiking.

It was getting quite hot so we decided to head into town to shop around. We went to the Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village which had cool art shops and a few places to eat should you find yourself hungry. We also stopped by an outdoor art market that was going on to check out some local artwork. By 2:30pm we headed to our hotel to freshen up and get ready for dinner. Sedona has so many incredible restaurant options. I always opt to sit on the patio as the views from most of the restaurants are spectacular with the red rocks in the background. The restaurants in Sedona book up fairly quickly so it is best to get a reservation well in advanced (sometimes 2-3 months!) if you have a particular place you want to try. We went to the Art of Wine for happy hour and then to The Vault Uptown for dinner. It was very good and the views were beautiful. Our friend recommended we check out Mariposa but we were unable to get a reservation when I tried 1 month in advance. We closed out our evening by checking out the shops in downtown Sedona and watched sunset over the red rocks from our hotel. It was a perfect day!

The next day we got up very early to hike to Devil’s Bridge for sunrise. We were on the trail by 5:15am. This trail gets extremely busy so if you want to see it with less people I’d recommend going for sunrise. We hiked in on an off road vehicle road. The views from the road weren’t special but once we arrived to Devil’s Bridge the views were incredible and well worth the early morning wake up.

After Devil’s Bridge we went straight to the Birthing Cave for a short final hike as we needed to head back to our hotel, pack up and continue our drive to the Grand Canyon. The Birthing Cave is another hike I’d recommend hitting early due to how busy it gets. The walls of the cave are a bit slippery when you climb in but it is a very cool area to check out and I would definitely recommend seeing it while you’re there!

Before leaving town, we grabbed breakfast at The Secret Garden Cafe at Tlaquepaque and sat on the patio. I thought the food was very good, fresh and healthy. I loved their gluten free bread and the relaxing atmosphere of the patio. We had an amazing 27 or so hours in Sedona and we left already wanting to go back to explore more!

Some hikes we did not get to but will next time include Munds Wagon Trail, Cathedral Rock Trail, Soldier Pass Trail, West Fork Trail and Bell Rock Loop Trail. Enjoy!

Until the next tale… Happy trails.

-Hannah