Sedona

Just outside Flagstaff, nestled at the base of Oak Creek Canyon, lies the town of Sedona. Surrounded by red-rock buttes, steep canyon walls, and beautiful pine forests, this town was a perfect day trip for our family while staying in Flagstaff. There were plenty of outdoor activities to keep us busy, a thriving art scene, and of course some delicious food (it wouldn’t be our family if we didn’t focus on food!). 

Culture 

For decades, Sedona has been a Mecca for artists throughout Arizona. There are over 80 galleries woven into the small town featuring just about every medium you can think of. Diversity is the name of the game here from Native American kachinas, weavings, and jewelry to cutting-edge contemporary and modern realism; Sedona is home to ruggedly individualistic expression and rivals Santa Fae in its richness of arts.  

The Tlaquepaque Arts and Shopping district is particularly interesting – a landmark established in the 1970’s modeled after Guadalajara. It is quaint with intimate courtyards and terraces, an old-world style Chapel open to the public, and plenty of good food and interesting galleries. For those without little humans, I recommend the Gallery Art Walks – self guided tours that highlight many of Sedona’s top galleries (just a little too structured for our 2 and 4 yr olds). Our family enjoyed a quiet morning brunch at The Pumphouse along the banks of Oak Creek and exploring the 19 different galleries and 45 distinct specialty shops (zoodle maker anyone??). The afternoon was filled with ice cream and tea under the giant sycamores, enjoying the vibrant colors of the many gardens found throughout the courtyards.  For a family who lives mostly isolated in the woods, this was a very welcomed day of culture.  

Uptown Sedona (synonymous with “Main Street”) has its own history, shops, and galleries, however, is clearly made for tourists; it’s a nice walk, but mostly I would plan to skip this section unless you are planning a visit to the Sedona Arts Center or the Sedona Heritage Museum. If you are looking to do more tourist type shopping, there are some nice pedestrian walkways and a trolley tour you can explore. Our family spent a warm (albeit windy!) morning walking the main street and enjoyed just how many vibrant shops and alleyways there are (enough to get your toddlers in trouble, that is for sure!). The best part of our morning was eating at Creeskide Bistro - an upscale American eatery overlooking Oak Creek and a patio with views of the red rock formations Sedona is famous for. I am still dreaming about the Crab Cake and Poached Egg with Black Truffle and Hollandaise and the kids were treated like kings with the full pancake/egg/bacon/sausage/fruit plates they offered off the kiddy menu. Don’t worry, your dog will be treated like royalty too – they have a “pet menu” (including steak tartar for dogs!) with the chef's personal number on there asking patrons to let him know if their pets are not offered VIP service and cool filtered water. 

Bridge into Sedona

Hiking 

Our family spent the most time in Sedona enjoying the great outdoors and hiking as much as we could. While we were early in the season, Slide Rock State Park was a favorite for the kiddos. This state park was originally the Pendley Homestead – the 43-acre historic apple farm is still maintained to this day. As the name implies, the water coming thru the canyon and over Sedona’s famous red rocks form a pretty cool water slide – 80 ft long and 2.5-4 ft wide, with a seven percent decline from top to bottom. Combine that with the slippery algae, and you get what Travel Channel listed as one of the “10 Top Swimming Holes in the United States.” Since we were early in the season, the water was a bit too high, and a little too cold to experience the full slide experience, but the kids still enjoyed getting in the water and loved seeing the apple orchard begin to bloom. 

Of course, it wouldn’t be a complete experience for us without trying to summit the highest peak – Wilson Mountain. While only 7,122 ft tall, we were rewarded with killer views of Sedona, Oak Creek, and even the San Francisco Peaks. Oak Creek Canyon itself is world famous for its spectacular scenery (take the scenic drive down Arizona State Route 89A at the very least!), and seeing it nestled among the red rock formations that sculpt Sedona made for an absolutely stunning hike – well worth the 11.5 miles and 2,805 ft of elevation gain. 

The Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness had us up close and personal with some of the water and wind sculpted pinnacles, windows, arches, and gorges that make this area magnificent. The Soldier's Pass loop was a great afternoon hike offering views of the Seven Sacred Pools, Devil’s Kitchen sinkhole, Soldier Arch and Hole in the Sky (aka Soldier Pass Cave).  The Seven Sacred Pools were mostly dry when we were hiking, but certainly demonstrate how important these pools can be for surrounding wildlife in the dessert heat. These pools were also considered sacred by the Apaches and Yavapai as they provided drinking water and was a means to attract wildlife. The Devil’s Kitchen sinkhole was an interesting stop on this hike as was easy to access and is an active sinkhole (it’s collapsed many times) - you can clearly see defined layers from the different collapse events over the years. Hands down my favorite part of this hike was the offshoot trail to Soldier Arch and Hole in the Sky cave. Not many hikers make it up to this cave, which means you can likely experience the magic of this cave alone. In addition to providing some much needed shade, the light moving thru the cave is beautiful – the perfect lunch spot. 

The Soldier’s Pass trail system connects with Devil’s Bridge, though we separated these hikes to allow more time exploring the canyon valley.  Devil’s Bridge is the largest natural sandstone arch in the Sedona area and is surrounded by juniper and prickly pear cactus. The natural rock staircase to the top is steep but offers fantastic views. Don’t let the name of this bridge trick you – the bridge and surrounding valley is heavenly first thing in the morning. While you can technically walk on the bridge, this scaredy cat choose to just enjoy the view after I watch someone skipping and jumping on the bridge only to nearly fall to their death (the youth these days!!). 

Fay Canyon was another lovely (rainy) adult solo day hike, though truthfully I think the kids could have hiked most of this.  With the beauty of red sandstone walls towering overhead, the real gem on this trail is hiking past Fay Canyon Arch and climbing the red Supai sandstone cliff where the trail dead-ends. The cliff is steep, but I was rewarded with breathtaking views of the entire canyon valley and views of the larger Sedona area. There was no trail up the cliff, and admittedly it felt as though I was following game trails thru brush and along slick cliff walls. Climbing the cliff allows you to leave other hikers behind and gives you space to marvel at the magnificence of both the Arch and the canyon in solitude. 

Every time I keep thinking we found the “best” place to call home on this adventure, we find another town/park/wilderness area that exceeds my expectations. I am so thankful we are able to dedicate the next few years to exploring the US and getting to know the towns and people that truly make this country great.