Sedona

Sedona is a magical place full of amazing scenery (specifically red rocks) It’s about 2 hours outside of Phoenix and definitely worth a visit! There is everything from hiking, off road jeeping, hot air balloon rides, spiritual healers and psychics. If you are interested in the energy aspect Sedona is know to have many vortexes. There are also a lot of high end spas and restaurants in the area. We came across many couples using it as a romantic base, but also found it to be kid friendly.

Devil’s Bridge Hike

Devil’s Bridge Hike was my favorite in Sedona! There are a few trailheads, we choose the Mescal Trailhead because we had heard the hike was more scenic and we were not dissapointed! The other option is Dry Fork trailhead. We hit the parking area just after 7am and there was plenty of spots available. The hike is 4.2 miles round trip and fairly easy until the end where it gets a bit steep.

Once you get to the end and climb the last steep section, you will come to Devil’s Bridge. One group can go out a time and feel free to ask other hikers to take your photo! It’s actually wider then it looks if you are afraid of hikes. When we went only one group was ahead of us, but I have heard the wait to go out can be an hour or more. Definitely reccomend going early as we passed soooo many people on the way back to parking.

After hiking we went to Mesa Grill for a good breakfast. This was a great restaurant with amazing views and lots of spots looking over Sedona. You can see the tour planes and helicopters as it’s at the airport.

Uptown Sedona

In the afternoon we walked to the shops in Uptown Sedona. They have some instruments on the street that the kids thought was really fun.

Winery 1912 is a small tasting room in uptown with amazing views! Due to COVID limits not kid friendly but we loved it! (Perks of having a Nana babysitter)

We tried a few different gelato/dessert places in Uptown and they were all great

Beautiful Sunsets at the end of the day!

Seven Sacred Pools

The next day we decided to hike to 7 sacred pools. Although the pools themselves were underwhelming due to lack of rain, the hike itself was beautiful! We started from Jordons Pass trailhead, which makes for a longer hike but has more parking then Soldiers Pass. From this trailhead it’s less then 4 miles roundtrip.

We had a great dinner at Mariposa. Great food and probably the best views in town. I would not take kids there, as it it fancy and expensive. Great date night!

Cathedral Rock

Cathedral Rock was another great hike with amazing views. I would suggest going early as the parking does fill. It’s a little difficult to climb with some rock scrambling and lots of elevation gain. It’s 1.2 miles roundtrip, so short but tough.

Oak Creek Winery

About a 20 minute drive from Sedona is Cornville, which has a few wineries. We visited Oak Creek Winery. This would be even greater in warmer weather as kids can play in the creek. Lots of outdoor seating and good fine and wine.

Bell Rock Pathway

We had some good friends staying with us who had an infant and a toddler so we ready about this “stroller” friendly hike. I would say unless you have a hardcore jogging stroller there are too many rocks for it to be stroller friendly. That being said, with a lot of hard work and carrying the stroller across the rocks we did it! It was about a 3 mile hike round trip. The main parking lot was full when we arrived, but we were able to find parking at a scenic pull off on the other side of the road a short walk away.

Views of courthouse butte and bell Rock 1/2 way through

For lunch we hit Oak Creek Brewing (good beer and food) and for dinner we hit Sedona Pizza and Pasta which has amazing pizza (gluten free crust option) and great margaritas!

Cathedral of the Holy Cross

A really cool stop in Sedona is Cathedral of the Holy Cross. It’s a church built right onto the red rocks and not only is it beautiful, there are also great views from the parking area and church.

On the way back from Sedona to Phoenix, we stopped at Montezuma Castle. This is a cool part of history and you can see where people used to live in the cliffside houses starting in 1700. It’s a quick stop but right off the main highway going home.