Travel Guide to Sedona, AZ

Sedona (Arizona, USA) is a gorgeous part of the United States, nestled between Pheonix and The Grand Canyon.  It is a popular tourist area due to its elevation and the scores of red rock formations that surround it, creating a scenic view wherever you are!

While there are tons of wonderful things about Sedona, I am going to share with you five categories: Spiritual, Hiking and Nature, Eating, Where to Stay and Art.  These are the areas that my family found the most fascinating around Sedona.  My family consists of two 60+-year-olds and two 30+-year-olds!  What is mentioned here may be suitable for younger children, but please evaluate each recommendation to determine what is best for your child.

Spiritual

The red rocks around Sedona are inspirational to many.  Hollywood producers have filmed westerns here, Native Americans have spiritual connections to the area and many pilgrims come to the area to find renewal in their spiritual well-being.  The reason?  In the 1980s a woman by the name of  Page Bryant identified locations in Sedona that she called a vortex. A vortex is a special spot on the where energy enters or leaves the earth's plane. (visitsedona.com)  There are vortexes all around the world in places like the Great Pyramid and Stonehenge.

My daughter and I wanted to experience this spiritual part of Sedona, so we made appointments to have our chakra cleansed and healed.  Afterward, we went to two vortexes to see what we felt. We both experienced a sense of calm, of all-is-right-in-the-world sensation and a sense of peace that stayed with us for many weeks after our trip. We both agree we would return to Sedona to experience that again.

Hiking and Nature

There is much to do in Sedona centered around hiking, so much that my daughter wrote a post for Wednesday that explores hiking in much more detail than here.  There are many trails to select from and some are easy enough for non-athletes to participate in.  My personal favorite was Seven Sacred Pools. The trail has some rough spots and I had to have some help over a few places, but for the most part, I was able to take the trail all the way there and back with not too much trouble. Wear good shoes for walking, but I didn't have special gear at all.

One of my favorite nature spots is Slide Rock State Park. This stunning park has trails, large rocks to sit on by Oak Creek.  There is a bit of history attached to the park, it is actually a homestead and there are many features that came from those early days that are still in use today.  It's a fun place to cool off during the hot summer.

You will want to look for the red rock formations around Sedona, too.  Cathedral Rock, Teapot Rock, and Bell Rock are easy to locate.

Eating

Sedona has a wonderful food scene and while we tend to make most of our meals in the condo, we knew we would be trying some of Sedona's great offerings.  We always pick a "splurge meal" and for this trip we chose to go to Mariposa and it was incredible. In and outside the restaurant are beautiful features that make this restaurant a work of art and the food did not disappoint.

We also loved Hideaway House, Cowboy Club, The Coffee Pot Diner, Hudson, and Pisa Lisa! All great locally owned places with outstanding food.

Where to Stay

We decided to stay at the Arroyo Roble hotel in Sedona. We loved the location, right by the main shopping area on the main drag.  We walked to restaurants, our Pink Jeep trips, coffee and to shops.  There is a huge hill to climb to get to the main road, but after a few trips, I didn't complain much anymore!  The rooms were nice if a bit dated, but the staff was extremely helpful.  We used the gas fireplace in our unit because the mornings were pretty chilly.  And, let's be real, it is a fireplace!  It's got to be on some of the time!

Please come back for future Sedona posts.  We are doing a much more detailed post on the spiritual aspect of Sedona, Guide to the Red Rocks in Sedona, Top 5 Things to Do in Sedona and Eating Well in Sedona.  Don't miss our first post Hiking in Sedona.