Sedona sits among red sandstone buttes about two hours north of Phoenix, where Oak Creek leaves its canyon, and the reason to come is to get out among the rocks: short, steep hikes to Cathedral Rock and Devil's Bridge, jeep trails, a dawn balloon flight and sunset from Airport Mesa. Most of the land around town is Coconino National Forest, so many trailheads need a Red Rock Pass to park, and the busiest are served by a free shuttle.
The town itself is small and traffic on its two highways is heavy at weekends. In 2026 the Pocket Fire burned north of town: Oak Creek and most trails reopened in September, but the West Fork Trail, the best-known hike in Oak Creek Canyon, stays closed until at least 31 October 2026.
Scramble up Cathedral Rock to the saddle between its spires
Cathedral Rock Trailhead, Back O' Beyond Road
About 1.5 hoursNo booking needed
Almost 800 feet of climbing in about 1.4 miles, most of it on bare sandstone.
What it is
The Cathedral Rock Trail is short and steep: about 1.4 miles round trip by the Sedona tourist office's count, with almost 800 feet of climbing, most of it a scramble up bare sandstone. It ends on a saddle between the spires. For the classic reflection of the rock in Oak Creek, visit Crescent Moon at Red Rock Crossing, a Forest Service day-use site that charges a fee per car.
How to do it
The trailhead is on Back O' Beyond Road off SR 179, but from Thursday to Sunday you cannot park there: ride the free Sedona Shuttle from a park-and-ride lot, which runs to the trailhead from about 7 am to 5:30 pm on those days.
Good to know
Allow about an hour and a half and wear shoes with grip, as coming down is harder.
2 to 3 hours from the shuttle stopNo booking needed
One of Sedona's most popular hikes, ending on a sandstone arch you can step out onto.
What it is
Devil's Bridge is a sandstone arch you can walk out onto, and the hike there is one of Sedona's most popular. The trail is short, 1.6 miles round trip with about 350 feet of climbing from the Devil's Bridge Trailhead, but that trailhead sits up rough Forest Road 152, where a high-clearance vehicle is recommended.
How to do it
Most people start lower: ride the free Sedona Shuttle from a park-and-ride lot to Dry Creek Vista and walk the dirt road or the Chuck Wagon Trail to the trail, or get off at Mescal for a longer walk. Shuttle service to both stops resumed in summer 2026 after the Pocket Fire closures.
Good to know
The final climb to the top of the arch is steep: step out only if you are steady on your feet.
A loop of about 4 miles around two red buttes, with only some 300 feet of climbing.
What it is
Bell Rock rises beside SR 179 between Sedona and the Village of Oak Creek, and the Courthouse Butte Loop circles it and its larger neighbour: about 4 miles with only some 300 feet of climbing. From Courthouse Vista you can also follow the Bell Rock Pathway, a broad path of about 3.6 miles that families and mountain bikers share.
How to do it
Start at Courthouse Vista, just north of Bell Rock, or at Bell Rock Vista; parking at either needs a Red Rock Pass.
Good to know
Informal routes climb the lower ledges of Bell Rock: go only as high as you can comfortably come down.
Ride a jeep over the slickrock of Broken Arrow to Chicken Point
Broken Arrow, south of Uptown
A few hoursBook ahead
Crawl over bare red rock past a whaleback of sandstone to a broad ledge with wide views.
What it is
Broken Arrow is the rough four-wheel-drive route south of Uptown that most visitors can only reach on a guided tour. It crawls over bare red rock past Submarine Rock, a long whaleback of sandstone, to Chicken Point, a broad ledge with wide views across the red rocks.
How to do it
Pink Jeep Tours, based in Uptown at 204 North SR 89A, is the only tour operator the Forest Service allows on the route, so book ahead. You can also walk it: the Broken Arrow Trail starts at the end of Morgan Road, passes the Devil's Dining Room sinkhole and reaches Chicken Point after about 1.7 miles, with a side path to Submarine Rock.
Good to know
Expect a bumpy, tilting ride. Hikers share the area with jeeps and mountain bikers.
Oak Creek runs down a smooth, slippery channel in the red sandstone: a natural water slide.
What it is
Slide Rock State Park, north of Sedona on SR 89A, keeps an early 1900s homestead and apple orchard, but people come for Oak Creek, which runs down a smooth, slippery channel in the red sandstone: a natural water slide.
How to do it
Entry is by car only, with no walk-ins, drop-offs or bicycles, and you may not line up on the highway before opening or when the car park is full, so arrive at the 8 am opening. In 2026 it cost $30 per car of up to four from May to September and $20 the rest of the year.
Good to know
After the Pocket Fire, ash and debris washed into Oak Creek and the swimming area was closed from 17 July to the end of September 2026; the park posts water quality notices, so check them before you swim. Up the canyon, the West Fork area stayed closed longer because of the flash flood risk: check its status with the Coconino National Forest before you go.
Visit the Chapel of the Holy Cross, built into the red rock
Chapel of the Holy Cross, Chapel Road
About 1 hourNo booking needed
A 90-foot iron cross frames the view of the red buttes from inside a chapel finished in 1956.
What it is
The Chapel of the Holy Cross is built into the red buttes south of Uptown, at the top of Chapel Road off SR 179. The rancher and sculptor Marguerite Brunswig Staude commissioned it in honour of her parents, and it was finished in 1956 on national forest land, under a permit that Senator Barry Goldwater helped her obtain. A 90-foot iron cross on its southwestern wall frames the view from inside, where about 150 people can sit.
How to do it
It opens daily from 9 am to 5 pm, with the last car in at 4:30 pm, and closes on some holidays.
Good to know
The car park is at the end of Chapel Road, 0.9 miles from the roundabout on SR 179, so come early.
Wander the courtyards and galleries of Tlaquepaque
Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, SR 179
1 to 2 hoursFree
Stone archways, tiled courtyards and fountains under century-old sycamores, with around 45 shops and galleries.
What it is
In the 1970s, when Sedona had a single traffic light, the Nevada businessman Abe Miller found a grove of century-old sycamores on the bank of Oak Creek and built a village there modelled on San Pedro Tlaquepaque, near Guadalajara, using the building methods of Mexican and Spanish craftsmen. The result, at 336 SR 179 just south of Uptown, is a warren of stone archways, tiled courtyards, fountains and a small chapel, holding around 45 shops and galleries and five restaurants.
How to do it
Shops open from 10 am to 5 pm Monday to Thursday and until 6 pm Friday to Sunday, and the village closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Walking through the courtyards costs nothing.
Good to know
It is the most pleasant place in town to browse regional art, and the shade of the sycamores makes it a good stop on a hot afternoon.
Sedona's classic sunset spot, with Capitol Butte, Chimney Rock and Coffee Pot Rock turning red to the north.
What it is
Airport Mesa, the flat-topped hill between Uptown and West Sedona that carries the town's small airport, is Sedona's classic sunset spot, with Capitol Butte, also called Thunder Mountain, Chimney Rock and Coffee Pot Rock turning red to the north. From the overlook, the 0.7-mile Sedona View Trail drops to the lower car park by the Airport Mesa vortex, one of the spots Sedona's spiritual visitors seek out for its energy.
How to do it
The Airport Scenic Overlook car park, up Airport Road near the top, charges $3, valid all day if you keep the receipt; its own advice is to arrive an hour before sunset, because traffic builds.
Good to know
The 3.2-mile Airport Loop Trail circles the whole mesa; it is unshaded, so walk it early in the morning rather than before sunset. Bring a torch for the walk back down.
Book a timed visit to the cliff dwellings and rock art of Palatki
Palatki Heritage Site, northwest of Sedona
About 1 hour on site, plus the driveTimed entry
One of the largest cliff dwellings of the Red Rock Country, and a grotto of rock images left over thousands of years.
What it is
Palatki, under a red cliff northwest of Sedona, was one of the largest cliff dwellings of the Red Rock Country between about 1125 and 1300, and its Grotto holds rock images left by several cultures over thousands of years.
How to do it
It is a Forest Service heritage site seen on guided walks of about an hour that start every half hour, and you must book a time slot on Recreation.gov and show a Red Rock or interagency pass for the car. From October to May it opens daily from 9:30 am to 3 pm, except Wednesdays until noon; from June to September, Wednesday to Saturday mornings only.
Good to know
The roads in are rough gravel, passable for ordinary cars driven slowly, and the site closes in bad weather, so call ahead if it looks stormy.
Balloons fly over the red rocks once a day, at sunrise, because they cannot fly in wind or in the later heat.
What it is
Sedona's balloons fly once a day, at sunrise, because balloons cannot fly in wind or in the heat later in the day; that also means a flight can be called off at short notice. Two long-running companies fly over the red rocks all year: Northern Light Balloon Expeditions, in the area since 1974, and Red Rock Balloon Adventures.
How to do it
The launch site changes with the wind, and hotel pickup is usually included. The whole outing takes 3 to 4 hours, of which 1 to 1.5 hours are in the air, depending on the winds and the pilot's judgement; Red Rock Balloons lists its flight at $375 per passenger.
Good to know
Baskets carry small groups and flights book up quickly, so reserve well ahead for spring and autumn, plan it early in your stay and keep a spare morning in case the weather grounds you.
Stop at Montezuma Castle on the way in from Phoenix
Montezuma Castle National Monument, Camp Verde
About 1 hourNo booking needed
A five-storey cliff dwelling of at least 20 rooms, set about 90 feet up a limestone cliff above a creek.
What it is
Montezuma Castle is a five-storey Sinagua cliff dwelling of at least 20 rooms, set about 90 feet up a limestone cliff above Beaver Creek and built in the 12th century. The name is a settlers' mistake: the Aztec emperor had nothing to do with it, and the site was empty over 40 years before he was born. Nobody has been allowed inside since 1951, so you see it from a third-of-a-mile loop that starts at the visitor centre and runs through sycamores beside the creek.
How to do it
It opens daily from 9 am to 5 pm, except Thanksgiving, 25 December and 1 January; entry costs $10 per adult, valid seven days and also covering Tuzigoot, and under-16s are free. Take exit 289 off Interstate 17, an easy stop on the drive to Sedona.
Good to know
Montezuma Well, a separate unit to the north, is free.
Look for the Milky Way above the buttes of a Dark Sky Community
Dark-sky viewpoints around Sedona
An eveningNo booking needed
An International Dark Sky Community since 2014, with the stars above the spires of Cathedral Rock.
What it is
Sedona was named an International Dark Sky Community in 2014, and the Village of Oak Creek, just to the south, was designated too by 2016. On a moonless night the Milky Way stands out above the dark shapes of the buttes. For a full observatory, Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, where Pluto was discovered in 1930, has telescopes on its Giovale Open Deck Observatory.
How to do it
The tourism office's own list of viewing spots includes the Baldwin Trailhead, for stars above the spires of Cathedral Rock, the Beaverhead Flat Scenic Overlook, out of town under the Milky Way, and the short paved path from the Centennial Trailhead.
Sedona is about 113 miles from Phoenix Sky Harbor, around two hours by car up Interstate 17 and SR 179, and 26 miles from Flagstaff's airport down Oak Creek Canyon on SR 89A. Without a car, Groome Transportation runs shuttles between Phoenix Sky Harbor and Sedona; book at least a day ahead. Since 1 October 2026 it no longer links Sedona with Flagstaff. The Grand Canyon's South Rim is 114 miles north, 90 minutes to two hours by car, so Sedona is the natural stop between Phoenix and the canyon.
Getting around
You need a car for most of the area, but use the free Sedona Shuttle for the busiest trailheads. It runs from three park-and-ride lots: North SR 179 for Cathedral Rock and Little Horse, Posse Grounds for Soldier Pass, and West SR 89A for Dry Creek Vista and Mescal, the starts for Devil's Bridge. It normally runs Thursday to Sunday from about 7 am, and daily in peak periods such as spring break; while it runs, the Cathedral Rock and Soldier Pass car parks are closed to private cars. Other forest trailheads need a Red Rock Pass ($5 a day, $15 a week) or an America the Beautiful pass.
How many days
In must30's view, two full days make the right first visit: one for Cathedral Rock at dawn, Bell Rock and the Chapel of the Holy Cross, and one for Devil's Bridge, a jeep tour and sunset at Airport Mesa. Add a third day for a balloon flight, Palatki or, in summer, Slide Rock. If Sedona is a stop between Phoenix and the Grand Canyon, one night is the minimum: the light and the empty trails are at dawn.
When to go
Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons and the busiest: during spring break the trailhead shuttle runs every day and car parks fill early. Summer is hot for exposed hikes, so start at first light; it is also the season for swimming in Oak Creek, and July to September brings monsoon storms and, below burned slopes, flash-flood risk. Winter is quieter and sometimes brings snow to the red rocks. Balloon flights run all year when the morning air is calm.
Where to base yourself
Uptown, the old centre on SR 89A where Oak Creek Canyon opens out, puts you within walking distance of restaurants, galleries, jeep tour offices and Tlaquepaque. West Sedona, along SR 89A towards Cottonwood, has more ordinary hotels and is closer to the Dry Creek Road trailheads and the Airport Mesa sunset. The Village of Oak Creek, 7 miles south on SR 179 by Bell Rock, is quieter and has its own dark-sky status. Cottonwood and Camp Verde in the Verde Valley are cheaper but add a drive each way.
Questions travellers ask
Do you need a Red Rock Pass in Sedona?
Only to park at national forest sites that require it, such as Bell Rock Vista, Courthouse Vista and Palatki; it costs $5 a day or $15 a week from the machines on site, and an America the Beautiful pass works instead. You do not need one if you ride the free Sedona Shuttle to Cathedral Rock, Soldier Pass, Dry Creek Vista or Mescal. A few concession sites, such as Crescent Moon at Red Rock Crossing, charge their own fee.
Can you visit Sedona as a day trip from Phoenix?
Yes: it is about two hours each way by car, which leaves time for one hike, the Chapel of the Holy Cross and sunset at Airport Mesa. In must30's view it deserves at least one night, because the best light and the quietest trails come at dawn. If you only have a day, go between Thursday and Sunday, when the free trailhead shuttle runs.
Is the West Fork Trail open?
Not in late October 2026. After the Pocket Fire, the Forest Service closed the West Fork of Oak Creek, its trail and the Call of the Canyon picnic site, and the current order runs to 31 October 2026 unless it is lifted or extended. The burned slopes above raise the risk of rockfall and flood debris after rain. Check the Coconino National Forest alerts page before you go.
When is the best time of day to hike in Sedona?
Early morning. The classic trails are short, exposed and very popular, so starting at first light gives you cooler air, softer colour on the rocks and fewer people. The free trailhead shuttle starts at about 7 am on its operating days, and in summer finishing before the midday heat matters as much as beating the crowds.
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