Shane and I both rank Arizona high on our list of favorite states. We were excited to visit Tucson and it felt like there was one big city missing from our Arizona repertoire: Sedona.
Sedona’s New Age influence is hard to ignore. One coffee shop barista described Sedona as a pilgrimage site, a descriptive I support. Even the city’s tourism site says, “People travel from all across the globe to experience the mysterious cosmic forces that are said to emanate from the red rocks.” It describes the vortexes as “swirling centers of energy that are conducive to healing, meditation and self-exploration. These are places where the earth seems especially alive with energy. Many people feel inspired, recharged or uplifted after visiting a vortex.“
You can visit the city without any interest in the swirling centers of energy; the vortexes make for beautiful hikes regardless of how you fall on the spiritual scale. But I will say, Sedona offers so many opportunities to lean into it.
Just take a walk along the main street in town (89A) and you’ll see spiritual offerings the way you would see bathing suit shops in Key West.
ACCOMODATIONS
Before embarking on our road trip, I had watched several YouTube videos about van life (which is how this travel trailer life had originated). One channel I came across was about a day in Sedona and they camped at Rancho Sedona RV Park. I had saved the name of the park that very day, several months ago.
Rancho Sedona is one of the premier RV parks we stayed at – not quite as remote as state parks, but more lush than a mobile home park (of which we’ve visited and did not enjoy). Perhaps our favorite part is the location – a mere 10 minute walk to the beginning of the main drag. We were able to walk into town to head to the brewery, get a cup of coffee, enjoy an ice cream cone, shop, and so on. We hardly moved our car our entire stay.
The park was also great with a dog. They have a dog park which Kahlua loved to run around in and meet new furry friends. Oak Creek also runs along the park’s boundary and you’re allowed to walk in the water. We took daily walks to the creek and it was such a peaceful part of our days.
The park has several rules which can be off-putting at first but it’s actually quite nice because as rule-followers we didn’t find them hard to abide by and it formed a standard and expectation throughout the stay.
HIKES AND ADVENTURES
What makes Sedona such a fascinating place is that the city is surrounded by these magnificent rock formations and reaching them is a breeze. In just 15 minutes, you can access some stunning hikes (and vortexes).
We woke up early one morning to catch the sunrise over Devil’s Bridge. I highly recommend this hike, but above all, recommend that you arrive early. On our descent, we were faced with swarms of people just beginning and it was much more pleasant when we felt we had the path to ourselves. At the top of the hike is a rock bridge which people walk out on. It’s a beautiful photo-op even if the heights get to you. You can stay safely on solid ground and just appreciate the bridge from afar.
We also enjoyed Airport Mesa which is exactly at it sounds, a hike from the airport. This may sound strange but Sedona’s airport is home to a vortex. You drive up to the airport and pay $3 for 12 hours of access. Most people take advantage and come back for a sunset hike later in the day. Aside from the plane’s occasionally flying overhead, you forget you’re at the airport. This hike also had one of our favorite things: a photograph of all the rock formations you could spot in the distance. It was cool to see all the big named formations in a panorama in front of you. Bring water because even on a brisk day, we regretted this deeply.
Other hikes that you must visit include:
- Cathedral Rock
- Bell Rock
The Pink Jeep Tours are hard to miss in town. They are EVERYWHERE. We didn’t do this ourselves because we admittedly thought it would be cheesy; but so many people told us about how cool they were that we would probably make a different choice next visit. If you have children, be sure to add this to the itinerary. We also found this was an affordable activity and a great, immersive way to enjoy the rocks. Wait to buy tickets until you’re in town because we saw pricing that was far cheaper than what it says online.
SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES
If you are interested in a spiritual experience, Sedona is the place to try something out. I had always been interested in Reiki so that’s what I particularly sought out. I chose the Sedona Chakra Shoppe. Shane was interested too so we were able to do a couple experience for $125 which includes chakra balancing, reiki, crystals, tarot card readings, reflexology, and a custom blend of essential oils. We thought we got so much for our buck as opposed to some of the other pricing we had seen around town.
If you’re interested in some of these services or a massage, I recommend Gateway Cottage Wellness.
NOTE: Sedona lends itself to self-care and I told Shane that if we visited again, it would be wonderful to stay at a nice resort in town and take advantage of their spas and wellness activities. If this is your style, I couldn’t recommend L’Auberge de Sedona more. We’ve visited one of these properties in Napa and it was perfection. Even if you can’t stay at the resort, they have a beautiful restaurant situated along Oak Creek. It was closed to the public due to COVID but check to see the latest status if you’d like to enjoy a sure-to-be amazing meal.
FOOD AND DRINK
We cooked dinner ourselves most nights, which is the beauty of traveling with your home, but we did enjoy:
- The deviled eggs and beer flights from Sedona Beer Company
- Green juices and healthy toasts from the Local Juicery
- Ice cream cones from Cream and Cake at Tlaquepaque Village (pronounced ta-la—ke-paa-key)
- Coffee from Creekside Coffee
We wish we had time to try: Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill (the patio has panoramic views) and Elote Cafe.
CONCLUSION
Overall, we adored Sedona! We found it to be the perfect blend of city life and nature. We had never seen a landscape quite like the red rocks of Sedona and know we’ll be back again. In fact, after we enjoyed a week in Palm Springs, we drove right back the same way to enjoy another week in Sedona. It’s a great place if you’re interested in some outdoor adventure (and a good home base for visiting the Grand Canyon), and it also is well-suited for a restful resort getaway.
Interested in more Arizona adventures? Check out my blog post on Tucson here.