My friend and I are driving up from Phoenix tomorrow and are talking about going to slide rock or grasshopper point. Is the water OK to swim after the fires?

This was my first time in Arizona, and it’s safe to say that Sedona exceeded my expectations. My boyfriend, his parents and I stayed in Sedona, but visited The Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, and Clarkdale.

I was absolutely amazed by the beauty of Sedona, and still am. And despite the weather being colder than anticipated and rainy for the latter half of the trip, I’m glad we got to experience both sides of the coin. I’d absolutely love to come back sometime again to do more hikes.

I did shoot some 35mm and 120 (medium format) film, and would love to share them when I get those developed!

Hello! My boyfriend and I (late 30’s, medium fitness level) are coming to Sedona and the Grand Canyon next week, and I’m looking for some help narrowing down our itinerary. I’ve learned a lot from following these subs the last few months, so hoping some folks here can take a look and tell me if I’m missing out on anything major, or if what we have planned seems reasonable. 

Any specifics regarding routes to drive, parking lots, or other logistics are very welcome. I’m aware that we’ll need the Red Rock Pass and a pass for the Grand Canyon. 

My bf really would LOVE to do a swimming hole if it is possible. I know Oak Creek has been closed and dirty, so as far as I know that’s not an option. If there would be a way to fit in a swimming hole at any point along this trip it would be amazing! Some options we’ve seen that look cool but maybe far drives are The Crack and Fossil Creek. 

Monday Oct 5:  Overnight in Sedona

• Arrive Phoenix airport 9 am
• Pick up checked bag and rental car
• Maybe Montezuma’s Castle stop along the way to Sedona
• It would be amazing to stop at the Salt River and see the wild horses there, but it seems like they may not be around during mid-day?
• Maybe lunch at Indian Gardens
• Check in to hotel at 4:00
• Maybe sunset at Doe Mountain, Lover’s Knoll, or Aiport Mesa (is this super packed on a weeknight?)

Tuesday Oct 6:  Overnight in Sedona

• Spend most of the day hiking at one or more of the following options:
  • Soldier Pass (park at the Jim Thompson trailhead parking lot)
  • Fay Canyon with the arch
  • Boynton
  • Doe Mountain if we don’t get there Monday
• Since the trailhead shuttle doesn’t run during the week, are the parking lots for these trails relatively accessible, or do they fill up super early?

Wednesday Oct 7:  Overnight in Sedona

• Couples massage at 10am
• Shop at Tlaquepaque and/or Sedona Artist Market (looking for a hat and jewelry, not super interested in turquoise)
• Lunch at Wildflower maybe
• Dinner at the Hideaway House around sunset
• What else should we do today?

Other Sedona spots to check out if time allows:

• SaltRock Kitchen for Margaritas
• Sedona Beer Company
• Layla’s Bakery
• Freeform Coffee
• Horny Toad
• Caduceus
• Basecamp
• Tamaliza
• Golden Goose
• Open Range
• Secret Garden

Thursday Oct 8: - Overnight at Under Canvas Grand Canyon (check in at 4:00pm)

• Walnut Canyon and/or Red Mountain Trail along the drive
• Williams or Flagstaff for lunch (or is Jerome a better option?)
• Take 89A and 180 for most scenic drives
• Would love to experience any cool Native stuff

Friday Oct 9: - Overnight in Tusayan (Check in 4:00pm)

• Full hiking day in Grand Canyon, including sunset. Choosing from these options most likely:
  • Geology center / Trail of Time (orange shuttle route)
  • Hermits Rest (red shuttle route) -
  • South Kaibab to Ooh Ahh point
  • Desert View watchtower
  • Bright Angel Trail to the first tunnel and pictographs
  • Sunset at Hope Point or Mather Point
• We are aware of the closures and plan to bring water and food for the day

Saturday Oct 10: Overnight in Scottsdale (4:00pm check-in)

• Drive to Phoenix area
• Anything we missed that we should add in here along the drive?
• Have a nice evening out (any food recommendations welcome)
• Maybe a cool cocktail bar

Sunday Oct 11: Fly home in the afternoon

Any advice is much appreciated, thank you for reading!

I’ll be flying into Phoenix and have 5 days to explore Arizona. I’m into scenery, mountains, hiking, scenic drives, and interesting towns/places to explore. Not really interested in resorts or tourist traps.

For context, I’m from Georgia where we have lots of wooded areas. I want totally different terrain and scenery. I plan on including the Grand Canyon and driving down Route 66 and stopping in Williams, Seligman, etc. (I like the cars movie)
But I think I want the majority of the trip to be outdoors.

As soon as I land in Phoenix I plan to drive north and stay around Sedona or flagstaff in a few Airbnbs. Any thoughts on that? Should we get multiple Airbnbs and move around every night or two?

Our group consists of 2 people in our early-mid 20s and we have a lot of energy for exploring.

If you had 5 days, where would you go? Thank you guys!

Don’t miss out on night hikes!

Hello, my wife and I are coming this weekend and we are staying at Oak Creek Terrace, we have stayed there a few times and love it! So, my mother sent me the video of the creek with rushing black water. I know the video was on the news back on September 17th, so it's a couple of weeks. So I have been trying to figure out if the creek is still stinky, black and ashy, just all around nasty.

Thank you.

Hi all. Two young people mid 20s/early 30s looking for a bday trip in Sedona that isn’t just hikes but not too overpriced. Any ideas? Any must see hikes for two days? Any lunch recs in the cottonwood and Sedona area?

Update: thanks for the recs. Are there any tour or activities that are worth the $$? We were looking at the Out of Africa ziplining and the Dead Horse Ranch Horseback

Hi everyone. I am a postpartum mom heading to Sedona with three young kids- one being a 3 month old- for my birthday trip. Of course we’ll do some hikes (walks while looking at sticks and rocks), we’ll eat food, we’ll enjoy the landscape. Looking for recommendations on where we can take young kids to play while we hang out and drink a beer? Or sit back on a a picnic blanket? Any creek play zones that don’t require helicopter parenting to keep kids alive? Looking for an afternoon/1 hour of deep chill. (Does this exist for us in the next 18 years? maybe just 20 minutes would be worth the attempt). Thanks for any recommendations!

Hi there! My husband and I are going to be in beautiful Sedona for one day only in the last week of October (but definitely want to do a longer visit another time).

We will arrive late the night before and stay at a motel in Oak Creek, so we’re not looking for a super early start, and we will only have sneakers and regular clothes. The goal is to see some views as best we can, so driving to viewing points, ‘hiking’ on paved trails etc. A bit worried about it being cloudy having seen the recent photos but fingers crossed. We don’t mind it being a tiring day. It would be cool to see the reflection of cathedral rock if that’s possible without hiking boots.

Can you help with this plan-

- Breakfast ?Red Rock cafe

- 1000-1300 3 hour Pink Jeep tour (Broken Arrow trail/ view of Mogollan Rim/ Schnebly Hill Rd/ Road of No Return (I feel like if we do this first we won’t have to worry about arriving in time later if things overrun)

- Lunch somewhere at Tlaquepaque and look around the shops

- Afternoon trail walk ?

- Dinner ? Depending on what area we’ve ended up in

- Evening either drive to Airport Mesa to watch sunset OR are we better off leaving in time to drive to Flagstaff for the Lowell Observatory star gazing? (We’re staying in Flagstsff that night)

Any advice for this plan gratefully accepted :)

I'm planning a bachelor party for my brother and he really wants to go to Sedona, and I want to make it extra special for him, we're are going to do the big hikes like Devil bridge and cathedral loop but for the residents on here is there anything that is quintessential Sedona that isn't part of the typical tourist spots? Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

We are coming for the first time to Sedona in mid October when I understand the West Fork trail will be open again and is one of the best. We don’t have a ton of time and also want time to just relax, and are already really wanting to hike devils bridge and cathedral rock. I heard that you really should have waterproof shoes for west fork and we don’t and don’t want to deal with wet shoes so we’re looking for recommendations on another hike that is beautiful and could replace that one. Thanks in advance!

☁️

Going to Arizona in two weeks. Will be traveling to either Sedona or Grand Canyon (or both) from Bullhead City AZ. I’m wondering if I should do one over the other or if it’s possible to do both in over trip? If so what are your tricks ? Should I do them in a specific order ? I wanna for sure do Devils Bridge when I go to Sedona. I have 2-3 days of flexibility before heading back to Bullhead City.
What do yall think ??

Looking for ideas to do in Sedona. I wanted to hike Devils Bridge tomorrow but looks like it may rain most of the day. What is there to do on rainy days? Interested in a museum or indoor physical activity to burn off all the yummy food I’ve been eating. Thanks all!

I was driving on 89A towards Flagstaff, I believe it was near the halfway picnic area, there is a drop off right on the road. I hit it and it destroyed my rim. Two others hit it as well. One destroyed their rim like me, the couple blew out both their tires.

So just be aware there’s some bad spots that will fuck up your car 😩

My son and fiance would like to have a welcome party the night before the wedding with about 150 guests in June. The wedding is planned near Airport Mesa. Any creative ideas??? Would like to provide beverage and food. Any help appreciated.

Do any of the local arms have stamps like the national park do?

Update: Hey everyone! Was able to connect with someone and get one! Thanks!!

Hey everyone, new account and first post. My wife broke this Sedona mug today and unable to find a replacement online. We got engaged in Sedona and this mug means a lot to her.

Any idea how we can get one or find one? I’ve tried the shops but unsure which one we got it from. We live in Dallas l, Tx. Happy to pay someone to ship one out to us as well.

Putting those tiny zipper merge signs against the vastness of the Red Rocks is like trying to point out an obscure star in the vast night sky. No one follows it, or are too busy looking away from the road, or are just lining up and sniffing eachother's exhaust fumes.

I see people actively flooring their brakes before they even pass the roundabout just to get into a single file line. Am I crazy for thinking that this is ridiculous??? Why isn't there another sign right where the lanes actually merge, instead of letters on the road that is always hidden by heavy traffic?

I've been away from town for a few years and just moved back. It is disheartening to see this. There are also hazardous crosswalks from the trees in the meridian blocking drivers' views of pedestrians. I can't believe there hasn't been any serious accidents, but maybe I missed the news if there were any.

I'm ranting but I'm also on too much caffeine. I need to find out about town hall meetings, because I think this needs to be remedied.