Sedona, Arizona
Sedona, Arizona September 9-15, 2023
Sedona, Arizona is a very special and sacred place. It’s one of our favorite places to visit for hiking and a grounding, restorative experience. This is our fifth vacation in Sedona. We visited the first four times annually, and opted for the Ram Dass Mountain Retreat in 2022 instead. I blogged about the Ram Dass retreat here, if you’re interested.
Since we’ve been to Sedona many times, we have our favorite hiking trails, restaurants, and shops. We have stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Oak Creek and at two Airbnb’s near Tlaquepaque. Every trip has been amazing, with zero complaints. Fortunately, we know the area well, so we don’t spend much time planning an itinerary. We just go with the flow, and make the most of every minute.
We arrived at the airport in Phoenix where we picked up a rental car. It was a baking 116 degrees in Phoenix. I couldn’t wait to climb elevation in anticipation of slightly cooler temps. Sedona is only a two hour drive north, but it’s a completely different vibe than Phoenix. We excitedly arrived in Sedona to strangely low crowds. We quickly checked-in at the Airbnb, dropped off our bags, and headed to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Javelina Cantina. A week of feasting began with THE BEST chicken fajitas! Initially, the restaurant was quiet so the bartender performed karaoke with the music playing on the sound system. He was quite entertaining!
We enjoyed a brief, welcomed rain storm while eating dinner. This opened the sky for a gorgeous sunset. We found a great place to take some sunset pictures of Bell Rock and Cathedral Rock.
Hiking Trails
Mystic Hiking Trail
We love exploring the trails near the Chapel of the Holy Cross: Mystic, Hog Heaven, Twin Buttes, Broken Arrow, and Chicken Coop. The sunrise was beautiful and the temps were cool. We started hiking at 7am and left the trail about 12:30pm. We just kept exploring trails at each intersection and taking pictures. We had fun exploring submarine rock. It’s so cool how many rock formations are named for what they look like. We were ambitious and hiked 7 miles.
Soldier Pass Hiking Trail
From past trips, we have learned to get up early when we want to go hiking. Sedona has a new shuttle system for the busier hiking trails on Thursdays through Sundays. We didn’t use the shuttle service this trip as we prefer to avoid crowds, so we chose to hike the more popular destinations during the weekdays. For Soldier Pass, we got up about 6:30 am to get ourselves ready so we could arrive just before 8:00 am when the gate opened. This gave us a greater chance at getting one of the limited parking spots.
We spent a lot of time in amazement at Devil’s Kitchen and even more time at the 7 Sacred Pools taking pictures. We explored and climbed all over the place. It was fun, and quite grounding.
As we continued on to the Brins Mesa trail, we hiked up to one of the many caves in Sedona. This is climb is vertical and physically intense. This year, I actually climbed into the cave with my husband. I’m not afraid of heights, I’m afraid of falling. My fears felt lesser this year, even though my anxiety reared its ugly head a couple of times, I managed to climb into the cave and enjoy the beautiful views. I’m so glad I did it.
We navigated our way back down the mountain side and continued on to Brins Mesa where the views are magnificent and it’s super quiet. You can hear the wind blowing in the trees. For a person who loves silence, this is an amazing experience. There’s nothing quite like being a few miles from civilization while also feeling isolated and immersed in the most peaceful place. There’s a rock just off the mail trail we enjoy climbing on top of with spectacular views. It’s a great place to rest our feet, refuel with some snacks, and admire the scenery.
We trekked down the rocky hillside that can be tough to navigate. It has segments that are rocky and then sandy, and rocky again. At this point in the hike, it sure feels like a long way back to the car.
Bell Rock
Bell Rock is one of my favorite rock formations in Sedona. It’s also an energizing vortex, for me anyway. This was our last morning for hiking, so we rose with the sun at 6:00 am to prepare for our hike. We arrived about 7:00 am and the parking lot was fairly busy already, but we got a good spot. My husband is adventurous and he loves climbing around all the layers of Bell Rock. I love Bell, but I don’t like climbing it. I prefer hiking trails, not climbing around ledges and slopes. It’s very anxiety provoking for me.
This year, I climbed higher than I have in past trips. We made it to a nice wide ledge where we just sat for awhile taking in the scenery, soaking up the vortex, and meditating. My husband brought his Bodhi mala beads and played our new full moon singing bowl we purchased at Little Tibet in Uptown Sedona. It was very peaceful and serene.
We finally climbed back down Bell Rock and walked the trail over to Baby Bell. I like climbing on top of Baby Bell. Obviously, it’s a smaller rock formation that has similar shapes as Bell Rock. We sat on top of Baby Bell for awhile, enjoying the amazing views. We eventually found our way back down and ventured around the trails before heading back to the parking lot.
Brewer Trail / Airport Loop
On our last night in Sedona, we decided to hike up Brewer trail because it was within walking distance from our Airbnb and it leads to a visit with magnificent sunset views. Brewer Trail leads to Airport Loop that goes all the way around the Sedona airport. We hiked that trail on our last trip and didn’t want to go that far this year. We thought we would just walk up the trail to the main vista we like and return to the Airbnb. It was getting dusk and we knew the trail could be sketchy in the dark.
On the way up, we saw quail and two deer. We made it to the top part of the trail that is very close to airport hill, where the trail flattens out and you mostly walk on rounded red rocks where water clearly runs off the mountain. We enjoyed the views and decided it was time to turn around and head back.
In preparation for this adventure, my husband had his headlamp which was super helpful and I was using my iPhone flashlight, that wasn’t very helpful. We hadn’t gone very far on our return trip when we heard something rustle in the brush to our right and the rattle of a rattlesnake. We kind of froze for a second in shock. We quickly recognized what it was so we backed up giving it space, and to see how it was going to respond. We quickly saw one rattlesnake scamper off into a bush while a larger one stayed visible in an aggressive, ready, striking position. We quickly decided to give it plenty of space by removing ourselves from the trail ASAP. Fortunately, we were very close to Airport Road and people that were still on Airport Mountain from admiring the sunset views. Our other option was to pass the rattlesnake and head back down the trail. It was certainly the quicker option, but we didn’t know how many snakes were out there, or what other dangers we would encounter. We quickly decided to take the long route and head back to the Airbnb via main roads.
Getting to the main road was still very sketchy as it got dark. And, dark in the desert is DARK! It was scary trying to find a trail to get to the road and not run into anymore snakes. My stress level was so high! My palms were sweating and I was running on fear fueled adrenaline. Gratefully, we navigated the road pretty well and it was mostly downhill. I was never so happy to be safely back inside the Airbnb.
While walking on the road, we processed our terrifying experience. The rattlesnake we saw was about 3 feet long and 8 feet off the trail. Once we were safely back inside the Airbnb, we Googled Arizona rattlesnakes and determined we saw a black tailed rattlesnake. We learned that they are nocturnal during the summer, which makes sense why he/she was coming out at that time of day. Our Airbnb host said she hikes that trail all the time and has never encountered a rattlesnake, nor have any of her guests. She has even hiked the trail in the dark. That made us feel better, but I’m not sure if our feet will be gracing that trail the next time we visit. 😅
Uptown Sedona
Uptown Sedona, is a very popular destination for tourists. There is shopping and eating while embraced by the beautiful red rocks. We enjoy spending time in Canyon Breeze, an indoor/outdoor eating area and bar. They serve delicious ice cream. We love taking in the views of the red rocks while eating ice cream and snow cones.
At the Sedona Pizza Company in Uptown. We ate delicious homemade meatballs for appetizer and a Margherita pizza. We also celebrated our first hike with white sangrias. Next, we began some preliminary shopping. Our favorite store is Little Tibet. It’s a family owned and operated business specializing in Buddhist and Hindu clothing, statues, singing bowls, jewelry, quilts, incense, and so much more. We have purchased from this store in visits past, and became familiar with the owner, Choe. He and his family are wonderful people. My husband and I have learned so much about Buddhism from Choe. He’s extremely generous and a patient teacher. We spent a great deal of time with Choe this visit. Pretty much every day that we went to Uptown for food, shopping, or ice cream.
Another favorite restaurant for us is the Cowboy Club. The atmosphere inside the restaurant feels like how Sedona must have been back in its early days. It’s decorated in a western style. We always have an excellent dining experience. Outside seating is available, but we prefer to dine inside for the culture and air conditioning.
Amitabha Stupa and Peace Park
The Amitabha Stupa is a beautiful place for meditation and grounding. We learned of the Stupa a few visits ago from our friend, Choe. There is space for meditation, prayer wheels, prayer flags are in abundance throughout the grounds, a large stupa, a Buddha statue, a medicine wheel, and a newer, smaller stupa. Sedona is the perfect location for this peace park, where everyone is welcome.
Jerome, Arizona
Jerome is a very small town with a population of about 400. It’s an old copper mining town built on the side of a mountain. It is filled with history and people who are more than happy to share tales with visitors. The drive from Sedona is only about 40 minutes and it’s a fun car ride up the winding mountain side. I love Halloween, so eating at the Haunted Hamburger was a must! We parked at the bottom of Jerome and climbed a bunch of stairs to get to the Haunted Hamburger for lunch. It is such a cool place! They have a gift shop and waiting area when you walk in the door. Outside and inside seating is available with great views of Sedona. The Ghostly Burger was delicious! I loved the haunted house decorations. The bookshelf in the ceiling was my favorite.
Jerome is a cool little town. We climbed back down the streets and browsed the shops. The Liberty Theatre was fascinating. The son’s owner was there and told us to go upstairs to the see recently renovated theater where they used to have silent movies. He said there had been a film festival there over the past weekend. They had cool Halloween decorations too. We appreciated learning the history of the building and culture of Jerome when it was an active mining area.
We ended up having to make a second trip to Jerome to exchange a purchase we had made earlier in the week. No complaints from us as this gave us an opportunity to eat lunch at Bobby D’s barbecue. We ate here during a previous trip to Sedona and really liked the food. Once again, we enjoyed delicious pulled pork barbecue sandwiches with hearty pieces of jalapeños cornbread. The atmosphere is super casual. It’s in a very old building which just adds to the historical charm.
Tlaquepaque & El Rincon
Tlaquepaque is a shopping destination in the heart of Sedona. It was developed to look like Old Mexico. Tlaquepaque has shops, galleries, and restaurants. We love dining at El Rincon. They have the best cheese tamales I’ve ever been able to find! After eating, we enjoy watching Flamenco music performed by Gaetano in the courtyard. This is an event we look forward to attending every time we visit. Gaetano sings and plays guitar with the assistance of his son, son-in-law, wife, and other local musicians. It’s been a pleasure to watch their performances grow each year. The number of performers grows every year as well as the crowds. It’s a great opportunity to watch people enjoying drinks and listening to music as well as those dancing. This year we found a great spot on the second floor overlooking the festivities.
Dark Sky
Sedona is a dark sky community. It’s fabulous for star gazing, even when you’re in town. The host at the Airbnb we stayed at provided comfortable bean bag chairs that offered the ultimate opportunity to star gaze. We were out on the deck every night that Mother Nature saw fit with clear skies. One particular night we saw tons of satellites and a couple of meteors.
Hideaway House
If you’re looking for unbelievable Italian food, then Hideaway House is the answer! We enjoyed dinner here on our last night in Sedona. I devoured lasagna while my husband enjoyed chicken parmigiana. I finally indulged in a prickly pear margarita. A drink that is a must while visiting Sedona! Hideaway House has the most perfect outside dining area on their deck overlooking the mountains and Snoopy Rock. I love sunflowers, and this restaurant is decorated with sunflowers everywhere.
I am grateful for our opportunity to visit Sedona, Arizona once again. We had a wonderful time, and I left there a calmer, more grounded human being. ~Namaste
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