Our experience in Sedona, AZ
First off, we love Sedona, AZ! It’s hard not to love with how beautiful it is there. We’ve now done multiple trips to Sedona. In one trip we paired the visit with going to Flagstaff and twice we’ve paired the visit with traveling to Phoenix. There are lots of combinations of trip ideas that you could add on with visiting Sedona.
In our last trip we visited Sedona during the spring. We arrived around noon on a Wednesday and went straight to the Bell Rock parking lot! We thought it was best to get straight to it after a long drive!
It wasn’t too crowded when we arrived, but it did seem to get more congested as the day went on. I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of the crowd, because our timing coincided with many schools’ spring break. We ate lunch out of the trunk of our car and then set out for a hike. Bell Rock is a fantastic start point for a hike with kids. There are lots of variations that you can do depending on your time limit and how you feel. We chose to do the Courthouse Butte loop as you are hiking out towards Bell Rock.
As we walked around the Courthouse Butte we saw some fun points of interest. We walked by some horses and saw both the Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock from the backside angles. We hiked about 4 miles in total and the kids did great. The terrain was easy with wide trails and only some moderate climbing. It took about 2-3 hours, but we also took our time.
After our hike we checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in the Village of Oak Creek, which is really accessible to some great hikes in south Sedona. You can easily access Bell Rock, Courthouse Butte, Cathedral Rock, and Yavapai Vista.
After checking in, we grabbed a quick dinner at Famous Pizza in Oak Creek Village, and it was fantastic. It was casual and it hit the spot after an afternoon of hiking! They had a great beer selection and a great view if you sit outside.
The next day we got a later than planned start. We tried hiking the Baldwin Trail on Verde Valley Road, but the parking lot was full, and other cars were already waiting in line for a spot. So, we decided to head to West Sedona and try some other trails. We attempted to drive and park at the Dry Creek Trailhead to access Devil’s Bridge, but it was also full, and cars were waiting in line for parking. It was one in, one out. We then drove to the close by Thunder Mountain Trailhead and hiked for an hour, just to get something under our belt before lunch.
We had done Chimney Rock in another trip and had success at that parking lot (where you can access the Chimney Rock Pass Loop and Thunder Mountain trail), so we gave it a try again! Thankfully it was a success!
After the short hike we grabbed a beer and lunch at Sedona Beer Co. Basecamp, right down the road. It was perfect and just what we needed after our rough start. We regrouped and decided to try the shuttle system for our next hike.
For the afternoon, we chose to attempt hiking to the 7 Sacred Pools on Soldier’s Pass. The shuttle system was a half success. We found parking in the main shuttle area, however the wait time for the shuttle looked to be about 50 minutes. There was a ranger at the bus stop, so she guided us to hike out to the trailhead from the parking lot, which was only about 1 mile, verses waiting for the bus. She advised that we try to catch the bus on the way back. We learned the shuttle bus schedule and decided to take her advice. The hike to Soldier’s Pass trailhead was nice. The picture on the right was one of the views on the way there. Not too shabby!
We made it to the trailhead in about 40 minutes. Once on the trial we first encountered Devil’s Kitchen, which is a sinkhole. As a heads up if you have small kids, I’d recommend holding hands as approaching this attraction on the trail. This sinkhole has a pretty big drop off. Given the drop off we just looked for a minute and continued on towards the Seven Sacred Pools.
Seven Sacred Pools was about 1.1 miles from the trailhead. It was picturesque, and the kids were excited to finally see the pools. I didn’t capture all of the pools in the picture to the right, but you get the idea. It’s pooling areas that hold water once the surrounding areas have all dried up. The sight was beautiful with the surrounding rocks and cliffs in the background.
You could continue on the trail for another .5 miles, but we chose not to, and this was our turn around point. We hiked back to the trailhead and bus stop area but had to wait about 30 mins for the bus. Once the shuttle finally arrived, it became too full, so the shuttle driver was offering to only take drivers back to their cars. The driver could then come back to pick up the rest of their party versus waiting for another shuttle bus per the route schedule. Thankfully our whole family made it on the shuttle, and we put the kids in our lap, but I bring this up only to call out and be aware that you may have to wait or hike back to the main parking lot.
With all of the waiting, that concluded our hiking for the day! We drove back to Oak Creek Village, enjoyed some time in the hotel hot tub and then went to dinner at Tortas de Fuego down the road. It was okay. Not the best Mexican restaurant we’ve ever eaten at, but it was fine for what we needed. Probably would try something different next time though.
The next day we drove to Phoenix to continue our trip.
Take aways for Sedona from this trip:
1. This was the first time we stayed in the Oak Creek Village area. I’d recommend it! The Holiday Inn Express was reasonable and checked all of the boxes. Oak Creek has great hiking very close by. It’s really beautiful and is away from some of the crowds in the downtown Sedona area.
2. Famous Pizza was great! There are a handful of good restaurant options in that area, so while we didn’t love the second night at Mexican, there are plenty of other options.
3. Get to the trailheads early (like sunrise), to ensure a parking spot. Otherwise get a game plan to take the shuttles. Prepare to wait if you go in the popular months!
Take aways from other trips to Sedona:
1. Other good hikes with kids that we’ve done are Airport Mesa, Teacup (by Coffee Pot Rock), and Chimney Rock Pass Loop. All doable and great with younger kids.
2. There is a neat restaurant at the top of Airport Mesa where you can watch the planes come in and out. It’s a neat experience, I recommend!
3. In a trip we did to Flagstaff during a summer month, we came to Sedona for the morning and spent time at Slide Rock State Park. It was very cool and unique. I do recommend going, BUT it is very slippery, and you must only go with lots of caution. I read about many people’s experiences ahead of time and I can now personally share that you and your kids must have nonslip shoes on and be very careful as there is algae on the rocks making it super slippery. Try to only cross in areas without much water. We packed a cooler with snacks and had a lovely afternoon wading and playing in the water. It can be really fun, but only if safe. We saw someone getting ambulanced out when we were leaving.
The water was cold even in the summer. I put both kids in a life vest for extra safety. The water does flow, so there are fun sections where you can slide down. We set ourselves up in an area that we felt comfortable with and stayed put. I’d bring a handheld net for the kids to try to catch small fish.
Happy Trails!