Things to do in Sedona packs more red rock into a few square miles than almost anywhere in the Southwest, and the best things to do in Sedona mostly happen outside: a sunrise scramble up Cathedral Rock, the walk out to Devil’s Bridge, a jeep ride over Broken Arrow, and a sunset from Airport Mesa.
Add the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a swim at Slide Rock, and a night under some of the darkest skies in Arizona, and you have a trip most people wish they had planned for longer. This guide covers the 15 spots worth your time, plus the practical stuff locals wish every visitor knew, like when the trailhead lots fill, which pass you need, and how to skip the parking scramble altogether.
What are the 15 best things to do in Sedona?
The list below runs roughly from the hikes and viewpoints people come for to the slower, rainy-day and evening options. If you only have one full day for things to do in Sedona, pick one hike, one viewpoint, and one evening activity, and you will leave happy.
1. Hike (or scramble) Cathedral Rock
Cathedral Rock is the hike everyone posts, and it earns the hype. The trail is only a little over a mile round trip, but it climbs fast, and the last section is a hand-and-foot scramble up slick rock. The reward is a saddle between the spires with views down to Oak Creek. Go at sunrise. The lot off Back O’ Beyond Road is small and fills early, so the free trailhead shuttle is the easier way in. Wear shoes with real grip, because the sandstone gets slippery with dust, and save the descent for when your legs still feel fresh.
2. Walk out to Devil’s Bridge.
Devil’s Bridge is the largest natural sandstone arch for things to do in the Sedona area, and yes, you can walk across it. Most people start at the Dry Creek Vista trailhead and hike roughly 4 miles round trip on a mostly flat path before the final steep stretch of rock steps. The line for the photo on the arch can run 30 to 60 minutes by mid-morning. Start before 7 a.m., and you will share it with a handful of people instead of a crowd. There are no restrooms at the bridge and very little shade, so carry more water than you think you need.
3. Watch the sunset from Airport Mesa.
Airport Mesa is the easiest big view in town. A short walk from the small lot on Airport Road puts you on a rocky knoll with a 360-degree panorama of Thunder Mountain, Coffee Pot Rock, and the town below. It is also one of Sedona’s best-known vortex sites, so you will often see people meditating up there. The lot fills about an hour before sunset. If it is full, the things to do in Sedona Airport Scenic Lookout higher up the road has a paid lot and a similar view.
4. Loop around Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte
Bell Rock sits right off Highway 179 in the Village of Oak Creek, which makes it the perfect first stop if you are driving up from Phoenix. The Bell Rock Pathway is wide and easy, good for kids and anyone who wants red rock without a scramble. For a fuller outing, the Courthouse Butte Loop circles both formations in about 4 miles. You can climb partway up Bell Rock on your own, but the upper ledges get sketchy quickly, so turn back once it stops feeling like a hike.
5. Visit the Chapel of the Holy Cross.
The Chapel of the Holy Cross is built straight into a red rock buttress, with a huge cross set into its front wall. It was completed in 1956 and was designed by sculptor Marguerite Brunswig Staude. Entry is free, and even if you are not religious, the quiet interior and the view through the window behind the altar are worth 20 minutes. Parking is limited to a short ramp, so go early or late in the day, and expect a short uphill walk from where the shuttle vans drop off when it is busy.
6. Ride the Broken Arrow jeep trail.
The Broken Arrow trail is a rough, rocky 4×4 route that takes you over slickrock to Submarine Rock and Chicken Point. Unless you own a high-clearance 4×4 and know how to use it, book a guided jeep tour. The drivers handle the steep drops, tell you about the geology along the way, and stop for photos at the overlooks. It is one of the best things to do in Sedona with kids or anyone who cannot hike far, and it is a lot more fun than it sounds on paper.
7. Swim at Slide Rock State Park
About 7 miles north of town in Oak Creek Canyon, Slide Rock State Park has a natural water chute worn into the creek bed. You slide down an 80-foot slick channel into a cold pool, which feels great in July and painful in April. The park charges a per-vehicle entry fee, and on summer weekends the lot can fill by mid-morning, after which rangers turn cars away. Bring water shoes, because the rock is slippery and the creek bottom is uneven. Check the water quality report on the Arizona State Parks site before you go.
8. Hike the West Fork Trail in Oak Creek Canyon
West Fork is the hike to choose when it is too hot for the open red rock trails. The trail follows a shaded creek through a narrow canyon with tall walls on both sides, and it crosses the water more than a dozen times. Most people turn around somewhere between 3 and 6 miles round trip. It is at its best in late October, when the maples turn red and gold. The Call of the Canyon day-use area charges its own fee, separate from the Red Rock Pass.
9. Find the Seven Sacred Pools on Soldier Pass Trail.
Soldier Pass Trail packs a lot into a short walk. You pass Devil’s Kitchen, a large sinkhole that collapsed in the late 1800s, then reach the Seven Sacred Pools, a chain of small basins carved into the rock that hold water after rain. Keep going, and you can climb up to Soldier Pass Cave for a view out over the valley. The trailhead lot has only about a dozen spaces and a gate with limited hours, so the free shuttle is your best bet here.
10. Hike Boynton Canyon and look for the Subway Cave.
Boynton Canyon is a quieter, longer hike in West Sedona, about 6 miles round trip if you go to the end of the canyon. Many visitors come for the Subway Cave, an arched alcove up a side trail that looks like a tunnel opening when you stand inside it. The side trail is unmarked and a bit tricky to find, so download an offline map before you go. Boynton is also counted among things to do in Sedona vortex sites, and plenty of people come just to sit near Kachina Woman rock for a while.
11. Try a vortex tour or guided meditation.
You cannot talk about things to do in Sedona without mentioning the vortices, spots where some people say they feel a swirl of earth energy. Whether you believe in it or not, a guided vortex tour is a relaxed way to learn about the area’s geology and spiritual history at the same time. Airport Mesa, Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, and Boynton Canyon are the four main sites. If you would rather skip the tour, the things to do in Sedona Chamber of Commerce visitor center in Uptown has free maps of all four.
12. Wander Tlaquepaque and Uptown Sedona
Tlaquepaque Arts and Shopping Village is built to look like a traditional Mexican village, with stone archways, courtyards with fountains, and big sycamore trees. It is full of galleries, small shops, and a few good restaurants, and it is a nice place to be when the afternoon heat makes hiking miserable. Uptown things to do in Sedona, a few minutes north, are busier and more touristy, but it is where you will find the trolley stop, jeep tour offices, and souvenir shops.
13. Take a sunrise hot air balloon ride.
Seeing the red rocks from a balloon at sunrise is pricey, but people rarely regret it. Flights launch at dawn when the air is calm, drift over the valley for about an hour, and usually end with a small celebration on the ground. Book a few weeks ahead in spring and fall, and keep your schedule loose, because operators cancel when the wind picks up. Flights generally do not run in the hottest part of summer.
14. Go stargazing in a dark sky city.
Things to do in Sedona was named an International Dark Sky Community in 2014, which means the town keeps outdoor lighting low. On a clear, moonless night, you can see the Milky Way from a pullout just outside town. Local guides run telescope tours that point out planets, nebulae, and star clusters, and they bring warm drinks in winter. Avoid planning this around the July to early September monsoon, when afternoon storms often leave clouds that linger into the night.
15. Visit Montezuma Castle and day-trip to Jerome.
About 25 miles south of things to do in Sedona, Montezuma Castle National Monument protects a five-story cliff dwelling built by the Sinagua people more than 800 years ago. Montezuma Well, a short drive away, is a limestone sinkhole with ruins along its rim. On another half day, head west to Jerome, a former copper mining town clinging to Cleopatra Hill, then stop at a tasting room or two in the Verde Valley on the way back. Both make good options for a rest day between hikes.
How do you get around things to do in Sedona and avoid parking headaches?
Parking is the single biggest frustration for first-time visitors, and it shapes almost every plan for things to do in Sedona. Most popular trailheads have small lots that fill by 7 or 8 a.m. in peak season, and rangers do ticket cars parked along the road.
The free Sedona Shuttle solves most of this. It runs to Cathedral Rock, Soldier Pass, Dry Creek Vista (for Devil’s Bridge), Little Horse (for Chapel Trail and the Bell Rock area), and Mescal from park-and-ride lots in town. Its schedule is seasonal, running every day during the spring rush and on fewer days the rest of the year, so check the Things to Do in Sedona Shuttle website before you plan around it.
If you do park at a trailhead on forest land, you need a Red Rock Pass displayed in your windshield. It costs $5 for a day, $15 for a week, or $20 for a year, and you can buy it at trailhead kiosks, the visitor center, or online. An America the Beautiful pass also counts. The Red Rock Pass program page lists exactly which sites need one. Kiosks sometimes stop working, so buying online the night before saves a headache.
When is the best time to visit Sedona?
For outdoor things to do in Sedona, spring (March to May) and fall (September to November) are the sweet spots, with daytime highs in the 60s to 80s and perfect hiking weather. They are also the busiest months, so book lodging well ahead and start your hikes early.
Summer brings highs in the high 90s and sometimes over 100°F, plus monsoon storms from July into September. If you visit then, hike at dawn, spend afternoons at Slide Rock or West Fork, and get off exposed rock when thunder starts. Winter is quiet and mild, with cool days and the occasional dusting of snow on the red rocks, which makes for great photos and empty trails.
How many days do you need to do things in Sedona?
Three days is the right amount for most people. That gives you two big hikes, a jeep tour, sunset at Airport Mesa, and a slower day for the chapel, Tlaquepaque, or a trip out to Montezuma Castle and Jerome. With only one day, pick Cathedral Rock at sunrise, the Chapel of the Holy Cross mid-morning, Tlaquepaque for lunch, and Airport Mesa for sunset.
A simple three-day plan looks like this:
- Day 1: Bell Rock on the way in from Phoenix, Chapel of the Holy Cross, Tlaquepaque, sunset at Airport Mesa.
- Day 2: Sunrise at Cathedral Rock, afternoon at Slide Rock or West Fork, stargazing tour at night.
- Day 3: Early hike to Devil’s Bridge, Broken Arrow jeep tour after lunch, dinner in Uptown.
If you like small mountain towns with plenty of outdoor things to do, our guide to things to do in Leavenworth, Washington is worth a look for your next trip.
FAQs
1. What is things to do in Sedona known for?
Ans: Things to do in Sedona is known for its red sandstone formations, its hiking and mountain biking trails, and its reputation as a spiritual center thanks to the vortex sites. You can read more about the town’s history and geology on the Things to do in Sedona Wikipedia page.
2. What should you not miss in things to do in Sedona?
Ans: Do not leave without catching a sunrise or sunset over the red rocks and hiking at least one trail like Cathedral Rock or Devil’s Bridge. The Chapel of the Holy Cross and a jeep tour over Broken Arrow round out a first visit for most people.
3. What can you do in things to do in Sedona if you don’t want to hike?
Ans: Plenty. Take a jeep or balloon tour, visit the Chapel of the Holy Cross, shop and eat at Tlaquepaque, drive the scenic road through Oak Creek Canyon, go stargazing, or take the short walk on the Bell Rock Pathway. A day trip to Jerome or Montezuma Castle also involves almost no hiking.
4. 3. Are there free things to do in Sedona?
Ans: Yes. The Chapel of the Holy Cross, Tlaquepaque, the drive up Oak Creek Canyon, stargazing, and Montezuma Well are all free. Most hikes just need a $5 Red Rock Pass if you park at the trailhead, and riding the shuttle there costs nothing.
5. Is 3 days in things to do in Sedona enough?
Ans: Three days is enough to cover the main things to do in Sedona without rushing. Stay four or five days if you want to add longer hikes like Boynton Canyon and West Fork, or day trips to the Grand Canyon, which is about two and a half hours away.
5. What are the best things to do in Sedona?
Ans: The top nearby options are Montezuma Castle National Monument, the old mining town of Jerome, the Verde Valley wineries, the Verde Canyon Railroad in Clarkdale, and the Grand Canyon’s South Rim for a long day trip.
Conclusion
The best things to do in Sedona come down to getting out on the red rock early, then slowing down once the heat arrives. Hike Cathedral Rock or Devil’s Bridge at sunrise, take the shuttle instead of fighting for parking, grab a Red Rock Pass, and save your evenings for Airport Mesa and the stars. Do that and even a short trip will feel full. For more destination guides and road trip ideas across the US, including our list of the best things to do in Savannah, browse the rest of My Travelling Guide.
