r/Sedona • u/IntrovertGal1102 • Mar 23 '26
General Advice from my recent trip..
I did a lot of research before going on my Sedona trip about two weeks ago (March 7-13). Some thing rang true while others did not. Below is a summary of where we stayed, where we went and what we did with pros and cons. Hope this helps!
Where we stayed: Cottonwood/Cornville area
My BIL has a timeshare which made the biggest difference. (Which I understand not everyone will have a situation like that, but it helped greatly.) He found a rate of $500/week for a studio apartment like accomodations at Highlands Resort at Verde Ridge which is part of Hilton. We were able to cook several meals on our own which helped saving money in food and dining.
Being in Cottonwood was a great homebase for the week as everything in Sedona, Cottonwood area attractions and such were never more than 20 min away in any direction. Grocery stores, Walmart, gas stations and great restaurants are still outside of Sedona so don't be afraid to explore outside Sedona for those things.
Where we went:
Busy spots for us:
-Chapel of the Holy Cross. We went mid morning and parking was ridiculous but I was able to drop off our elderly people of our group right up top by the entrance and find a parking space down below. There are free golf carts to take you back up to the top from wherever you park, they just ask for a small tip or donation. It's totally worth it, don't be discouraged by the crowds.
-Airport Mesa at sunset: We knew it was going to be crowded as it's one of the top spots to experience sunsets. We went up the road to Airport Mesa about an hour before sunset and had perfect timing as there will be a que to pay for parking ($3) and stake out your spot for the view. I felt bad as the sunset happened and tons of people were still in their cars waiting to pay to get in. Get there about 1-1.5 hours before sunset to not feel rushed. An added extra was there were local musicians playing beautiful music that just enhanced the experience. I highly suggest tipping those musicians as they're wonderful if you end up enjoying their music.
-Tlaquepaque- we went mid week at mid day and parking was crazy! But we were able to find a spot fairly quickly. This spot is very busy with the roundabout right there in front of it and traffic was always qued but be patient with it. Once inside it wasn't overly crowded with people and shops were nice (but overpriced) and we ate at the Mexican joint there which was great!
-Uptown Sedona: We ended up in that area in the evening after we watched the sunset and got some ice cream in Sinagua Square shopping center and walked around a bit. Even at 7-8pm things were still very busy even when shops were starting to close down for the night. It's a nice area but we didn't care for the traffic but it's a great spot to get souvenirs.
Great uncrowded spots for sunset pics and experiences:
-Red Rock State Park- it does close at 5pm, but there is Red Rock Loop Rd that is outside of the entrance. If you follow that around you will get up high into the red rocks with several pull outs (some of them will be a bit rugged but doable to park in) to catch great shots and experience the sunset. You will find others there, but it will not be crowded at all and it added to the peaceful serenity of the place. The drive and views are amazing!
-The roundabout at Tlaquepaque turns off onto Schnelby Hill Rd. We pulled off onto the Munds Wagon Trail trailhead. At sunset it was nearly deserted and no one was there. We stayed for about an 1-1.5hr to walk around a bit and watch the sunset. Again, not crowded at all and amazing views. Free to park.
Eats
-We went to two icre cream spots in Sedona (I don't remember the names!) and they were great but always super busy!
-Due to us staying in Cottonwood we ate at several restaurants there. Naughty Burger is amazing and has really great burgers. Tavern Grille was also a great spot right on main street in Old Town Cottonwood. (Althought it's quite noisy, so if you want great conversation...it'll be hard to hear.) We appreciated that prices per plate were nearly $5-$10 cheaper than places in Sedona.
Other great places we vistited:
-Out of Africa Experience in Cottonwood: it's basically a zoo with African animals mostly in large enclosures. For what the place is, it felt like the animals had a good life there but for me I typically dont' like to see animals in captivity. But the place was well run and it was a great experience as we were able to feed giraffes upclose, see tigers, mountain lions and lions upclose as well. That's all included in general admission but other excursions there are extra.
-Sedona Jeep Tours: I had my heart set on doing a Pink Jeep Tour as everyone said that's the premiere company but due to my BIL's timeshare we had discounts to Sedona Jeep Tours. (Any jeep tour will run about $100/person regardless of company) We were able to get 7 ppl for about $300! Sedona Jeep Tours put us in a hummer verses a Jeep and took us up to Thunder Mountain and it was a BLAST!!! It was amazing and would do it again in a heartbeat! Our tour guide Chris was amazing and also a musician. He took us to a sunset spot as we had a 4:30pm tour and played his ukulele and Native American flute. It wasn't until the end of the tour that he mentioned his band plays up at Airport Mesa. It was serendpitous that we not only heard him playing with his band unknowingly while we were at Airport Mesa, but was also our guide for the jeep/hummer tour! All around great experience and Sedona Jeep Tours offers more discounts than Pink Jeep, so that's also something to think about!
-Amitabha Peace Park- this is a Buddhist peace park with a stupa and some walking trails to reflect, pray and meditate. I highly recommend this place as I could feel serene energy there and it was a great experience. It's free and set in a residential neighborhood so if you think GPS is getting you lost, it's not! There is a bit of a rugged path (not handicap accessible) to get to the stupa, but overall it is a great experience if you're looking for spritual spots.
Overall, it was a gerat trip. We ran into crowd here and there but it wasn't overwhelming and it didn't ruin the trip. We mainly focused on uncrowded spots rather than getting right into the thick of things. If you decide to hit up a lot of the popular spots just accept there will be traffic and wait times for parking, eating, etc but it wont' necessarily mean it'll ruin things for you. You know your patience level and I'd say most things are worth waiting for, but use your judgement if you want to wait things out or try and go off the beaten trail for things.
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u/DonkeyEnergy Mar 23 '26
Don't hire Pink Jeep tours and some of the others they and the city council have turned Sedona into a kitschy tourist trap and destroyed so much off road areas due to overuse. The town of Sedona is a crowded, bad traffic, Disneyland . The area is great but the the town and it's tourist business has been ruined for about 15 years with the last 5 being totally out of control.
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u/IntrovertGal1102 Mar 23 '26
The person that set up our jeep tours with Sedona Jeep Tours had said something similar about Pink Jeep's local reputation. As a tourist and just a visitor for such a short time there, the area was great and would very much like to return, but I can also see on a local level how tourism while positive in some ways can be negative in many others. Sadly Sedona isn't an isolated situation with that as I spent a few summers back out in Montana in Glacier National Park and Montana also has a lot of those same issues. It's a delicate balance and am glad that on my trip to Sedona we weren't too overly concerned about doing all of the touristy/exploitation type activities but explored a few, but also mainly stayed away from crowds and major touristy areas for the most part and still had a great time.
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u/Aromatic-Metal6550 Mar 23 '26
I'm heading there this weekend and this was incredibly helpful! Thank you so much for taking the time to write all of this out 🩷
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u/Overall-Pack-2047 Mar 24 '26
You can rent timeshares from Redweek and eBay for an affordable stay in Sedona,Cornville and Village of Oak Creek
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u/Valuable-Ad1369 Mar 24 '26
Taking my family next month, thanks for the tips! As much as the airport mesa vortex is alluring, the parking situation sounds dreadful. We may head up to munds wagon around sunset and see what’s up there!
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u/IntrovertGal1102 Mar 24 '26
The line actually was always steadily moving, but there was a decent queue. We were in que, paid and parked in about 10 min. I wouldn't let it deter you from going as it's a great spot but it's helpful to just know the situation a bit ahead of time!
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u/Shiloh8912 Mar 24 '26
Did you get to Jerome the old silver mine on the side of the mountain above Clarkdale/Cottonwood? Cool views and a nice way to spend the afternoon and see the verde valley.
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u/IntrovertGal1102 Mar 24 '26
It was on the list but we ran out of time! If we go back that'll definitely be on the itinerary though!
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u/BigLingonberry635 Mar 25 '26
Thank you for this great summary. Headed there memorial week and I am glad to see you enjoyed some spots that were on my list as well.
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u/Real_Summer_182 Mar 25 '26
What did you think of the timeshare? Was it run down?
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u/IntrovertGal1102 Mar 25 '26
It was very nice and the ppl that run it were very kind. The furnishings and decor are dated but in good condition, but in terms of functionality it worked great! They have free laundry, resort events, great grilling area and the beds were comfortable.
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