Discover red rocks, vortexes, hikes and gorgeous views with this 3-day Sedona itinerary, from Airport Mesa and the Chapel of the Holy Cross to Devil’s Bridge, Red Rock Loop Road and a night under the stars.
What happens when you mix towering red rocks with vast desert landscapes, a dose of spirituality and a very commercial town centre? You get Sedona. So many Americans I spoke to named it as their favourite place that I had to go and see what the fuss was about, and it’s easy to see why it’s a must on any Southwest road trip.
The catch is that Sedona’s best sights are spread out around town, its most popular trailheads fill up early, and it’s easy to lose a day to traffic on SR 179. Three days is enough to see the highlights without rushing, if you plan it right.
I stayed in Uptown Sedona at the Matterhorn Inn in February, hiked the Courthouse Butte Loop (my favourite trail in Sedona), took in the views from Airport Mesa in the late afternoon and saw the red rocks under snow. This itinerary is built around the town’s best-known sights and trails, grouped so you’re not criss-crossing town, with a balance of hiking, scenic drives, food and a little Sedona-style pampering.
Your 3-day Sedona itinerary at a glance
- Day 1: Local Juicery, Airport Mesa, Tlaquepaque, the Chapel of the Holy Cross, Cathedral Rock or the Courthouse Butte Loop, and a sunset drive on the Red Rock Scenic Byway
- Day 2: Devil’s Bridge, Palatki and Honanki heritage sites, a spa afternoon and a sunset drive on Red Rock Loop Road
- Day 3: breakfast at the Coffee Pot, Amitabha Stupa, lunch at Mariposa, a vortex jeep tour and a stargazing tour
Sedona itinerary day 1: red rock views, art and your first hikes
Day 1 is all about getting your bearings: Sedona’s best viewpoint, its arts village and its most famous landmark, with a hike (or two) in the afternoon.
Fuel up at Local Juicery and take in the views at Airport Mesa
Kick off your trip on a health kick (this is Sedona, after all) with a fresh juice or açaà bowl at Local Juicery, a nice spot for juices and raw eats to set you up for a hike.
Then head up to Airport Mesa, a flat-topped mesa above West Sedona with some of the best views in town. Many people simply drive to the Airport Scenic Lookout at the top ($3 to park), but for a closer look at the red rocks and your first vortex of the trip, park at the small free lot half a mile up Airport Road (it holds only about a dozen cars, so go early) and walk the Airport Loop Trail, about 3.5 miles around the mesa with very little shade, or just the short scramble up to the vortex viewpoint. The loop takes two to three hours; the vortex, 20 minutes.
Browse the galleries at Tlaquepaque
Even if you’re not a big shopping person, it’s worth popping into Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, a collection of galleries, craft shops and restaurants built to look like a traditional Mexican village, with arched walkways, courtyards and fountains under the sycamores beside Oak Creek. It’s a good spot for unique finds, from jewellery and ceramics to paintings by local artists.
See the architecture at the Chapel of the Holy Cross
From Tlaquepaque, it’s about a 10-minute drive south to the Chapel of the Holy Cross, Sedona’s best-known landmark. Commissioned by the local rancher and sculptor Marguerite Brunswig Staude and completed in 1956, its clean, modernist lines and 90-foot cross stand in stark contrast to the red rocks it rises from.
You can go inside, but it’s the exterior that really wows. The chapel is open daily from 9am to 5pm (last entry 4:45pm) and entry is free, but parking at the top is very limited. On busy days, use the on-demand Sedona Shuttle Connect ($2), which picks up from the Mystic trailhead at the bottom of Chapel Road.
Hike Cathedral Rock or the Courthouse Butte Loop
If you’re serious about hiking, you can tackle two of Sedona’s best-known trails this afternoon, but you can also pick whichever takes your fancy.
The Cathedral Rock Trail is short but tough: about 1.2 miles round trip with around 700 feet of climbing, much of it scrambling up slickrock to a saddle between the spires. Allow an hour or two. The trailhead car parks are closed to private cars from Thursday to Sunday while the free Sedona Shuttle runs, so take route 15 from the North SR 179 park-and-ride on those days.
The Courthouse Butte Loop was pretty much my favourite hike in Sedona. It doesn’t have the thrills of Devil’s Bridge or Cathedral Rock, but it’s a reasonable length, takes you all the way around Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock, and delivers big on expansive views of the red rocks, with some elevation change but nothing serious. The loop is 3.8 miles with about 300 feet of climbing, so allow two to two and a half hours. Park at Courthouse Vista or Bell Rock Vista on SR 179, about 2.7 miles south of the Cathedral Rock trailhead, with a Red Rock Pass.
Take a sunset drive on the Red Rock Scenic Byway
You’ll already have driven part of the Red Rock Scenic Byway to reach the Courthouse Butte trailhead, but it’s worth exploring the rest of it as the sun goes down. The byway is a 7.5-mile stretch of SR 179 running south from Sedona through the heart of red rock country, past Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte towards Interstate 17, and it was named an All-American Road in 2006. There are plenty of places to pull over as the sky turns yellow, red and purple.
There are a few restaurants in the Village of Oak Creek for a bite to eat before heading back into Sedona.
Sedona itinerary day 2: Devil’s Bridge, ancient rock art and a spa
Ready for some more iconic Sedona scenery with a dash of history? Day 2 starts early at Sedona’s most famous arch, heads to its ancient cliff dwellings while they’re open, and ends with some pampering and a sunset drive.
Hike to Devil’s Bridge
Devil’s Bridge is the largest natural sandstone arch in the Sedona area, and walking out onto it is one of the most popular things to do in town. The final climb is steep, up rock steps, and you’ll likely queue for the classic photo, so go early.
How far you walk depends on where you start: about 4 miles round trip from the Mescal trailhead, 4.5 to 6 miles from the Dry Creek Vista trailhead (both served by Sedona Shuttle route 11 from Thursday to Sunday), or 1.6 miles if you have a high-clearance vehicle for the rough road to the official trailhead. The queue for photos on the bridge can be an hour or more at busy times.
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Visit the Palatki and Honanki heritage sites
Palatki and Honanki, a few miles apart on the dirt roads west of Sedona, are two of the largest cliff dwelling sites in red rock country. Both have Sinagua ruins dating from around 1150 to 1350 and walls of rock art, some of it thousands of years older than the dwellings.
You need a timed ticket for Palatki, booked on Recreation.gov (tickets are released up to 120 days ahead). From October to May, it’s open from 9:30am to 3pm, with the last tour at 2pm (mornings only on Wednesdays), and from June to September from Wednesday to Saturday mornings only. Honanki needs no reservation, but the road to it is rough, so a high-clearance vehicle is best. Both close in very hot weather and after rain or snow.
Top tip: you’ll need a Red Rock Pass (or an America the Beautiful pass) to visit the heritage sites.
Spend a couple of hours being pampered
It wouldn’t be a trip to Sedona without spending some time on the wellness side of town. The most famous spa is Mii Amo at Enchantment Resort, tucked away among the red rocks of Boynton Canyon not far from Devil’s Bridge, where you can be scrubbed, massaged and smoothed, and join wellness classes.
Mii Amo’s treatments are only open to guests staying at the resort, so if you want the full experience, book a night there. Otherwise, there are plenty of day spas in town, such as New Day Spa, for massages, body wraps and hot stone treatments.
Admire the views on Red Rock Loop Road
Red Rock Loop Road is a nice scenic drive for a different view of Sedona’s stunning red rocks. It loops south off SR 89A west of town, with views of Cathedral Rock along the way.
Stop at Crescent Moon Picnic Site at Red Rock Crossing for the classic view of Cathedral Rock reflected in Oak Creek. Entry is $15 per car (the Red Rock Pass isn’t valid here), and it closes at 6pm in October and November and 5pm in winter, so time your visit accordingly. On a warm day, people cool off in the creek, but check the latest water-quality advice after the 2026 Pocket Fire.
Sedona itinerary day 3: breakfast, peace and a night under the stars
The last day is about slowing down: a big breakfast, a peaceful morning, lunch with a view, then out into the backcountry and up to the stars.
Have breakfast at the Coffee Pot Restaurant
Refuel on your last morning with a hearty breakfast at the Coffee Pot Restaurant in West Sedona, a brilliant breakfast spot with a menu of 101 omelettes (so of course I had a breakfast taco).
In a town where restaurants trend towards a very curated experience, it’s refreshing to find somewhere that serves stellar food in a lively setting with zero pretension.
Spend the morning at Amitabha Stupa and Peace Park
Amitabha Stupa and Peace Park is a space that deserves a little time. Paths wind through 14 acres of juniper woodland at the foot of Thunder Mountain to the 36-foot stupa, a Buddhist monument at the park’s centre, with red rock views all around. Look out for native plants such as globemallow and cholla along the way. It’s a peaceful place to slow down on your last morning, and visitors of any faith are welcome. Entry is free, and the car park opens at 8:30am.
Have lunch with a view at Mariposa
For lunch (served from 11am to 2pm), head to Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill, Lisa Dahl’s restaurant a short drive from the stupa. I wasn’t crazy about my visit, as I thought the food was pretty overpriced for what it was, but it has stunning views of the red rocks from its floor-to-ceiling windows, and the lunch menu, while short, was tasty.
Feel the vortex energy on a jeep tour
By now you’ll have seen a few vortexes, so spend the afternoon on a vortex jeep tour, bouncing along backcountry roads to sites such as Bell Rock and Cathedral Rock, with a guide explaining the beliefs and history behind them. Whether you believe in the vortexes or not, it’s a fun way to see places you couldn’t reach in a normal car.
Do
Book a vortex jeep tour.
Cap off your trip with a stargazing tour
Sedona is an International Dark Sky Community, so the stars are spectacular on a clear night. Rather than just looking up, join a Sedona stargazing tour, where you’ll use telescopes and military-grade night-vision goggles to scan the sky. Some say it’s UFOs, others say it’s satellites and shooting stars; either way, it’s a magical way to end your trip.
Do
Book a Sedona stargazing tour.
Suggested stay
I stayed at the Matterhorn Inn in Uptown Sedona, a great-value hotel that’s been revamped into a stylish stay, with views of the red rocks from every room, eco-friendly credentials and a central location for exploring. For something more indulgent, Wilde Resort and Spa in West Sedona has a spa, rooftop terraces and views of Airport Mesa. See my guide to where to stay in Sedona for more options.
Have more time? Add these to your itinerary
- Montezuma Castle: these striking, well-preserved cliff dwellings, built by the Sinagua more than 800 years ago, are about 40 minutes’ drive south of Sedona, and I’d recommend the stop. Combine them with Montezuma Well and the old mining town of Jerome. See my guide to day trips from Sedona.
- Oak Creek Canyon: drive SR 89A north through the canyon towards Flagstaff, stopping at Slide Rock State Park and the West Fork Trail.
- The Grand Canyon: the South Rim is about two hours north. Spend a couple of nights there with my 2-day Grand Canyon itinerary.
Map
Handy tips for planning your 3 days in Sedona
Top tips
- It’s easy to get sucked into the commercial side of Sedona. Escape the town and head out on a hike or two to really appreciate it.
- Many trailheads and viewpoints need a Red Rock Pass to park: $5 a day, $15 a week or $20 a year, or use an America the Beautiful pass.
- Arizona stays on Mountain Standard Time all year, with no daylight saving.
- The most popular trailheads fill up early, so start your hikes first thing or use the Sedona Shuttle.
What to pack
- Hiking trainers: you’ll need a good pair of hiking shoes with grip for the slickrock.
- Travel backpack: a comfortable daypack for all that walking.
- Water bottle: there’s little water on the trails, so carry plenty.
- Outer shell: it can be hot during the day, but the desert cools quickly at night.
Best time to visit
I went in February, and honestly, it was cold, though I did get to see Sedona in the snow, and it’s a lot quieter than in summer. The shoulder seasons, spring and autumn, are the best times to visit. Avoid the summer months if you can, particularly at weekends, when some places practically come to a standstill.
Getting around
The best way to get around Sedona is by car. It lets you reach the more out-of-the-way sights and extend your trip into an Arizona road trip. I recommend Rentalcars.com for car hire.
The free Sedona Shuttle runs from park-and-ride lots to the busiest trailheads (Cathedral Rock, Soldier Pass, and Dry Creek Vista and Mescal for Devil’s Bridge) from Thursday to Sunday all year, 7am to 5:30pm, and daily in spring break. Its on-demand Sedona Shuttle Connect service ($2 a ride) covers the rest of town, including the Chapel of the Holy Cross, and the Verde Shuttle bus runs hourly between Cottonwood, West Sedona, Uptown and Tlaquepaque. Taxis and rideshare apps such as Uber and Lyft work in town, but they’re the most expensive way to get around.
The nearest major airport is Phoenix Sky Harbor, about two hours’ drive south. Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, 45 minutes north, has flights from Phoenix and Dallas. Sedona’s own airport has no scheduled flights.
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