Be a Cowboy for a Day
Be a cowboy or cowgirl for a day at A Day in the West, which offers customers jeep tours, horseback riding, and cowboy cookouts. Or, try Blazin M Ranch for a full range of cowboy activities, inlcluding a chuckwagon dinner served by cowpokes, cowboy music, photo studio to capture the wild west moments, gift shops, and all sorts of other cowboy-themed activities. This one is just twenty minutes outside of Sedona, Arizona, in the small town of Cottonwood.
Go Mountain Biking
Mountain Biking is becoming a tradition in Sedona, Arizona, and bikers from all over are getting to know about the trails in and around this town. It rivals the mountain biking in Moab, Utah, which is another mecca for the sport. It's less crowded, too, than Moab. Riding around the bottom of Bell Rock is a good easy place to start. Go just north of the Village of Oak Creek and there's a trail head there. The Bell Rock Path starts there and also some others which are more challenging. Or, you can try aobve uptown Sedona, on the Jim Thompson Trail, which leads to Medgely Bridge. There are also a bunch of trails networking from each other, branching all over, near Soldier Pass. For these, take Jordan Road, take a left onto Park Ridge Road, and the dirt trail head has a parking area at the end of the road.
Bike rentals are available in several places in Sedona, Arizona. Try Mountain Bike Heaven or Sedona Sports, or Sedona Bike & Bean, which is across the street from the Bell Rock Pathway. And, if you can't tell from their name, they sell coffee, too.
Go Swimming
Be you don't think of swimming when you think of things to do in Sedona Az, but it's great out here! Slide Rock State Park, just north of Sedona, Arizona, is the best place around to go swimming. There's a natural rock slide that empties sliding swimmers into a swimming hole, for the best cool fun ever, especially in the middle of summer. Go during the week, when there are fewer people there and you won't have to get in line for the slide.
Grasshopper Point has a popular swimming hole, located a few miles outside of Sedona, Arizona. It costs $7 per vehicle to get in, unless you bought the Red Rock Grand Pass, $40, which is good if you plan to be in Sedona, Arizona for a week or more. The site fees add up after a while, and you don't want to miss anything.
Things to do in Town
The Arts & Galleries
The Sedona Arts Center is the center of fine arts in Sedona, Arizona. Their events range from balley to film festivals and everything you can imagine.
Canyon Moon Theatre Company on 89A offers live theater in the back of the Old Marketplace shopping center.
For chamber music, go to Chamber Music Sedona. For other types of live music, try Sedona's Highway Cafe or the Full Moon Saloon on Route 179 in the Village of Oak Creek.
Head for Clay Pigeon, which carries sculptures and dishes with a coyboy theme. El Prado Gallery by the Creek, in Tlaquepaque is the best place for Southwestern art. In the same complex is Estban's, which carries ceramics Native American crafts. Then there's Garland's Navajo Rugs. Lanning Gallery has Southwestern jewelry, Looking West has cowgirl outfits for women, and Sedona Pottery has unique pieces and life-size ceramic statues. Gotta see THAT!
Shopping
If shopping is what you desire, head for Uptown in Sedona, Arizona. This is north of the "Y", which is a fork in the road on AZ 89A. There's so much shopping here, tour buses unload their passengers just for the purpose of shopping. To avoid the crowds, go to Central Sedona, south of the "Y". It's more residential here and more pleasant. In 1965 Cowboy Artists of America was founded in Sedona, Arizona, and ever since the town has had a reputation as a haven for artists. You can spend days and days shopping and gallery-hopping, and discover why this is one of Sedona's major industries. Most of the shops and galleries have a strong South Western theme, or a Native American theme. For a sampling of what's in Sedona, Arizona in the way of Cowboy shopping, see our detailed shopping page.
Get Healed & Relax
After traveling to get to Sedona, Arizona, smooth out the rough edges and sweep away the mental cobwebs at a Spa or at Therapy on the Rocks, where you can go for either a massage or a myofacial release, next to a creek and with views of the red rock canyons in the distance. There's also the Red Rock Spa & Healing Center, which makes a nice relaxing stop after visiting Tlaquepaque and shopping all morning, since they are near each other. Get gacials, massages, wraps, scrubs, whatever you need.
Discover Animals & Nature
Visit Rainbow Trout Farm for a quick, easy, inexpensive day of fishing for all ages. for a dollar you can get a cane pole, hook and bait to try your luck. The staff will clean your fish for almost free, it's so cheap, and only if your catch is over a certain size will you pay for the fish at all. What a fun bargain! It's located just north of Sedona Arizona, in Oakcreek Canyon.
Red Rock State Park is even closer to town than Slide Rock State Park, and usually less crowded because there's no swimming here. There are, however, lots of trails, ranger-led lecture walks, and chances to go bird-watching. You can also take a guided hike to Eagle's Nest, which is a scenic vista overlooking the area, the highest point in the park.
Take a Tour
- Trolley Tours
Sedona Trolley is a good bet for getting a general picture of Sedona, Arizona. They make several trips a day and you can choose from two different tours. They take you to the major focal points of Sedona, like Chapel of the Holy cross, art galleries, Boynton Canyon, Enchantment Resort, and Tlaquepaque shopping plaza.
- Stagecoach Tours
- Hot Air Balloon Tours
let you drift over the canyons for a unique perspective of the red rocks. There are at least three companies in Sedona, Arizona that offer hot air balloon tours.
- Helicopter Tours
- Airplane Tours
- Jeep or Four-Wheel Drive
is necessary for many of the Sedona area's dirt roads. The best views in the canyons are often from the canyons, and getting up to them requires a four wheel drive vehicle. Jeep tours are everywhere in Sedona, Arizona, and one of them is Pink Jeep Tours, which offers tours ranging from 1.5 hours to 4 hours.
- Native American Tours
. Here's a unique tour that not everybody in town thinks to take. It's called Way of the Ancients and it offers guests a perspective on Sedona, Arizona from the Native American angle. They take you to Hopi mesas, also.
Golfing
Try the Oak Creek Country Club, a semi-private club on bell Rock Blvd in the Village of Oak Creek. There's also the Sedona Golf Resort, also in the Village of Oak Creek. This one is famous for its beauty, and includes the most photographed golf course hole in the entire State of Arizona. See red rocks as you swing away. There's also Canyon Mesa Country Club in the Village of Oak Creek, which has 9 holes and is reasonbly priced, especially when compared to teh Sedona Golf Resort.
In & Around Town
Take a Scenic Drive
If you rent a car, or don't want to leave the driving up to a tour operator, plan a scenic drive in the Sedona, Arizona area. There are plenty to choose from. Check out our detailed Scenic Drives of Sedona, Arizona page for a list and features of the major scenic drives.
Rent Something New
- Hummer
- Harley-Davidson motorcycle
- Vespa scooter
- Jeeps
- Horses
Try Trail Horse Adventures on Lower Red Rock Loop Rd. You can opt for various types of horseback riding tours, with features like a campfire cookout, swimming Oak Creek, and riding at night with a full moon.
- Bicycles
Things to Do Just Outside of Sedona, Arizona
Out of Africa Wildlife Park
This new adventure park is full of animals from Africa, in a safari-like setting that allows the animals to roam "free" in large areas. There are lots of interactive, educational activities that kids and adults will love, because they give everyone a chance to get close to the animals...but not too close! The habitats seem real, and the animals seem as if they're right at home in Africa, in their natural surroundings. Sign up for some or all of the activities to get the most out of your day. There's a Giant Snake Show with Pythons, Boas and Anacondas. It's free with the price of admission, so don't miss it, you already paid for it! Then there's the Serengeti Safari, where Park employees drive guests through the African "plains" to spot wildlife such as zebra, giraffe and wildebeest. Then don't miss your chance to walk through the Wildlife Preserve to spot predators: lions, tigers, hyena and panther, in their natural environment. There are so many different types of animals at the park, you'll wonder how the staff keep everything in line! There are mountain lions, leopards, bears, wolves, and they interact with each other. They are not separated according to species, like in other zoos and animal parks. They get to socialize, which the park's founders believe is an essential component of keeping happy, healthy animals in captivity. There are all sorts of tigers, like the Royal White Bengal Tiger,
Siberian Tigers, Siberian or Amur Tiger, and Bengal Tigers. There are jaguars, African leopards, Servals, Gray Wolves, Arctic Wolves, and the list goes on! There are all sorts of new features to the park coming, soon, so keep checking back with them to see what's new.
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