I've been hiking in Sedona a handful of times now, and feel like this last time I went with a good friend we perfected the 48 hours hiking trip.
Sedona is such a magical place. Whether you believe in the juju, crystals, and over all spiritual connections or not, Sedona just hits different. The red rocks make you feel like you're on another planet and there is no hike with bad views. Kelsey and I did an in and out 48 hour trip and hit all the best hikes with the BEST views. Here's how we nailed this quick hiking trip.
Where to fly into
You'll fly into Phoenix, AZ and take the two hour drive from there to Sedona. This drive is very easy, it's pretty much one highway the whole way. You will need to rent a car, and lucky enough, Phoenix now has their tram open to the rental car station.
Where to stay
This can be tricky. Sedona is not a cheap place to visit especially if you're there in peak season. Kelsey and I visited in December and I have to say, after being there to hike in each season, this was my favorite by far! We chose to stay at the Marriott's Grande Visita. It's close to all the best hikes, downtown area, and the hotel is gorgeous and clean! This hotel also has an amazing pool, hot tub, and fire pit running year round.
What to eat
This was the part that I think we specifically nailed. When going on these hiking trips we always want to cut costs where we can, as we are there to hike and that's our main priority. There's a Whole Foods near downtown Sedona where we picked up bagged salad, cooked chicken breasts, our tumeric/ginger shots for the morning, bananas, and a tuna salad. This meant we only had to eat out for two lunches, one in which we wanted to find a great view of Sedona, and the other was on our way back to the airport where we hit up the Whole Foods salad and soup bar.
For a great view of Sedona during lunch, check out Open Range Grill and Tavern.
Day ONE of Hiking Sedona
I knew going to Sedona that we needed to save Cathedral Rock for a sunset hike, so in the morning I wanted to find a shorter hike that had great views. With all my visits here, I had yet to see the birthing cave and had heard so many great things about it. We woke up fairly early, so I was able to take a couple work calls, then we got our coffee and were on our way.
The Birthing Cave is a moderate out and back 2.0 mi hike. It leads you to amazing views and a zen resting spot to take them in! Although this is rated as moderate I did find it to be fairly easy, so if you're someone who is questioning that, this is a hike you can definitely do. The end of this hike is in the "cave" which is a carved out part of the mountain where you can sit and take in the breathtaking views of the Sedona mountains. It does make for great photo ops!
Day ONE Continued...
After completing the Birthing Cave hike and taking in all the views, we headed into downtown Sedona. This is where we brought a change of clothes and hit up the Open Range Grill and Tavern for lunch with a view. One margarita later and we were ready for some shopping. Sedona is full of the cutest shops filled with so many unique things. We aren't huge into shopping so a quick hour was perfect for us. By this time it was getting closer to sunset and we knew we wanted to hike Cathedral Rock for that, so we headed off to our second hike of the day.
Cathedral Rock- It's a really short but harder hike that leads you to amazing views. What I love most about it is that it's unlike any hike I've ever done, and it's more mentally tough than physically as it'll looks like you're scaling the side of a mountain. This is an out and back 1.2 mi hike that is rated hard.
If you're in Sedona and want to watch an epic sunset, this hike is a MUST do. Once you reach the top there's a perfect ridge to sit that gives you front row seats to the sun going down. Make sure to get there in plenty of time, because once the sun starts to set it really sets fast. I would recommend heading back down the trail fairly soon after sunset and bringing a flashlight or headlamp with you.
*Side note, it's always a good idea to bring a little shot for the end of the trail ;)
Day TWO of hiking
Day two was our last day in Sedona and also the day we had to make the drive back to the airport, so we knew we only had time to fit in one more hike. I wanted to try a new hike that I've never done before. I also wanted to try a hike outside of the touristy hikes that Sedona is known for. For day TWO, we hiked Fay Canyon Trail in the Coconino National Forest. This is a 2.3 out and back trail that is rated moderate.
This trail turned out to have amazing views, but as you'll read on all trails it's a little confusing. If you follow all trails to the very end it'll lead to you a thick forested area with no view at all. I would recommend stopping at the sign that says "end of trail" and hiking up the rock scramble that you'll see in front of you. I originally thought that was part of the trail, which it is not, but there is a little trail to follow there and it will lead you to amazing views.
One thing we missed on the way out of this trail was Fay Canyon Arch. This is not marked on the trail, you will need your all trails map up to find it. There's a little crossing along the river that will lead you straight up the mountain to Fay Canyon Arch. This was a really cool thing to see as you can't see it from the trail and it takes some work to get up there. With this add on, you will end up going further than 2.3 miles for this hike. I believe by the time we got back to the car we were closer to 5 miles total.
Time to head home
After completing Fay Canyon, it was time for lunch and then to head back to Phoenix to catch our plane home to snowy Minnesota. I will say this was the PERFECT quick hiking trip. The views, the hikes, and of course the company made the trip amazing and I would recommend this itinerary to anyone exploring Sedona for the first time.
*Side note, we did stop and hike camelback in Phoenix before heading out to Sedona, which I also highly recommend. This is a really tough hike, but after being on a plane and then having to drive two hours to Sedona this hike was a perfect way to break up all of the sitting. After hiking camelback, then stop at Joy Ride Tacos (Thank you Alexa for showing me this delicious spot!) for lunch before heading out to gorgeous Sedona.
