You have been wanting to start the planning for your winter or spring vacation in Sedona for quite a while now, but life always seems to get in the way. You start to scroll through one website extolling the delights of the vortexes, but a text from your boss has you flipping back to the report you had been working on minutes before. You begin to examine the menu about a restaurant you had heard about from a friend, but upon looking at the clock at the side of your laptop, you realize you were supposed to be at a meet the teacher event 10 minutes ago. And before you even begin to type in the words “nightlife in Sedona,” the timer on your oven dings, signifying that dinner is ready, and with a quietly frustrated sigh, you close down and tell yourself you will look at this another day.
But because you have chosen Sedona.Org for your vacation accommodations, you have an ace hidden up your sleeve that you may not have known about before now. We love to make our guests feel comfortable and spoiled in the properties they will be calling home during their stay in Sedona, but we also love to make life easier for them. One of the many ways we do that is by providing information for our guests. This ultimate Sedona travel guide to winter and spring gives you all the info you need in one spot. No surfing the net, losing time as you chase dead end sites, getting frustrated and interrupted—just one quick article that you can return to time and time again, learning everything you need about your upcoming Arizona getaway! So, let’s get started, shall we? Here is your Ultimate Guide to Winter and Spring in Sedona.
Sedona Winter’s Wonders
You can’t help it, even as you delightedly catch that first snowflake of the season on your outstretched tongue, a part of you is wincing in dismay, knowing that the beauty of this moment is about to be ruined by the icy roads, freezing cold, and bad drivers that accompany every snowstorm in your hometown. Sedona winter, however, offers its own particular brand of magic, with the daylight temperatures hovering around the mid to low 60s as the sun shines and barely dropping into the freezing zone upon nightfall.
Wearing layers is very important as you take to the trails that lead you through the beauty of red rock country, making your way to the rugged beauty of Cathedral Rock. With an elevation gain of something over 500 feet and a trail that lasts about a mile round trip, you may be a little chilly at the start of your hike, but by the time you arrive, that light jacket you wore in will be securely tied around your waist, leaving you free to enjoy the marvels of Cathedral Rock without feeling sweaty and hot. Another trail the mild temperatures may entice you to enjoy is the Doe Mountain Trail, one that reaches its apex at a spot that offers panoramic and tranquil views of the Sedona valley. Get your camera out and prepare to take some of the most frame worthy shots of the red rocks, the blue sky, and the ever shining Arizona sun. This hike lasts about 1.2 miles, offers an elevation gain of about 400 feet, and is quite possibly the one that will linger in your memories long after you have returned to your real life.
There are many trails around the Sedona area that will give you a healthy start to your day and offer beautiful views as an added bonus, but if you are serious about your hikes and truly want to enjoy the magic of Sedona, a hike along the Boynton Canyon Trail is destined to be your newest obsession. It takes you about 6 miles into some of the most beautiful landscape Sedona has to offer, including an energy vortex that is often included on the jeep tours that are popular in the area.
Christmas Events for Your Winter Escape
While we can’t promise much more than the red rocks being lightly dusted with a light layer of snow that will probably melt away by noon, you won’t miss your down-home white Christmas at all with all the exciting Christmas events Sedona has to offer. Make your children’s holiday dreams come alive with the Magical Christmas Journey offered by the Verde Canyon Railroad. This round-trip to the North Pole takes off from the depot in nearby Clarkdale, December 3- December 24, offering everything that makes Christmas magical to a young child, including a meeting with the jolly old elf himself who will present each child with a gift in memory of their visit to the North Pole.
The Festival of Lights hosted by Tlaquepaque on December 11th offers a special magic in itself and the opportunity to finish up any last-minute Christmas shopping that needs to be done. It may not be the North Pole, but adults will believe in Santa again at the first sight of this magical shopping community lit up by the lights of thousands of luminarias. Featuring the River of Life Tabernacle Choir singing the songs of the season, free cider, and a visit from Santa, you may lose yourself in the moment and forget all about the shopping you were planning on doing!
Jeep® Tours
There are multiple ways to explore the beauty of our natural landscape, and if you aren’t a hiker or you just don’t have the physical capability to get out there on your own, jeep tours are the solution! Pink Jeep® Tours, 204 N State Route 89A, are perhaps the most well-known, offering a variety of tours that cater to all interests, including an off-road experience that thrill-seekers will love. Red Rock Western Tours at 2900 W State Route 89A feature an on-road tour of famous local landmarks, but your favorite tour may be their one-hour Jeep® Tour and Wine Tasting that will make your explorations of Sedona all that much sweeter! Safari Jeep® Tours, found at 335 Jordan Road, is the last tour company we will discuss today, offering tours of the region that are all a little more rugged than those other companies offer, although their Vortex Experience stays on road as it lets you explore the areas of Sedona known for their special magic.
Spring into Sedona
As the temperatures tend to remain cold and miserable in your own hometown, Sedona spring offers a taste of summer as the mercury rises to comfortable levels. The promise of the season is found in the wildflowers blooming everywhere you look, in the nights that stay cool, enticing guests into using the fireplaces or fire pits in their Sedona.Org vacation escapes, and in the seasonal activities that will bring extra joy to their southwestern getaway. Explore the town from a different angle when you take a hot air balloon ride with Red Rock Balloons, offering sunrise tours that will change your life. Flying every day of the week, (weather permitting) the tours last between two to four hours and start with the rising of the sun, ending with a champagne toast that celebrates another successful flight. These flights are special on their own, but also offer the perfect way to ask that very special question!
An Unusual Tour
As you continue to explore the beauty of Sedona, there is one tour we have yet to discuss, one that is perhaps a bit unusual, but an exciting experience nevertheless. The Angelic, UFO, Star, Night Vision Tour offered by Sedona UFO & Vortex Tours gives guest a unique peek into the stars. Sedona is a designated Dark Sky Community, making it even easier to see what is out there! The hardest part will be opening your minds to the possibilities but when you do, this tour may be the one that changes the way you look at life forever. Make your reservations by calling 513-680-8810.
Uptown Life
We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the best ways to explore the town, but there are other things you may want to do while you are here. One of the most popular activities is shopping, and uptown Sedona is a shopper’s dream come true. Nearly every store you walk into is locally owned, selling items you will only find right here in Sedona, items that you will need to own immediately upon seeing! If you don’t enjoy hiking but feel slightly guilty about all the extra calories you have been consuming, you will definitely get your steps in as you explore rocks, crystals, and minerals in some shops, gypsy style clothing and accessories in others, and a variety of artistic masterpieces in still other shops that line the streets of uptown Sedona.
It’s Christmas every day of the year at the Merry Christmas Sedona shop, offering ornaments, gifts, and Christmas décor that will remind you of your unforgettable trip to Sedona. Feed your sweet cravings with a visit to the Sedona Fudge Company, where the fudge has earned a spot on Andrew Zimmerman’s Appetite for Life. You can also spend your day with no specific purpose in mind, ambling in and out of each and every shop, giving your credit cards a workout and your soul a boost! Sedona is an artist’s paradise, and every other shop is guaranteed to spotlight the work of those artists, so be sure to take your time examining all their beautiful pieces in the galleries that are found throughout uptown Sedona.
Time to Eat
As you play, relax, and explore the landscape of Sedona, when it comes time to eat you have plenty of options, including preparing meals in our fully equipped kitchens. Sedona is known for its magic and that reflects in the restaurants you will find here during your stay. When you have the urge to start the day out with a meal made by someone else, the Red Rock Café, located at 100 Verde Valley School Road, will delight. Voted the best brunch spot in Sedona for many years running, every dish is guaranteed to be your favorite, and half-price mimosas on the weekends will help give your day a happy blur! Lunches of sushi and tacos at Shorebirds, 150 Highway 179, will make you smile, and when dinner time comes around, an upscale meal at Café Elote promises to make your evenings the happiest time of the day!
Layla’s Bakery, 3190 W State Route 89A, offers homemade baked goodies destined to make your visit sweeter and when you are seeking a dessert that will become your new obsession, Ellie’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie at the Hudson will haunt your dreams (in a good way) for the rest of your life. Located at 671 State Route 178, the rest of the Hudson menu is also pretty spectacular, but if you skip this amazing dessert, you will regret it for the rest of your life!
Plan Your Ultimate Guide to Winter and Spring in Sedona
However you spend your daylight hours in our red rock village, regardless of whether you follow our Sedona travel guide, coming home every evening to the quiet luxuries and extravagant comforts of our Sedona.Org seasonal escapes will be the highlight of your visit. Choose a rental with a hot tub and enjoy a soak under the stars or choose one of our pet friendly properties and experience a vacation with your ENTIRE family. Offering fully equipped kitchens that will help keep your options open, large luxury properties with private pools and walls of windows that let in views that will stun, our vacation rentals morph from houses to homes when your family resides under their roofs. The attention paid to the details ensures there are no wrong choices, just many happy options designed to keep the smiles on your faces. Reserve your favorite today and live the good life in Sedona!
