Your Sedona Getaway: What to Actually Do When You Get Here

Sedona is one of those places that stops you mid-sentence. The sandstone towers, burnt sienna and deep crimson, rise straight up out of the desert. The light on the canyon walls is different every hour. Gold in the morning, bronze around noon, this almost-purple thing right before the sun drops. And at night the stars feel close enough to touch.

Our rentals at Desert Haven sit between West Sedona and the Village of Oak Creek, pretty much in the middle of all of it. If you're staying with us, this is what we'd tell you to do.

People come back to Sedona year after year for something that's genuinely hard to describe. The scale of it. How quiet it is. Whether it's your first trip or your tenth, you'll find something new. So, where to start.

Hike the red rocks

The trails are the main reason most people come, and you're a few minutes from some of the best hikes in the Southwest. Easy walks, half-day scrambles, sunrise spots , pretty much anything you want.

A few we always send guests to:

Bell Rock. The trailhead is right there in the Village of Oak Creek so a lot of our guests just walk over. You can scramble up the lower ledges and get views across the whole valley. It's the postcard.

Cathedral Rock. Short trail, steep climb, one of the most photographed in Arizona. The payoff is the saddle between the spires with Oak Creek and red rock country spread out below. Go early. Parking is rough by 9am.

Soldier Pass. A favorite of ours. Arches, sinkholes, rock formations that look kind of alien. Worth it.

Fay Canyon. Easier walk, beautiful natural arch tucked into the canyon wall, and way less crowded than the headliner trails. Bring water though, there's no shade for parts of it.

Mornings are everything. Start early, beat the heat, beat the parking situation, and you're back at the house by lunch with the whole afternoon open.

Take a jeep tour

A lot of the best stuff in Sedona isn't reachable by car. Couple of jeep tour operators run out of Oak Creek Village and West Sedona, and they'll get you into terrain you couldn't find on your own. Slot canyons, hidden vistas, places that aren't on any map.

Even guests who hike a ton come back from these tours kind of buzzing. The guides know the geology, the history, all the corners. It's a totally different way to see this place.

Stargazing

When the sun drops and the desert cools off, something else takes over. Very little light pollution out here, the air is dry, and the night sky looks the way most people have honestly never seen it. The Milky Way actually shows up as a band across the sky, not just a vague glow.

Blanket, drink, patio. That's it. You don't need a telescope. Some of the best parts of a Sedona trip happen after dark doing nothing.

The vortex sites

Sedona's been known for a long time as one of the most energetically charged spots in North America. Four main vortex sites: Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, Airport Mesa, Boynton Canyon. People come for the spiritual side, people come to debunk it, and most of them walk away a little affected either way.

You don't have to buy into any of it for these spots to hit. The views alone do the work. Sit somewhere quiet at one of them for a morning and you'll get why people travel from all over to be here. Something about the scale and the silence really does clear your head.

Tlaquepaque and the art scene

Quick drive from the Village brings you to Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village. It's the center of Sedona's art scene, built in the style of an old Mexican town along Oak Creek, and you can easily kill half a day just wandering the courtyards.

The work in the galleries is good. Painters, sculptors, jewelers, ceramicists, mostly regional artists, a lot of them around to chat. You can walk out with something handmade and actually remember who made it.

Drive Oak Creek Canyon

The road north from Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon is one of the prettiest drives in the state. The road follows the creek through a tight corridor of red and white walls. Whole thing is worth an afternoon.

Stop at Slide Rock State Park if it's warm, the natural rock waterslides are a local thing and they're a blast. Or just pull off at one of the overlooks. In the fall the cottonwoods go gold against the red rock and it's almost too much.

Where to stay

Where you stay shapes the whole trip honestly. Hotels are fine but a rental gives you space, a kitchen, a patio for morning coffee while the rocks change color.

Our Desert Haven properties are in the Village of Oak Creek corridor, which we think is the sweet spot. Far enough from the busier part of Sedona to feel quiet. Close enough that trails, restaurants, and galleries are five-to-ten minutes away. Most of our places have a lot of square footage, private outdoor space, real red rock views.

Traveling with a dog? You're set. Sedona is one of the most dog-friendly towns in Arizona, lots of trails near the Village allow pets, and several of our rentals are pet-friendly. Just book early. The good ones go months out, especially spring and fall.

Coming home

There's something about getting back to the house after a day in the red rocks. Doesn't matter if you've been hiking, exploring, or just sitting somewhere quiet, the whole day has kind of been building to this part. Fire pit. Hot tub. Warm living room with Sedona outside the window.

Sedona has a way of working on people. The scale puts stuff in perspective. The quiet turns down the noise we all carry around with us. Give it a couple slow days and it'll probably do the same to you.

When you start thinking about tomorrow morning out there, all that's left is figuring out where you're staying. That part we can help with.

Want to come see for yourself?