Sedona is home to outdoor activities of all kinds: golf (two golf courses are nearby) and tennis; balloon, helicopter, airplane, back country jeep, and the Verde Canyon Railroad Wilderness train rides; horseback riding, mountain biking, fishing, canoeing, and more. We will gladly put you in touch with those who sponsor these activities and otherwise help you to enjoy Sedona’s innumerable possibilities.

On the green: One-half and three miles from the Penrose are two excellent 18 hole championship golf courses where red rocks meet fairway and tee green.

On two legs: Sedona’s many hikes–short and long, easy and strenuous, flat or steep, with views ranging from the pleasant to the beautiful to the spectacular–can only be sampled in a brief stay. Perhaps you’d like to hike to a large arch in a quiet canyon or visit Native American petroglyphs or pictographs. Guidebooks provide particulars for a hundred hikes. A nice way to start is with the two-hour hike around Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock which begins one-half mile from The Penrose. Six personal favorites: Cathedral Rock, colorful (and popular!) Boynton Canyon, the more remote Lost Canyon, Devil’s Bridge, Broken Arrow, the labyrinth of trails in Red Rock State Park, and the Soldier Pass-Brins Mesa Loop.

Looking for an easy yet outstandingly scenic hike? Try Marg’s Draw Trail from Schnebly Hill Road to the Broken Arrow Trailhead. For variety, views, two canyons and a mesa, hike Soilder Pass and Brins Mesa as a Loop.

Schematically

Setting	Hike
Along the bottom of a canyon	– Boynton Canyon
Along the side of a canyon	– Lost Canyon
Up a large rock	– Cathedral Rock
Along the ridge line	– Red Rock State Park
To a natural bridge…     and maybe across?	– Devil’s Bridge
Two canyons and a mesa	– Soldier Pass-Brins, Mea Loop

Personal Favorites

* Marge Larson	* Mark Edwards	* Terry & David Groff
Brins Mesa West	Mt. Wilson	Lost Canyon
Boyntion Canyon	Chimney Rock Loop	Brins Mesa
Little Horse	Thunder Mountain Trail	Huckaby
West Fork		V-Bar-V Petroglyphs
Palatki
V-Bar-V Petroglyphs

On four legs: Ride horseback across the desert on a large working ranch in nearby Rimrock.

Bi-Wing Airplane: Wing or double-wing it over Sedona’s monuments, buttes, canyons, and mesas, perhaps even glimpsing The Penrose.

Bi-Wing Airplane: Wing or double-wing it over Sedona’s monuments, buttes, canyons, and mesas, perhaps even glimpsing The Penrose.

In the water: So you’re coming to the desert to swim. Is that a good idea? Nonetheless, we can accommodate you. Traditionalists can use the municipal pool or heated pools in local resorts and spas, while the more adventurous will enjoy getting wet and rock sliding in Oak Creek Canyon’s Slide Rock State Park.

In hot water: Travel the back roads, park, and then hike one mile to The Verde Hot Springs where the water remains hot, though presumably not from the sixties fire which burned down the old resort there. Expect to encounter nature lovers, yuppies, hippies, mountain men, hard scrabble types, people in varying stages of dress and undress, exhibitionists, nudists, gun lovers, and the well tattooed.

On the water: Kayaking

Above and under the water: The area offers multiple opportunities for those who like to fish. Stocked ponds virtually guarantee a catch which can then be grilled for dinner.

Red Rock Crossing

The bridge is gone but the beauty remains. Recently a particularly dramatic photograph taken here sold for $17,500. You’ve seen it in pictures. Now experience it. Wade in the creek, swim in the swimming hole, and enjoy the picnic area or choose your own spot on the red rocks. Cathedral Rock

Cathedral Rock is Arizona’s most photographed spot. Considering the competition this should tell you something.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

This cool and dramatic church proves that being on the rocks can be a good thing. Nor should we forget the parking lot views.

Airport Mesa

Enjoy a view of Sedona from on high. Senator McCain who has a vacation home a few miles away announced the end of his 2000 presidential campaign at the airport.

Red Rock State Park

Our largest local park sponsors Park Service guided tours.

Tlaquepaque

Admission limited to those who can pronounce the name 5 times rapidly. This beautiful re-creation of a Mexican village is a pleasant place to be, a good place to shop. Many unique items for sale.

Schnebly Hill Road

(route 153; named after Sedona Schnebly). In contrast to the first two paved miles, the next six unpaved miles might be the bumpiest trip of your life and require a suitable vehicle. What better way to get full value from that rental vehicle! This trip from Oak Creek up through two red rock canyons provides awesome near and far views. Once at the top you can continue by a beautiful mirror lake on to I17. The return trip gives you one of Sedona’s most spectacular entrances.

The Penrose B&B

May we add the view from the Penrose? The fact that local calendars and post cards use pictures of our view (and, indeed, only a small part of our view at that!) validates this suggestion. Beyond what you see from your room, your balcony, and the deck, take a few steps up the path behind the house or walk around the arroyo to the east for new views of Courthouse Butte (which has been featured on the front cover of a national road atlas), Bell Rock, one of the area’s most colorful and perfectly sculptured formations, Red Butte and Castle Rock. Notice the amphitheater created by the surrounding buttes and enjoy the breeze with its soothing hum. We think of this as a wonderful, at times even awesome spot–why else are we here?

On Two Wheels: All manner of trails, settings, views, and challenges await the beginning or experienced mountain biker in this area which is becoming a mountain biking mecca. Bikes can be rented nearby.

On Two Fast Wheels: Rent a Harley or other motorcycle.
Be a Hawg for a day.

On Four Wheels:

• Jeep Tours: Jeep tours will take you into the inaccessible back country.
• Rent a Jeep or Hummer: Go where others cannot.
• In a Car: Travel Highways 179 and 89A, Verde Valley School Road, Upper and Lower Red Rock Loop Roads, Dry Creek, Jacks and Boynton Canyon Roads, and Airport Road to sample the variety and extensiveness of the area’s inspiring beauty.

On Many Wheels: The Verde Canyon Railroad Wilderness train ride, originating in Clarkdale, takes passengers on a beautiful 4 hour round-trip excursion through the Verde Canyon and upper Verde Valley.

Oak Creek Canyon

One of the West’s famous and, at the southern end, colorful canyons provides the setting for a drive designated by Rand McNally as among the USA’s six most scenic. The drive begins at the northeast corner of Sedona. Enjoy Oak Creek Canyon on the way to and from any point north, e.g., the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Monument Valley, Lake Powell, and the Four Corners.

Grand Canyon

110 miles. Need we say more? A circle tour from Flagstaff features the San Francisco Peaks (one of which, Mt. Humphreys Peak, is Arizona’s highest mountain at 12,633 feet), Sunset Crater National Monument with black lava flows, and Wupatki National Monument, site of extensive Indian ruins. The Grand Canyon portion of the journey takes you to Desert View, Hopi Point, The Watchtower, Grand Canyon Village, and Hermits Rest.

Flagstaff

In and around Flagstaff visit the Lowell Observatory, Northern Arizona University, the Museum of Northern Arizona, and The Arizona Snowbowl with its sweeping views and picturesque skiing.


Walnut Canyon National Monument

On the eastern edge of Flagstaff. Take the short pathway down the otherwise inaccessible sheer rock walls of this dramatic canyon to see its numerous ancient cliff dwellings.

Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki National Monuments

North of Flagstaff on Loop Road 545. At Sunset Crater take the easy one-mile Lava Flow Trail to get out into these jagged formations. Wupatki, the largest and most spectacular of the many pueblo ruins in Northern Arizona, includes North America’s northernmost ball-court. While traveling between these two monuments stop at the Painted Desert Vista for its primo view.

Roden Crater project

New York Times art critic Michael Kimmelman feels that James Turrell’s project, one of the world’s biggest pieces of art, “will almost certainly turn out to be the first great, enduring work of the new century.” A New Yorker Profile (Jan. 13, 2003) describes Turrell’s great work as “not about light, or a record of light; it is light–the physical presence of light made manifest in sensory form.”

The Petrified Forest National Park

Further east on opposite sides of highway 40 outside of Holbrook. Prioritize Petrified Forest viewpoints as follows: Blue Mesa, Crystal Forest, Giant Logs, and Puerco Pueblo. Hikers will thoroughly enjoy the one-mile Blue Mesa loop trail. Include the Painted Desert portion of the park and Kachina Point’s colorful panorama.

Four Corners

Ever been in four states simultaneously? Not unless you’ve been to four corners. Mesa Verde National Park is one hour further on.

Monument Valley

See why this valley was John Ford’s favorite Western location, and why it, along with Sedona, is where the West was filmed.

Lake Powell

Take advantage of the unique opportunity to boat past desert cliffs and through desert canyons in the surreal beauty of this man-made lake. Visit Horseshoe Bend and either Upper or Lower Antelope (slot) Canyon, especially toward midday when the sunlight penetration is the greatest. You may want to take a seven or eight hour boat ride through Lake Powell to Rainbow Bridge, the largest natural bridge in North America, but if so remember that the three hour return trip can seem long.

Meteor Crater

East of Flagstaff visit the 570 feet deep, one mile across crater blasted 49,000 years ago by a meteor 80 feet in diameter traveling 133,000 miles per hour.

Native American Areas

The Yavapai-Apache Camp Verde Tribal Communities are in nearby Camp Verde while all or part of the Havasupi, Kaibab, Navajo, and Hopi Indian Reservations are spread across Northern Arizona.

National Monuments

Sedona is surrounded by no less than four National Monuments. In addition to those mentioned above are two more with dwellings whose ruins date back to the 12th and 13th centuries, making them among the oldest ruins in North America. Each is located 20 miles from Sedona: Tuzigoot to the west and Montezuma’s Castle to the south.

Jerome (30 miles)

A former ghost town hanging precariously on the side of Mingus mountain, Jerome is now a thriving arts and crafts center with an interesting mining museum.

Arcosanti

This experimental utopian desert community embodies visionary architect Paolo Soleri’s synthesis of architecture and ecology (arcology).

Scenic Circular Trips (for those with appropriate vehicles):

• Sedona, Flagstaff, Williams, and Jerome.
• Sedona, Flagstaff, Mormon Lake, and then either Munds Park or Camp Verde.
• Consider including 556 (linking 89 & 180 via Schultz Pass) to the Flagstaff portion of your trip.