Spring is one of the best times to visit Sedona, as the great weather is ideal for outdoor recreation. If you’re considering a trip to Arizona this spring, we’ve put together the ultimate spring guide to Sedona trips to help our guests make the most of their time in the area. Read on below to see our favorite things to do and see in springtime!
Culinary Scene
First things first, you’ll need a hearty breakfast and coffee to get the day started on the right foot. Luckily, there are tons of cute cafes and breakfast joints in Sedona that offer homemade food, tasty pours of coffee, and sweet treats to get you excited for the day to come.
Head to Coffee Pot Restaurant for traditional fare and Southwestern dishes that will leave you full until dinnertime. This restaurant is known for its famous ‘101 Omelets’ and gift shop that offers souvenirs for you to bring back home to your friends. There are literally more than 100 omelet combinations to choose from, so it might take a while to read the menu. However, we love the unique combinations, like the Italian sausage tomato and cheese, shrimp and cheese, imitation crab, avocado, mushroom, and cheese, or the cream cheese and green chile omelet to hit the spot for a morning treat. Or maybe your kids want the sweet pancakes or Belgian waffles with ice cream, fruit, and whipped cream. All of it sounds great to us.
Next on our list of Sedona Spring restaurants is the Secret Garden Cafe. This super cute and cozy spot is somewhere where you could sit and hang out for hours on end with an iced latte and a book in hand. We love eating healthy while on holiday, so try the famous deep dish quiche Lorraine or the open-faced veggie omelet with fluffy egg whites, bell peppers, sauteed onions, spinach, and creamy feta cheese.
For the next day, HP Cafe on State Route 89A is a fantastic spot to check out while you are on your way to the nearby Devil’s Bridge tourist attraction or the Amitabha Stupa and Peace Park. This down-home American diner-style restaurant offers a no-frills alternative to the more upscale restaurant you see in today’s “foodie” culture. Order a standard plate of eggs, bacon, and home fries to hit the spot.
After a long day of hiking and exploring Sedona, it might be time to sit down for a nice dinner with your friends or family. Sedona offers many dinner spots ranging from little hole-in-the-wall options with cheap sandwiches to upscale eateries with five-course menus. The diversity here is what makes it so desirable to come for a vacation with your best pals or family members.
We love Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill for fine dining food, upscale ambiance, and unbeatable views. This incredible restaurant focuses on quality ingredients and unique creations that have earned it a spot on Open Table’s top restaurants in the state for multiple years in a row.
Start with some tapas to split with the table, like the handmade empanadas with portobello mushrooms, poblano peppers, and caramelized onions. Then, order mejillones con chorizo for a seafood starter, finished off with the gaucho plate, featuring chorizo-link sausage, Spanish butter beans, and pineapple criolla.
For a main dish, the meat is what really takes the cake. Order something from the ‘carnes a la parrilla’ menu to have the best meal of your life. Not sure what to get? The NY Strip, filet mignon, or Australian rack of lamb with cilantro mint and pesto are crowd favorites.
Another great spot to head to during your Sedona vacay is The Hudson. This typical American eatery offers incredible views, plentiful plates, and great drinks. The Hudson is a popular ‘neighborhood’ restaurant with a modern interior, incredible views over the desert, and tons of TVs for watching football games with your mates. They also have daily happy hours for unbeatable deals.
We loved the salted soft pretzel bread with brown mustard and Guinness cheese sauce to go with a pale ale and split with the table before our main dishes arrived. Then, try the fresh mozzarella bruschetta with tomato, basil, cracked black pepper, and balsamic syrup on a hot summer day. Or, if you want something heavier, the burgers, sandwiches, and prime-cut steaks are mouthwatering.
Lastly, the Hideaway House is a casual, family-friendly spot that churns out American and Italian dishes that will leave you full until the next day. We love the huge subs for splitting with the table and the wood-fired pizzas that pair well with the house glass of wine or an ice-cold IPA on a hot summer night.
Sedona Spring Activities
There is so much to do for a Sedona spring getaway that it can be hard to narrow the extensive must-do list to the top items!
We recommend going to see the biggest sights in the area, like Bell Rock and Cathedral Rock in the desert, to take incredible photos and witness the spiritual magic. Then, continue on during your nature-forward journey by taking a jeep tour throughout the desert and heading towards Boynton Canyon for a full day in the Sonoran Desert.
Hiking
If you are feeling really adventurous, you can take one of the longer hikes or bike trails through Sedona. The famous red rocks are super close to the city center, so you can easily get there with the proper hiking shoes and some water.
Some of the best hikes in Sedona and the surrounding areas include the Devil’s Bridge Trail via Dry Creek Road, Cathedral Rock Trail, and Fay Canyon. We love going on Fay Canyon for our first hike in the hot weather, as this short 2.5-mile trail is a short path with varied views that keep it interesting for people of all ages and interest levels. The scrambling at the end is the best bit!
Then, once you have conquered this short trail, you can move on toward more challenging trails, like Cathedral Rock. This hike isn’t hard, per se, as it is only 1 mile long, but you will still gain more than 500 feet in elevation as you try to get to the top of this incredible structure in the desert. Climb to the top of the rock to soak in the breathtaking views of Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte.
Lastly, Devil’s Bridge is an absolute must-visit during your time here. Although this hike is short at less than 5 miles round trip, it will still give you a little bit of a challenge that gives you the chance to get in some fitness and break a sweat. We recommend going early in the day to avoid the crowds and see the sunrise. The incredible views and rocky trail make it adventurous and exciting.
ATV Tours
It’s time to put on a helmet and take a super-fast ATV ride through the desert if you are not a fan of walking and getting hot and sweaty. Use Arizona Offroad Tours to go to the nearby canyons or even cruise to the top of the Skeleton Bone Mountain!
Other ATV companies to use while you are in Sedona are Sedona ATV Rental, Sedona Offroad Adventures, and Arizona ATV Adventures. Sedona ATV Rental offers an ATV rental service so you can go and cruise on your own with the high-end gear, trail maps, and drinks to stay hydrated and safe during your full-day excursion in the desert.
Kayaking
Head to the Verde River to hop in the flowing water and paddle along the waves to cool off after a few days in the hot and humid desert. You can kayak the Verde River by using a professional company, like Verde Adventures or Clarkdale Kayak Company, to stay safe and have a blast with your entire group.
Verde Adventures offers inflatable kayaks, scenic tours along the rivers, vineyard tours to combine fitness and fun, and tubing if you would rather just relax and float down the bright blue rivers. We love river trips, like the sporty and sweet river trip, offering a great chance for beginners to enjoy this small-scale private trip along the Verde River to see the sights.
Horseback Riding
Continue seeing the nearby sights by taking a horseback riding tour with Horsin Around Adventures. Choose the horse that you’d like and walk through beautiful flower-covered meadows, have an authentic cowboy dinner as the sun goes down, and take pictures of the breathtaking Sedona Red Rocks.
Hot Air Balloon
You can finish off your Sedona trips by going high up into the air to get the last glances of the red rocks and the lush green trees down elbow! Use Red Rock Balloon Adventures to see the sunrise from the best point of view you might ever get.
Red Rock Balloons is a popular professional business offering a sunrise balloon flight to bring you high above the Red Rock Country, offering the perfect viewpoint to see wildlife, natural wonders of the world, and the sun over the desert landscape. This flight lasts 60 to 90 minutes and is a once in a lifetime experience that you will talk about for years on end.
Spring Events
Finally, if you come to Sedona during the busting spring months, there are certain events that only occur here once per year that you won’t want to miss. Mark your calendars and plan your upcoming vacation around these exciting annual occurrences to have the best holiday of your entire year!
Attend the 13th Annual Celebration of Spring at the end of March to watch the parade through the town, drink ice-cold beverages with your friends, and take your kids on an Easter Egg Hunt through the parks.
Other interesting events to check out for your spring getaway include meditation in the park, 1st Friday in the Galleries to see the local art scene, sound healing baths and vibrational healing courses, yoga immersion practices, day yoga retreats, live music concerts, and much more. It doesn’t matter what you are interested in; there is truly something for everyone here in Sedona, AZ.
We recommend planning your trip with the Red Dirt Concert Series if you’re a folk or country music fan. This upbeat concert series is held every Friday in May, rounding out the spring with a chance to listen to live music, sing along, and dance the night away. Head to the Posse Grounds pavilion in Sedona to listen to some of the best local artists and have a few beers with your friends.
Stay with Porter for an Unforgettable Vacation
Porter offers the best of the best in terms of location, convenience, properties, and professional service. We have customers come back year after year to see new parts of Sedona they haven’t been to before due to our professionalism, great selection of properties, modern choices, and amenities in all of our homes.
Whether you want to stay in a small condo to enjoy a couple’s getaway with your partner, a family retreat in a small home, or a corporate bonding experience in a large mansion, we truly have it all. Look at our website online to see which property works for your group size and unique needs.
If you have questions, our agents are there 24 hours per day, seven days per week, to help you with the booking process and comfort during your stay here. We guarantee that you will never find better customer service than our agents, who have tons of experience in the industry and know the area like the back of their hand.
If this sounds like the adventure you want this upcoming spring, get started with us today. Sedona is a beautiful spot that offers much more than just winter skiing. Spring is the best time to hit the trails, hop in the water, and enjoy the culinary scene. Let Porter help you have a fantastic time—we take care of all the hard work.
