Sedona Weekend Itinerary: Best Things to Do in Sedona

Sedona is a town in Arizona surrounded by beautiful red rocks. Sedona offers a perfect destination for a relaxing weekend getaway from the city. Spend time hiking, walking around the shops in the downtown, and dining with a view. Use this itinerary to plan a perfect weekend getaway in Sedona.

How to Get to Sedona

Sedona is located in northern Arizona, a two hour drive north of Phoenix. The best way to get to Sedona is to fly into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) and rent a car to drive to Sedona. You will need a car during your time in Sedona to get to the hiking trails and restaurants, and it will be much cheaper to reserve the rental car ahead of time on Discover Cars from Phoenix. The drive from Phoenix to Sedona is beautiful since as you go up in elevation the landscape drastically changes.

You can start planning your trip to Sedona by finding the best flight deals to Phoenix on Skyscanner.

TIP: Try to avoid driving back to Phoenix late Sunday night as there is often bad traffic from Sedona back to Phoenix at this time as many people are returning from their weekend trips in northern Arizona.

Where to Stay in Sedona

Sedona has many Airbnbs, resorts, and hotels. If you are looking to spend more time at a hotel enjoying the spa and pool then I recommend a resort like the Enchantment Resort. If you don’t intend to spend too much time at your accommodation and prefer to explore, Airbnb would be a great alternative with many suite, private rooms, and entire home options throughout Sedona.

Best Time To Visit Sedona

Sedona is a beautiful place regardless of the season, but you can enjoy your visit more when there is better weather. Summer in Sedona can get very hot with temperatures over 100 degrees. Therefore, I recommend skipping Sedona in the summer especially if you are planning to hike. The best time to visit Sedona would be between end of September and May. If you are looking for warmer weather but would still like to hike I recommend visiting between September and October and March to May. If you want to see Sedona with snow that typically happens January or February and you would need to go soon after it snows as it melts quickly.

Sedona Weekend Getaway Packing List

In order to make the best of your weekend in Sedona, use this packing list so you don’t leave anything you’ll need behind.

Hiking Clothes: Make sure you have at least two hiking outfits so you can hike both days.
Hiking Boots: I recommend hiking boots for most of the hikes in Sedona as the trails are often rocky and sandy and the hiking boots offer good traction and ankle support. If you are looking to find a new pair of hiking boots you can search through many great deals on Backcountry.
Daypack: Don’t forget to bring a comfortable backpack to carry all essentials for your hikes. This Gregory daypack is one of my favorite hiking bags.
Reusable Water Bottle: Bring this water bottle that can keep your water cold for 12 hours.
Sunscreen: The sun can be really strong in Sedona and most of the hikes don’t have much shade.
Sunglasses: Bring your sunglasses so you can easily see all the incredible views.
Camera and Charger: One of the things you can’t forget to bring on your Sedona weekend itinerary is your camera so you can capture your memories in Sedona.

FREE Google Maps List with 30+ Destinations in Sedona

Explore Sedona with this Google Maps list of 30+ destinations including hikes, viewpoints, and restaurants. Additional notes are included for off-the-beaten-path hiking trails. Subscribe below to get the link!

Best Things To Do in Sedona

Hike the many incredible hiking trails in Sedona. Choose which hikes to do during your weekend in Sedona from our list of the Best Hikes in Sedona and our guide to Sedona Off the Beaten Path.
Get an incredible aerial view of the red rocks on a helicopter tour over Sedona.
Stay at the Enchantment Resort and relax in the pool surrounded by beautiful red rock views.
Do a scenic Kayak tour on the Verde River in nearby Cottonwood.
Go wine tasting near Sedona with a wine tour.
Hike one of the top shaded hikes in Sedona during the summer.
Eat at a restaurant with a view: The Hudson, View 180, Hideaway House, or Mesa Grill.
Go shopping in uptown Sedona at the crystal shops, boutiques, and galleries.
Explore Tlaquepaque Arts and Shopping Village and visit to the galleries and shops.
Check out Jerome Ghost Town, 40 minutes from Sedona. Plan your trip to Jerome with our guide to a day trip to Jerome.

Sedona Weekend Itinerary

You can easily visit Sedona in a weekend especially if you are already living on the west coast. If you are living on the east coast luckily you will gain 2-3 hours flying to Phoenix so you might only need to leave work a couple hours early on Friday and then you can take a red eye back. Follow this Sedona weekend itinerary for the perfect time in Sedona with a mix of great views, good food, and amazing hikes.

Saturday

Breakfast at Indian Garden's Cafe and Market

Start your weekend in Sedona eating breakfast at Indian Garden’s Cafe and Market. Indian Garden’s Cafe and Market is a cute cafe in North Sedona with nice outdoor seating in a garden area. Since it is also a market you can also purchase baked goods and snacks for the day.

Hike Devil's Bridge Trail

Next on your Sedona weekend itinerary is hiking to Devil’s Bridge. Devil’s Bridge is a very popular 4.2 miles round trip hike in Sedona that takes you to a natural sandstone arch formed by erosion. This is one of the best hikes in Sedona if you are looking for a unique destination. If you have a high clearance all wheel drive vehicle you can drive closer to the trailhead. If not, your car will not be able to make it and you will need to park further out and hike about 1 mile to the trailhead along a dirt road. Most of the trail is flat with the exception of the last part which is more steep. I recommend starting the day early at this trail as it gets very crowded later in the day.

If you are looking for a less crowded hiking trail option, continue to our Sedona Off the Beaten Path guide. For additional popular hikes, view our list of Best Hikes in Sedona.

Hike Broken Arrow Trail

Broken Arrow is an easy 3 miles round trip hike to an incredible viewpoint called Chicken Point. I’ve hiked this trail several times and each time I’m still in awe of how beautiful it is. Hiking Broken Arrow trail to Chicken Point is one of the best things to do in Sedona and is a great option for your first day as it has great views but isn’t too difficult so you will still have plenty more energy to hike more on Sunday.

Dinner and Catch the Sunset with a Drink at View 180

Change into a nice outfit and head to the Enchantment Resort, a beautiful resort in Sedona with several nice restaurants. Make a reservation at View 180 where you can enjoy a drink surrounded by the beautiful red rocks. This restaurant is open from 4 pm to 9:30 pm. If you are hungry they also have some food options or you can go to Tii Gavo which is also located at the Enchantment Resort for more options. If you are looking for a cheaper dinner option you can checkout Pisa Lisa, Hideaway House, Fresh and Natural Thai Kitchen, or 89Agave Cantina. If you are looking for another place to get drinks, Vino Di Sedona is a good wine bar that has live music every night.

Sunday

Breakfast

On Sunday try to get a quick breakfast so you can have more time to hike. Wildflower Bread Company and Whole Foods are good options if you are looking for something quick. If you are looking for a more sit down place to have brunch I recommend The Secret Garden Cafe or Mesa Grill.

Hike Soldier Pass and Brins Mesa Loop

One of the best hikes in Sedona and a highlight of this Sedona weekend itinerary is Soldier Pass and Brins Mesa Loop. This 5 mile loop features the Seven Sacred Pools, Devil’s Kitchen sinkhole and incredible views. You can start the trail at Soldier Pass Trailhead if you can find parking there, but the parking lot is very small and gets full fast. If there is no parking there you can find more parking at Jordan Road Trailhead. These trailheads are a 15 minute drive away from each other so if you don’t want to waste time and you think the Soldier Pass Trailhead parking might already full, you can just go straight to Jordan Road Trailhead. If you intend to do the full loop you will end up hiking the same amount either way.

You can do the loop either clockwise or counter clockwise. If you do the loop counter clockwise from Soldier Pass Trailhead, you will see a large sinkhole soon into the trail called Devil’s Kitchen. Then you will continue hiking and you will come across the Seven Sacred Pools. The small pools look really nice with the surrounding red rocks towering above. Soon after you pass the Seven Sacred Pools you will start hiking up the rock until you reach the top of the mesa and meet Brins Mesa Trail. Here you will see incredible views of Sedona and the surrounding red rocks. Once you reach Brins Mesa Trail you will hike down the rock on this side and then loop back to Soldier Pass Trailhead on Cibola Pass Trail.

Lunch With a View

Continue enjoying the beauty of Sedona during lunch, by choosing a restaurant with a good view. I recommend The Hudson or Mesa Grill. Choose a restaurant you haven’t eaten at yet and eat a delicious lunch with an even better view.

Schuerman Mountain Trail to Vista

If you want to try to fit in another hike, I recommend hiking Schuerman Mountain Trail to the viewpoint. This part of the trail will be about 1.8 miles roundtrip and will take you to a beautiful viewpoint where you can see Cathedral Rock and other surrounding red rocks. On the trail to the viewpoint you will also see Thunder Mountain and Coffee Pot Rock as well as surrounding mountains. This is a great off the beaten path hike to enjoy the beauty of Sedona without the crowds. For other off the beaten path hike recommendations in Sedona, continue to our guide to Sedona Without the Crowds.

Explore Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village

A weekend in Sedona is not complete without stopping at Tlaquepaque Arts and Shopping Village. Here you can find galleries, shops, and restaurants. Try Chai at the Chai Spot, and then have dinner at one of the 5 restaurants.

Enjoy the Views from Bell Rock

On your way back home from your weekend in Sedona you should make a quick stop at Bell Rock. Bell Rock is a rock formation located towards the south entrance of Sedona on 89A. It is a short walk from the parking lot to Bell Rock. Once you reach Bell Rock you only need to climb up the rock a little to enjoy great views. If you are able to, you can climb further up the rock. This can be a very easy or difficult trail depending on how far up the rock you go, but either way it is worth a quick stop.

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