The Beautiful Red Rocks of Sedona

A couple of years ago we spent a few days in Sedona with my parents. We have always loved visiting the Southwest and always do so in the month of May. We have found that the weather is much nicer in May and the crowds are not too bad either. I absolutely love the red rock formations in this region. On this trip, we didn't plan on hiking as we were with my parents. But, we ended up hiking a little anyways. Following are a few things that we enjoyed on our trip and would definitely recommend.

A day in Grand Canyon

Of course, a day in Grand Canyon is not sufficient. However, we only had a day to spend and we spent it in the most touristy fashion possible. Our first stop was Desert Watch Tower. The views from here were grand. We were able to go inside the watch tower to enjoy the views. You can also enjoy native art inside the tower.

Indian drawings in Desert Watch Tower

Views like this were everywhere and we stopped at a lot of different points to take pictures.

Panoramic vistas of Grand Canyon

Traveling on a shuttle is the easiest way to get around and avoid sitting in traffic. It was super cold and windy in May. So, I would highly recommend layering it up.

Sight-seeing and hiking in Sedona

We started the day on the red rock scenic byway. This map came in handy for this drive. The first stop was Chapel of the Holy Cross. It is a pretty neat chapel built into the red buttes of Sedona. We enjoyed the views from outside, but a tour of the inside is available.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

Next, we continued on the scenic byway, stopping at various points to take pictures.

Scenic vistas on Red Rock Scenic Byway

One of the stops that we thoroughly enjoyed was the Red Rock State Park. Luckily we reached here pretty late in the afternoon and decided to hang out until sunset. There are several trails in the park and we enjoyed walking around. The view of the Cathedral rock during sunset was beautiful. It was worth staying here for sunset.

The next day we decided to hike the Boynton Canyon. This is a 6.1 mile round trip out and back trail. All Trails rates it as moderate and my parents were able to do it quite easily. There is an incline on the trail, but the hike is not too bad and the views from the top are beautiful.

The next stop was Palatki Heritage site. This is where we got a guided tour of the Indian sites and were able to see their dwellings and ancient drawings. This hike was short, but quite informative.

Last stop was Sedona airport overlook, which offered beautiful views of the red rocks at sunset.

Helicopter ride over Sedona red rocks

We were walking in downtown Sedona and saw several companies offering helicopter rides. We picked one and drove off to Airport road. This is where we received a few instructions and went off on our tour. The flight was about 10-15 mins and was absolutely breathtaking! The views of the various rocks from above were just beautiful. Guidance Air has several tour options available on their website.

One of the things that I have been fascinated by, both in Sedona and San Diego are the variety of cacti. I just love the bright colored flowers and the different varieties of the plant. These are a couple that we spotted in Sedona.

Mom was fascinated by this tall one that we spotted on our way to the airport in Phoenix.

This was a short trip, but quite fun. We could have easily skipped Grand Canyon and done more things in Sedona, but parents had never been to Grand Canyon before. So, we wanted to give them a glimpse. There are a few more scenic drives and plenty more hiking trails around Sedona for those interested. My favorite was the unplanned helicopter tour. All photo credits go to our personal pro :-)