Any Sedona ideas to share?

[Dennis and Melissa]

We have a week in April 2025.

I'm thinking of staying at Dead Horse Ranch State Park the whole time, but worried we might end up driving a lot every day.

Any suggestions?

[Galway Girl]

We've stayed 2 times at Deadhorse Ranch for a week in the fall.  
It's one of our favorite places to go as there are so many things to do and see within a short drive.
The town of Cottonwood has a historic old-town with many tasting rooms and food offerings.

 

Some ideas in < 15 min drive include:

Tuzigoot Natl Monument 
Historic Jerome (Mining town)
Verde Canyon Railroad Tour
Old Town Cottonwood
Wineries & Tasting Rooms including the local wine university.
Day trip to Sedona is about an 45min. easy drive.

You can see some of our photo's of the campground and area here:

Site 8 - Deadhorse Ranch SP

Tuzigoot Nat'l Monument

Jerome State Historical Museum

 

Verde Canyon RR Tour in Clarkdale about 15 min from campground

[jd1923]

13 hours ago, Dennis and Melissa said:

We have a week in April 2025.

I'm thinking of staying at Dead Horse Ranch State Park the whole time, but worried we might end up driving a lot every day.

Any suggestions?

OMG! How are you getting from Florida all the way to Sedona, AZ?
I almost do not know where to start! 🤣

You're staying at the best park near Sedona. The City of Sedona has created the Red Rock Pass that you need to buy to even drive down any dirt road within 20 miles. The city is not camping friendly, again this park is the best place within 30 minutes of Sedona and not much else up there to camp.

I love everything Arizona, but only go to Sedona when out-of-town friends visit. Not being into overpriced art and things spiritual, it's not for me, but my son being religious and spiritual goes there monthly to hike and meditate. It is a special place, but the tourists, the crowds, the cheap stores and nowhere to park keeps me from more than an occasional visit. We can drive to Sedona in one hour traveling up Hwy 89A over Mingus Mountain, the best part of the trip!

Cathedral Rock is my favorite Sedona site. It's south of town on Hwy 179. You cannot miss it coming off I-17. However, we always visit from the backside (of Hwy 89A) where there is nobody but us most of the time (see our pics which is the backside view). I love this place, would not drive to Sedona without stopping here again!

Suggestions yes, spend more time in Cottonwood and Clarkdale. Book the Verde Canyon Railroad (Verde Canyon Railroad | Train Ride in Clarkdale Arizona (verdecanyonrr.com)) for a train excursion up to Perkinsville AZ, the head waters of the grand Verde River and back (we drive to Perkinsville often from our home).

I love the little town of Cornville. Eat lunch there and take in some town views along Oak Creek (very short drive). Don't let the name get you, what a cute town!

BTW, the best drive in ALL of Arizona is Hwy 89A heading north out of Sedona towards Flagstaff. This is the Oak Creek Canyon, just amazing. During April everything should be in bloom, and the water will be running strong. The birds are amazing, with thousands of butterflies everywhere if your timing is right!

Drive up the mountain to Jerome! What was the largest copper mine in history, booming 100 years ago and a cute cliffside town with great local restaurants and shops (no chains, more bikers than other tourists).

If you want to climb Mingus Mountain, on the same road another 600+ higher, you could then drive the beautiful descent down to Prescott Valley! Stop by and see us for an overnight. Fill your tank with mountain fresh water and plug into 30A service. You are certainly welcome. Great drives, hikes, restaurants, real stores and the famous Whiskey Row for drinks and dinner. You can camp anywhere in the Prescott NF and BLM lands. We have Thumb Butte and the Granite Mountain Wilderness. Prescott was founded in the 1860s by the Union Army as the capital of the Arizona Territory (in competition the Confederates founded Tucson).

A day trip to Payson is an amazing drive... But you only have a week!

If you like, you can pull your Oliver on every road I have mentioned. Have an amazing trip! 😂

[Dennis and Melissa]

12 hours ago, jd1923 said:

OMG! How are you getting from Florida all the way to Sedona, AZ?
I almost do not know where to start! 🤣

 

LOL.  Neither do I. That's why I started this thread.

Actually, Sedona is just going to be our first big stop on a 2-month trip centering around Utah's big 5.

We will probably only go into the actual city of Sedona for a change of pace or bad weather.  Most of our time will be spent hiking through the beautiful surrounding landscapes.  And the suggestions you made will now be added to that list.  TYVM

[Dennis and Melissa]

On 7/23/2024 at 10:17 AM, Galway Girl said:

We've stayed 2 times at Deadhorse Ranch for a week in the fall.  
It's one of our favorite places to go as there are so many things to do and see within a short drive

Thank you.  The pictures are really inviting!

[jd1923]

38 minutes ago, Dennis and Melissa said:

Actually, Sedona is just going to be our first big stop on a 2-month trip centering around Utah's big 5.

Wow, that's a lot. Given we are nearby, it took us 3 April-May trips to see all that! April 2022, we visited Mesa Verde, Canyonlands and Arches. Spent too much time in Moab (more for young people in Jeeps) and should have gone through Telluride and Ouray on the way instead (future trip). Spring 2023 we went to St. George Utah, visited Zion and Bryce Canyon. St George is a great town, and we went back this year and camped Snow Canyon and since the weather was hot headed north to Cedar City and made it to the viewpoint at Cedar Breaks. What a climb from Parowan to the top!

It can be extremely windy out here during April-May, so be ready for that. Some evenings it's hard to light the grill or fire ring. Also, some roads and locations are still closed for the season. For example, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and even the road to it opens May 15th. Most of the Utah parks are open in April, but you cannot do The Narrows of Zion (water flow to high) and hiking at Bryce would be on snow-packed trails. Zion is low elevation and April is good there. But at the north end of Zion, the road to Kolob Canyons will be closed for snow.

Hope this helps. You trip looks like the trip of a lifetime! 😂

[Dennis and Melissa]

1 hour ago, jd1923 said:

 it took us 3 April-May trips to see all that!

LOL.  I'm sure we will  not "see all that".  

I know we are risking some snow closures by going early.  But it maximizes our time with the grandkids back in FL.  Anyway, I'm willing to trade that risk for avoiding the summer crush.  I'd be very happy spending a week or so in 4 or five different spots, hiking what we can and just ogling the rest.  The parking lot in Zion is enough to make my heart sing. 😍

Our idea at the moment is something like this:

1. Take about a week to get from FL to Sedona
2. Sedona (Dead Horse Ranch SP) ~1week
3. Grand Canyon South Rim ~3days (we've been there once before)
4. Zion ~1 week - maybe half in the park and half with full hook ups in Springdale
5. Some part of Bryce/Grand Escalante ~1week (no idea where)
6. Moab (Dead Horse Point SP??) ~1week Canyonland and Arches
7. Start home via Monument Valley and Gila....
8. Another week to get back east

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 06:44 PM by Dennis and Melissa
spellink

[SeaDawg]

Totally doable. And, you'll see a lot. 

At the risk of offending everyone from the regions in between, just drive til you get to Arizona, as long a day's drive as you can tolerate. You can easily make it in less than a week, though Texas seems to never end... It's just so huge.

20 years ago, we did an rv trip from Orlando via Houston to Las Vegas, with two teen girls.  Sedona was our very favorite stop. Actually,  the teen girls were ready to mutiny, after the late May/early June heat of Texas and the Arizona desert. Sedona was a welcome two night reprieve. Went to Sliding Rock.  Then, we went to lake Powell, and rented a boat. Got temporarily lost. Made it out fine. 😀

Zion is beautiful.  So is Bryce. Don't know if I'd be up for a week at each.

We went to the Arches on another trip. Magnificent.  Don't try to go on a holiday weekend,  as we did. We wound up "camping" at a Walmart a distance away, overnight.  Everything was booked.

Bear in mind, my husband is the rock/desert guy. I'm more in love with trees/green/water. 

In Sedona, we stayed at an rv park a few miles from Sliding Rock. Probably Rancho Sedona. It was cool, shaded, and a creek. It was heaven, after days in the hot desert.

And, I think you are wise to avoid the summer crush.

Edited Wednesday at 07:35 PM by SeaDawg

[Mike and Carol]

We have stayed at Dead Horse SP a number of times and agree that it provides good access to all the local sites to see.  Sedona is an easy drive.

We camped on Zion for a week.  If you are there over a weekend I recommend you stay on the park.  Traffic getting into the park on the weekend was ridiculous, backed up for miles.  We were there in Janyary and in the off season you can drive anywhere on the park that is open.  During the high season you have to take a bus to most sites.  Not sure what off season dates are.

There’s a nice USFS campground near Bryce, Red Canyon campground.  No reservations.  We arrived around noon and had a choice of campsites, all pretty nice.  No hookups but a very well maintained campground with great views.

There’s a nice BLM campground in between Canyonlands and Arches, Horsethief CG.  It’s closer to Canyonlands but easy access to Moab and Arches too.

Good luck!  Mike

[Dennis and Melissa]

18 hours ago, Mike and Carol said:

There’s a nice USFS campground near Bryce, Red Canyon campground.  No reservations.  We arrived around noon and had a choice of campsites, all pretty nice.  No hookups but a very well maintained campground with great views.

There’s a nice BLM campground in between Canyonlands and Arches, Horsethief CG.  It’s closer to Canyonlands but easy access to Moab and Arches too.

TYVM!

Do you have any opinions about camping in Kodachrome SP (for Bryce area) or Dead Horse Point SP (for Moab area)?

[jd1923]

Just now, Dennis and Melissa said:

TYVM!

Do you have any opinions about camping in Kodachrome SP (for Bryce area) or Dead Horse Point SP (for Moab area)?

Don't know Kodachrome. Loved out visit to Dead Horse and wish we would have camped there. Do that for sure!

I agree with @SeaDawg, where she wrote, "Zion is beautiful.  So is Bryce. Don't know if I'd be up for a week at each." I would spend a week in St George area, so many things to do and we've made it an annual trip for us. You are a close commute to Zion. April is better than later, as it will get more and more crowded. The shuttle system gets full and you can wait at some stops for a while. For me 2 days at Zion is enough due to the crowds.

Separately I suggest camping somewhere up between Bryce and Capital Reef NP, weather permitting. This is all 8000+ FT elevation. Leaving Zion you can drive Hwy 9 east, the Mount Carmel Highway for more great views. Then take Hwy 89 N to Bryce. So many options!

[Mike and Carol]

18 hours ago, Dennis and Melissa said:

TYVM!

Do you have any opinions about camping in Kodachrome SP (for Bryce area) or Dead Horse Point SP (for Moab area)?

We’ve heard both are great places to camp.  You need to make reservations early, we were never able to get in even checking availability weeks in advance.  Goblin State Park is another popular park, we tried there, too and it was full.

[jd1923]

Arches NP has an online reservation system. We could only reserve a 4PM entrance, which worked out fine as the sun was softer and the day was nice cooling off. Drove all the roads and made two short hikes to Landscape and Delicate Arches. Left after 7PM to enjoy a late dinner at Dewey's in Moab.

Next door is the Moab Diner. Had great breakfasts there a couple mornings!

Edited yesterday at 04:01 PM by jd1923