Sedona
The red comes from iron oxide in sandstone laid down 280 million years ago, and the buttes are what erosion left of that layer; the town of ten thousand is held to two storeys in muted colours by ordinance, which is why even the McDonald's has turquoise arches. Three hundred kilometres of trail start at car parks, and the Sinagua cliff dwellings put people back into the scenery.
Why go
Red rock formations — Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock and Devil's Bridge, all walkable. Trails from the road — over three hundred kilometres of them, starting at car parks. Chapel of the Holy Cross — a 1956 modernist chapel built into a rock face. Oak Creek Canyon — a green gorge in a red desert, and the drive north to Flagstaff.
The character
Sedona sits where the Colorado Plateau's edge breaks into canyons, and the red comes from iron oxide in Schnebly Hill sandstone laid down 280 million years ago. The formations — buttes, spires and fins — are the erosional remains of that layer, and the town of ten thousand people is built among them under strict rules: no building above two storeys, muted colours, and even the McDonald's has turquoise arches because red-on-red was required.
The other Sedona is spiritual. From the 1980s the town became a centre for the belief that certain sites here are "vortexes" of concentrated energy, and an industry of aura readings, crystal shops and guided meditations grew around it. Geologists find no evidence; the town does not mind. What is unarguable is the landscape and the light — the rock goes through orange, scarlet and violet in the last hour of the day, and the trail network puts all of it within an hour's walk of a car park.
Places of character
Cathedral Rock — a short, steep scramble to a saddle with the best view in the area; go at sunset. Devil's Bridge — a natural sandstone arch you can stand on; get there before eight for the light and the parking. Chapel of the Holy Cross — Marguerite Brunswig Staude's 1956 chapel wedged between two red spires. Oak Creek Canyon and Slide Rock — a natural water slide in the creek, cold and busy in summer. Palatki and Honanki — Sinagua cliff dwellings and rock art from the twelfth century, by reservation. Airport Mesa — the accessible viewpoint over the whole town, and the reliable sunset gathering.
The way to do it
Start early — the popular trailheads fill by eight in season and the shuttle system exists for a reason. Carry far more water than seems necessary. See one Sinagua site, which puts the human history back into a landscape sold as scenery. And drive Oak Creek Canyon north to Flagstaff for the switchbacks and the change in ecology.
One perfect day
Devil's Bridge trailhead at six-thirty, walking in as the rock lights up, and standing on the arch with nobody else there. Breakfast back in town. Late morning at the Chapel of the Holy Cross, then Palatki for the cliff dwellings and handprints. Lunch and a rest through the heat. Late afternoon up Cathedral Rock — forty-five minutes of scrambling — to sit in the saddle as the whole valley turns scarlet and then violet. Down in the dusk. Dinner in West Sedona, and the sky afterwards, which is a designated dark-sky area.
Grand hotels
Enchantment Resort — in Boynton Canyon with the red walls on three sides. L'Auberge de Sedona — cottages along Oak Creek in the middle of town, with the water audible from bed.
When to go
Best expression: October and November — clear, warm days, cold nights and the cottonwoods turning in the canyon. Consider: March and April, wildflowers and comfortable hiking before the heat. Avoid if possible: July and August, when it passes thirty-eight degrees and monsoon storms arrive daily.
The frame
Ideal stay 3 nights · Minimum 2 nights · Best arrival by car from Phoenix, two hours · Airport PHX, 190 km · Walkability trails yes; the town is strung along a highway · Best without a car no