Infrequent poster, frequent lurker here. I wanted to thank you all for helping to plan my family's second trip to Sedona. Here are the quick highlights.

The players: me (30s), my sister and her husband (40s) and my very active parents (60s/70s).

Lodging: We stayed in a friend's timeshare in the Sedona Springs Resort just off 89A in West Sedona. Though this resort does not have the most amazing views, we do love its location and feel that having a kitchen more than makes up for the lack of views. We also like hiking, so we are often outdoors. Not sure this can be rented on the fly--the front office could advise.

Dining: We ate in most nights. If you are planning to cook yourself, we preferred Basha's to Safeway in terms of grocery stores. Our one night going out was at Dahl and Diluca. My brother in law loves it here--I find it good, the pasta is handmade and tasty. Not the BEST ever, but certainly very good. Salty, though. We also ate at Wildflower Bread Company (highly recommended, the soup was terrific) and at Ravenwood Coffee for a snack (coffee and tea good, pastries not so good).

Side Trip #1: We went to Jerome, but didn't have very much time to explore due to side trip #2. We'll go back next time. Enjoyed looking at some of the small shops and there are finds to be had at the thrift shop.

Side Trip #2: We travelled the Verde Valley Railroad. The family was skeptical, but we all ended up loving this trip. So relaxing! I do think going first class makes a huge difference (so much space!) especially for a larger group, so that you can sit together. The snacks of chips & salsa, quesadillas, fruit and cookies on the way back were filling and decent. The free champagne is atrocious, I would get the soda next time.

Side Trip #3: We booked a "tour of the universe" in Sedona with Evening Sky Tours (www.eveningskytours.com). I highly recommend this if you are interested at all in astronomy and/or getting a better look at the Sedona skies. We traveled to a "dark sky site" about 10 minutes from town and met with a former NASA scientist and Navy guy who has a fairly formidable telescope. Over an hour and a half, he pointed out constellations and showed us different highlights in the sky including a double star, the Andromeda galaxy, the Pleiades, and much more. I saw two shooting stars! My only advice is to wear much more clothing than you think necessary. It got cold out there (they warned us about this, but we still were underdressed). If you have older people in your group I would also suggest that you ask about folding chairs for them as it is a long time to stand up. I'm not sure they can provide them, but maybe they can. If not, bring a blanket to sit on and an extra one to wrap up in.

Hike: West Fork Trail. Moderate only because of the river crossings. Somehow only I got my feet wet. Crowded, but this didn't really detract from the hike.

Hike: Bear Mountain. Think of this as more of a climb than a hike. It is uphill all the way. We did not finish this hike, we made it all the way to the ridge (the first rise, I think), but didn't have enough water or time to get to the second ridge. The book Sedona Hikes says this is 2 hours one-way, but it is probably more like 3 - 3.5 (even though my parents are older, they are very good hikers--they weren't slowing us down!). We want to do this again, but will start earlier and bring more water and food. It's VERY easy to lose the trail so make sure to look out for subtle clues (i.e. a large rock placed in the middle of what looks to be the trail).

Hike #3: Bell Rock--a favorite. Easy. Watch as children leap elastically up the Rock. Find a perch or keep climbing. It's crowded but fun.

Hike #4: Submarine Rock. Easy except for the summit part which is about a 400 feet steep climb. Watch for the sign that shoes you where to turn up to the climb. Nice views. I think it's amazing that you can be in the middle of a suburb and have access to all these great hikes! Lots of people from the neighborhood out for a stroll here.

As always, the trip was too short. Can't wait to return. I hope this can help someone else in a small way in return for all the help I get on this board. Thanks again!

Thanks for the informative report coolbluewater - the hiking info is particularly helpful. Hoping to take a girls trip to Sedona one of these days.

Were you just there? Just wondering time of year since you mentioned the trails were crowded.

Some other hike you might like in area of Bear Mtn. are Doe Mtn., Devil's Bridge (big payoff at end), Fay Canyon Arch (another big payoff).

I like Basha's too. They have a great wine section. My teens were a bit skeptical of the Verde train also, but we all loved it.


You are the second person I've met who stayed at that timeshare. The other people liked it also. It does get you out of the crowds in uptown and put you close to Dry Creek Rd. hiking, Red Rock State Park, the tourist center in West Sedona (which is not busy at all, you can get good info there) and the good restaurants that are more like local hangouts on 89A west (like Thai Spices, Judy's, etc.).

I have met the owner of Sedona Starlight, Dennis Young. This is a similar company to Evening Sky and another option, although I like the price structure and timing of your tour. I have always wanted to do one of the evening star tours. Glad you enjoyed yours, and thanks for the advice.

Even if you had to hike to get to the spot to view, I think you could take a hiking-type three point seat on your back for the parents (the kind that has a triangle seat and three legs that cross each other- the hiking ones weigh very little and the legs telescope so they fit in a day pack like a collapsable umbrella).

Did you hike out to the spot where you did the gazing? Where was it? West Sedona?

You might enjoy the photos from Dennis' site. I have bought some of his photos of Hale and Leonidas going over Sedona - amazing.

http://www.sedonastarlight.com/siteindex.html

Sorry I didn't post the dates--we were just there for Thanksgiving week. Crowded on the West Fork Trail was seeing a school group + about 15-20 other hikers. Bell Rock is just fun no matter how many other people!

We drove out to the dark sky site, to a parking lot just off Cultural Park Way.

Our best reference for hiking was "Sedona Hikes" by Richard and Sherry Mangum. We hiked Fay Canyon last year (worth the steep scramble to arch #3--all else is pretty flat)--I'll add Devil's Arch to the ever-growing list for next year!

I also forgot to mention that we had a pizza from Picazzo's that we really liked. Not sure if that is a local hangout or not, but we didn't see many tourists (besides ourselves of course!).

Thanks for the picture link--

Thanksgiving and Christmas are the most crowded times of the year, then spring (April, early May), Oct., and summer (July and August). Try going in Jan. or better yet, in Feb., or even early March. It is cool and crisp but heats up during the day and you are down to one layer w/long sleeves and long pants for hiking by 11 am. No crowds then as long as you avoid uptown.

Appreciate the hiking tips - thank you!