Sedona activities on a modest budget
 

My wife and I are visiting Sedona 10/22-10/24. What are some suggestions for free or minimal cost activities? We have booked a 2 hour Vortex tour for 10/23.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations from this invaluable forum.

Hiking is free . . .

http://www.lauberge.com/blog/nature/...-sedona-hikes/

I loved the Pink Jeep Tours. I think more fun than a Vortex tour but your choice of course.

I think it would be pretty easy to visit several of the vortexes on your own.

Drive up to the historic mining town of Jerome for an interesting little day trip.

The Pink Jeep tours are definitely not free/cheap . . .

I would skip the vortex tour and visit most of them on your own.

Pink Jeep tours are great, but expensive. To me, the Red Rock Jeep Soldier Pass tour is second only to the PJ Broken Arrow tour, and much less expensive.

As was pointed out, hiking is (mostly) free -- and very plentiful. You will need a Red Rock Pass (or a National Parks Pass) to park at most trailheads. West Fork Trail requires an entrance fee, but I think it is the best hike around Sedona. Other hikes I enjoy:

Bell Rock/Courthouse Butte
Boynton Canyon
Fay Canyon

Other free/inexpensive things:
Chapel of the Holy Cross
Sunset at airport Mesa (halfway up on the left), at Red Rock Crossing, or on Upper Red Rock Loop Road.
Sunrise on airport mesa (up at Sky Ranch Lodge)
As mentioned, visit Jerome
Browsing uptown or Tlaquepaque is fun (if you like that kind of thing)
Wine tasting along Page Springs Road (not free, but fun)

Stop at the ranger station on 179, just before the Village of Oak Creek and get maps and other area information.

Forgot to mention another hike I really like -- the Baldwin Trail.

http://www.greatsedonahikes.com/baldwin/baldwin.html

Cheap - Sedona is not.

Sales taxes: State 5.6% + County 0.75 + Sedona 3% = 9.35 %

Motel bed tax 3%
So if you stay in a motel it is 12.35 %
Restaurant is 9.35% plus 15% tip = 24.35%

Sedona is NOT cheap.
We avoid it.

Vaga

Vaga,

The OP is going to Sedona. So your response was singularly unhelpful. Why did you even bother to post?

To balance Vaga's unhelpful post, state taxes are the same throughout the state and most cities have at least a 1% to 2% or higher sales tax, most have a bed tax, sometimes up to 4%,and many counties have a small sales tax. So if you are just looking at taxes to say "Sedona is NOT cheap", you could say the same about just about any city or town in Arizona. For instance, Scottsdale has a combined hotel tax rate of 13.92% and Flagstaff has a combined rate of 10.95% on hotels AND on bars and restaurants.

So, please just stop with your ridiculous assertion that Sedona is too expensive.