Sedona in July, are we crazy?
 

We seem to travel to the hottest places in summer. Last year we went to North Carolina, Wilmington Beach...so humid, and the year before that it was Hilton Head, both places in July. We have never seen the Grand Canyon and that is our mission, and our only time away is in July. Will it be that unbearable? We are use to humid weather living in Wisconsin and traveling to the Carolinas in summer...but will this be any different? I guess I never was in the Southwest in the summer months. I have made reservations for 5 nights at the Matterhorn Inn in Sedona, but not the airfare yet. Any suggestions or comments? thanks

My family and I traveled last year late July/early August. It was the rainy season we were told after experiencing heavy rain for 2 days. Please do NOT cancel the trip, it was still wonderful. You didn't indicate if you have children or not. We all loved going to Slide Rock State Park, Chapel of the Holy Cross and Montezuma's Castle. We also found a great old fashioned ice cream parlor called the Black Cow. They had delicious ice cream and made their own whipped cream!

I was in Sedona in late May and the temps were in the 90s. Phoenix was 107. My girlfriend planned a trip in early Aug. and I warned her about the heat. She's a bit...different...than me on this. She grew up in Richmond, VA and she loves when it's hot and humid! 90 is great to her! (All I can say, is Ugh).

After warning her - her temps in early Aug. were in the 80s! But don't count on this. My opinion is this: the SW heat can feel like a blast furnace. To me, around Moab and Las Vegas it was unbearable. I think the Grand Canyon rim is a bit cooler (but inside it is way too hot. We rode the mules down in June and I remember it being very cool when we started early in the AM and the further down we got it was HOT. We got lucky - it got very overcast, and that kept the temps more reasonable).

In Sedona, cool off at Slide Rock! Sedona is wonderful - you will love it there.

Be sure to take the Broken Arrow Pink Jeep Tour. It is awesome. It will be hot, but you will love it anyway. We were there the third week of June two summers ago. Phoenix was 115, and I could hardly bear to walk from the pool to the room. Sedona, however, was very pleasant "up in the hills". I did not think the Grand Canyon was bad at all. Be sure to get up to see the sunrise--you probably will need a jacket at that time; we did.

I went to Sedona in July 1999 and the weather was perfect. As already stated it was the rainy season so it wasn't too hot. We found it to be even cooler around the rim of the GC.

Go, have fun. :-)

I was in Sedona once in mid July. It was upper 80's/ low 90's while Phoenix was 115F. Very nice. :-)

We've gone many times in the summer months. It is hot, but plan accordingly. Hike in the mornings or evenings. The West Fork of Oak Creek is fine in the daytime as it is primarily a shaded trail that follows the creek. Swimming is fun at Red Rock Crossing; many families enjoy Slide Rock Park.
Grand Canyon is at a higher elevation so it is cooler.
Always wear sunblock, a hat, and carry water.

July is a great time to visit. Remember not all of Arizona is a desert like Phoenix. Sedona is higher in elevation and cooler. And, the Grand Canyon is about 20 degrees (at least) than Phoenix.

The summer months are very popular at both locations.

Thanks for all of your replys...Momjay, it is only the two of us, no kids on this trip. We are in our 50's...just plan on siteseeing and we do plan on doing the Pink Jeep Tour, and am thinking about the Verde Canyon Railroad trip..any thoughts on this? And any suggestions for good restaurants? Thanks

We were there in July '04. It was gorgeous. Very HOT mid-day...would not have wanted to be doing anything strenuous but it was gorgeous to lounge in/around the lovely and UNCROWDED spa pool at Enchantment. Nights were beautifully cool and we dined outside numerous times. We toured Grand Canyon, Sedona, Zion & Las Vegas and the only part that was truly unbearable was VEGAS...that was the absolute hottest I have ever felt. It was just like opening the oven door when you stepped outside. We had to spend all our time in the A/c'd casinos!!

We are from Florida so maybe we are used to more humidity but actually the temps around the Grand Canyon reminded me of New England in the summer. I could not believe how cool it got at night...we were surprised we needed sweatshirts.

Sedona is very comfortable in July, not nearly as hot as Tucson or Phoenix. You should think about spending 1 night at the Grand Canyon - there are several hotels there. Try to get to Jerome if possible, it's about 1/2way between Sedona & Phoenix, a very charming little old mining town.

I do not think it is safe to make a blanket statement that Sedona weather is very comfortable in July. I am from Houston and am used to heat. We spent 10 days in Sedona in late June-Early July and it was hot as heck the entire time, 97-98 degrees and scorching sun. We could hike in early morning but by 10 am we were at the pool or at SLide Rock State Park or inside and stayed there til about 5 pm. We were able to do hikes in Oak Creek Canyon but not in the open, exposed red rock areas after 10 am.

On the other hand, Flagstaff, an hour away from Sedona, was cool on that trip, so we went there a few times to hike. And we required sweatshirts at night there and at the Grand Canyon (at night- it was very hot during the day at GC) on that same trip.

It will be very hot and water might not be enough. We were there in late June/early July; drinking plenty of water and still feeling exhausted when locals suggested that we switch to a sports drink which replaces lost electrolites.

I have been watching the Sedona weather for the past week. It is 100-101 degrees all this week there.

98 or 100 v. 115 in Phoenix feels very comfortable!

Flagstaff is much cooler still, but the op asked about Sedona particularly.

There is a huge fire outside of Sedona near Oak Creek Canyon and 400 homes an businesses have been evacuated and it is very serious..
It breaks my heart..Please check with where you will be staying to make sure you will be ok..
Please keep us posted..
Best to you!

So far we are having a warmer than normal spring. You can check the Phoenix temps, then subtract about 10 degrees for Sedona (about 2,000' higher than phx), and subtract another 10 for the south rim of gc (7,000'). It's a dry heat, and it's true what they say--I hate heat but it's a lot more tolerable than the humid summer back east. However, July is normally the start of monsoon season. We didn't have one last year, so continued our drought. Hoping for one this year, so it would be more humid.

The fire is near Oak Creek north of Sedona and heading northeast, so Sedona shouldn't be effected much. That's why we need a monsoon!

Oh, I think it is affectng Sedona. The Oak Creek evacuees have come down into Sedona and gone up to Flag (depending on waht part of the canyon they are in) and are staying in the hotels there. Look at the pictures of the smoke (see link below). And there are people in Sedona who have also been evacuated also. We have a fodorite who lives in Sedona who was evacuated from his home last night. Check the other threads on the board about this.

Click on the the "reader's photos" to the right of this news article and see the photos taken fro Sedona yesterday- the last of the 68 photos was taken today.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...fire19-ON.html

I was in Sedona the week of July 4th last year celebrating a friend's 40 birthday. He rented a fabulous house and we hiked in the morning, headed back to the house and lazed around in the afternoon. We had a great time lots of relexing and bbqs.

My friend had gone to some trouble to plan short hike and hikes that were along river beds and therefore cooler and shaded. We had a wonderful time and the temperatures were in the 90's with no rain. However, you should know I enjoy the Scottsdale resorts in the summer.