what to do in sedona? (also sedona vs bryce/zion)

[brianmanahan]

dear atot, im going to sedona for like 1 day. whats the best things to do there?

also, if you had to pick between a day at sedona or a day at bryce/zion, which would you pick?

 

[ringtail]

``

 

[gevorg]

drive up to grand canyon if you have time

 

[brianmanahan]

a) i will check it out!

b) no thx

 

[brianmanahan]

drive up to grand canyon if you have time

yeah that is the next day

 

[gevorg]

:thumbsup:

 

[rocadelpunk]

jeep tour/hike, go with the yellow jeep company. There is also a turn off the highway a little north or little south of sedona (I forget) that has awesome scenic forest views. Thinking before...

 

[brianmanahan]

i actually found a company where you can get your own jeep in sedona. barlow jeep rentals. looks awesome, i am trying to decide whether to do that for a day and possibly cut out bryce/zion.

http://www.barlowjeeprentals.com/index.html

 

[brianmanahan]

rented myself a jeep for a solid day, going to be awesome! :awe: will try not to flip it over backwards D:

 

[IronWing]

In a choice between Sedona and Zion for a day I would take Zion in a heartbeat. Sedona is pretty, Zion is jaw-dropping gorgeous. In season, Sedona is a fifteen mile long traffic jam.

The Vultee Arch trail in Sedona is a pretty hike.

 

[mmntech]

You could get your chi measured, join a UFO based church, get crystal readings, or perhaps a colonic. I hear there's lots of hippie types there.

 

[Bignate603]

rented myself a jeep for a solid day, going to be awesome! :awe: will try not to flip it over backwards D:

Broken Arrow trail is short but fun. However, if you've never used a jeep before that is probably pushing it. The jeep rental place should have a list of good trails for you to do.

Sedona is mostly about seeing the area. If you want to do a hike to a cool swimming spot there's one nearby. Having the jeep will help to get to the trail head but you can get a normal car to it if you go pretty slow. Locals call it "the crack", you follow bell trail until you get to where it crosses a creek. Go up the creek (there's a trail on the left side of it) and you'll find the most amazing swimming hole you've ever seen. It's got big red cliffs on either side and a great spot to jump from.

Here's a few pics from when I went.

Click below, this is a video showing the place to jump from.


If you go here bring plenty of water, it will be a hot hike and it's a couple miles in. There's nothing to drink until you get back to civilization. Also, don't be a douche. Make sure to carry out anything that you bring in. People in the Sedona area are typically pretty good about that but there's always somebody that screws it up for everyone else.

 

[brianmanahan]

In a choice between Sedona and Zion for a day I would take Zion in a heartbeat. Sedona is pretty, Zion is jaw-dropping gorgeous. In season, Sedona is a fifteen mile long traffic jam.

The Vultee Arch trail in Sedona is a pretty hike.

im not much of a hiker though, my stamina is not so great. is zion better even if you are not hiking a whole lot? i pretty much just take the easy trails, 1 mile or so.

 

[Bignate603]

Bryce if you get a chance is pretty cool for just a stop for a day and there's a good hike that's pretty short. Can't remember what it's called but it's a complete loop through so you don't have to back track. One thing about Bryce though, it's at a very high elevation and coming up out of the canyon is all uphill. If you can only do a mile or so on a flat area in a lower elevation you're going to be huffing and puffing like crazy at Bryce.

 

[brianmanahan]

If you can only do a mile or so on a flat area in a lower elevation you're going to be huffing and puffing like crazy at Bryce.

maybe someday i will be able to hike more robustly

 

[FM2n]

Several years ago I went on a road trip with my family to Sedona and after staying a night we headed to Bryce. I would say that Sedona is REALLY nice. We visited a small area called Cottonwood and there was this restaurant with an oversized coffee cup in front of their restaurant. I can't remember the name of it, but they had the best country fried steak I've ever had. Personally I prefer Sedona since there are a lot of areas you can walk right into and you're presented with a beautiful view and path. At Bryce, unless you take hikes and dig deep, you will end up at a lot of "pit stop" scenic views.

 

[brianmanahan]

cool, i think i'm going to plan to stay there for the better part of a day

 

[Zeze]

Hey brianmanahan,

You.
Must.
Do.
THIS!

Absolutely AMAZING. Do the Broken Arrow Tour. You will be floored!!!!

I have all these BREATH taking pics, but don't feel like sharing personal pics now.

GF and I went on a 9-day Southwest trip. We did Sedona -> Page AZ (where Antelope Canyon is) -> Grand Canyon -> Bryce -> Zion -> Vegas.

Bryce absolutely floored us, more than Grand Canyon. It's like Lord of the Rings, walking between the hoodoos. You need 2-3 days to do Bryce justice. Sedona is perfect for your 1 day trip.

I highly suggest riding their ridiculous Jeep rated for their trail rather than renting one yourself. Their Jeep is actually tuned different and we scaled some fvcking ridiculously steep paths that civilians didn't have access to.

 

[brianmanahan]

thanks zeze! i have seen the broken arrow, it does indeed look awesome - but i think im gonna try it with a rented jeep. i have a feeling that just surviving will be flooring enough for me, lol. plus that way i can go on other trails and use it for a whole day for like 300$.

i was originally planning to do sedona/grand canyon/bryce/zion + yosemite/sequoia + yellowstone in 12 days. now that i realize how much there is to do PLUS seeing that yellowstone is probably still gonna be like 40-50 degrees, i think i may just save yellowstone for next vacation and give it enough time to do it justice.

 

[Bignate603]

maybe someday i will be able to hike more robustly

I'm in decent shape but when I was there I was definitely feeling the elevation. It's far better to decide you can't do it before you end up down at the bottom of the canyon.

thanks zeze! i have seen the broken arrow, it does indeed look awesome - but i think im gonna try it with a rented jeep. i have a feeling that just surviving will be flooring enough for me, lol. plus that way i can go on other trails and use it for a whole day for like 300$.

How much experience do you have with a 4x4 vehicle? Broken Arrow isn't a ridiculous trail but it's something where you can get yourself into trouble if you don't know what you're doing. If this is your first time and you're not going with somebody that knows what they're doing you may want to stick to trails recommended by the rental agency. You also will want to check what kind of limits the rental place puts on the use of the jeep.

 

[brianmanahan]

How much experience do you have with a 4x4 vehicle? Broken Arrow isn't a ridiculous trail but it's something where you can get yourself into trouble if you don't know what you're doing. If this is your first time and you're not going with somebody that knows what they're doing you may want to stick to trails recommended by the rental agency. You also will want to check what kind of limits the rental place puts on the use of the jeep.

nothing with a jeep

but quite a bit with 4 wheelers

 

[Newbian]

If you are visiting zion make sure to bring a emp blaster in case the robots invade.