Day Trips from Phoenix: Part 1 - Sedona

We took the family up to Sedona for a day trip this weekend and I thought it'd be good idea to do a few posts about day trips that can be taken from the Phoenix area. So, here's part 1: Sedona.

Having been to Sedona several times but never doing anything "touristy" we thought it'd be fun to take a jeep tour of the area. We found a good deal on Deal Chicken (similar to Groupon) and decided to go for it.  The drive from Phoenix, depending on your starting point, is about 2 hours.  It's an easy trip up I-17 and if you have time to make an overnight stay in Sedona, there's some nice stopping points along the way including Montezuma Castle National Monument (just off I-17), Tuzigoot National Monument, and the small town of Jerome and Prescott (which would be a bit of a detour). If you do an overnight trip, here's a map of places you could visit:


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Driving from Phoenix with little ones to Sedona, there's a rest top about 50 miles out of town at Sunset Point, and another at Camp Verde just before the turn off for Sedona. Good diaper changing and potty spots for little ones.  Head on into Sedona and enjoy the wonder of the red rocks as you make the first turn into town and the appear directly ahead of you.  Sedona is famous for it's red rocks, arts and culture, and it's spiritual / metaphyiscal attributes. Many celebrities have homes here as well.

The tour we took was with Arizona Safari Jeep Tours, and they require car seats for kids under 5 (although that should really be under 8, since our law just changed a few months ago). We took a Diono Radian for our 3 yo and a backless booster for our 7 yo.  It's about 10* cooler in Sedona than in Phoenix, so wear something semi-warm in the winter/spring depending on the weather. They also have blankets in the jeeps as well.  We took a 4 wheel drive tour through the desert and along the outskirts to the west of Sedona. Our guide Bevin was very knowledgeable about the plants, animals, and geology of the area. We learned some new things ourselves even being native Arizonans.  Bring snacks for the kids as our tour was 3 hours and there's no where to stop to eat.

We all had a great time and spent the rest of the afternoon walking and exploring the city. Another fun place to check out is the Sedona Airport restaurant, up on a mesa (flat top hill) with a great veiw of the city and red rocks. The kids can sit right off the runway and watch the planes come in.  If you go in the summer, you can also head up to Oak Creek Canyon and Slide Rock, but I wouldn't recommend  Slide Rock unless your kids are at least 4. It requires a little hiking to get down to the creek and the water is pretty cold!