Some links on our site may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
A good Sedona itinerary runs three days: town and viewpoints first, the red-rock trails second, Oak Creek Canyon third. Put the trail day on a Thursday through Sunday, because the free trailhead shuttle runs only those days. Fees, hours and shuttle times below are as the official pages stated them on October 3, 2026.
I would start the big trail before breakfast. Desert sun climbs fast, and the rock holds its heat long after noon. We have done desert days with nieces and nephews along, and shoes and water have to come before snacks.
I would carry more water than feels sensible and save the shopping village for the hours when the sun is high. That one swap does more for a Sedona day than any gadget in your bag.
Sedona 3 day itinerary
Three days covers the headline stops without a sprint. Day 1 is the town, Day 2 is the trails, and Day 3 is the canyon road with a state park at the end of it. The table shows the plan, how you get to each trailhead, and the cost figures from official pages.
| Day | Plan | Parking or shuttle | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Tlaquepaque, Chapel of the Holy Cross, Airport Mesa viewpoint | Drive and park; terms are on each site | Parking terms at tlaq.com |
| Day 2 | Cathedral Rock, Devil’s Bridge, Soldier Pass or Bell Rock | Free shuttle Thursday to Sunday; Red Rock Pass if you park | Pass is $5 a day; shuttle is free |
| Day 3 | Oak Creek Canyon, Slide Rock State Park, Red Rock State Park | Drive SR 89A; Slide Rock is vehicle entry only | Slide Rock $20 per vehicle through October, $10 from November; $10 per adult at Red Rock |
Phoenix is roughly two hours away by car, and Flagstaff is under an hour. Town traffic builds at the busy hours, which is half the argument for the shuttle.
Tlaquepaque Sedona
Start Day 1 at Tlaquepaque on State Route 179. The arts village holds more than 50 shops, galleries and restaurants in two sections, North and South, among sycamore trees. Its own site showed 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the date checked, and says hours vary by day.
Go in the morning, before the lunch crowd, and leave the afternoon for the viewpoints. Gallery events on the first Friday of the month are on the village calendar if your dates line up. Parking terms are on tlaq.com, so read them before you drive in.
Chapel of the Holy Cross Sedona
The chapel sits just up the road, built into a red rock butte. It is a short, popular stop. Hours and parking rules change, so confirm both on the chapel’s own site before you head up.
I would go late in the day, when the low sun lights the rock behind it.
Airport Mesa Sedona
Finish Day 1 at the Airport Mesa viewpoint for sunset. Sedona is known for its vortexes, and the visitor bureau’s own site leans into them. People come for exactly that, and Airport Mesa is one of the spots usually named.
The views are real and the glow on the buttes is worth the stop. What you feel up there is your call. Bring a layer, because the temperature drops fast once the sun is gone.
Sedona hikes
Day 2 is the trail day. Start early, pick two trails and treat a third as a bonus. The table matches each trail to its shuttle route, and the lengths are round trip.
| Trail | Round-trip length | Difficulty | Shuttle route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cathedral Rock | 1.2 miles | Challenging; steep, almost vertical in places | Route 15, Cathedral Rock trailhead |
| Soldier Pass | Up to 4.5 miles out and back; 5 miles as a loop | Moderate to challenging; 846 feet of gain on the loop | Route 14, Soldier Pass trailhead |
| Devil’s Bridge | 4 miles from Mescal; 3.9 via FR 152; 5.7 via Chuckwagon | Not rated in the shuttle’s trail guide | Route 11, Mescal trailhead |
| Bell Rock and Little Horse | 4.3 miles to Chicken Point; up to 7.2 on the Bell Rock Pathway | Easier; the pathway is less rocky | Route 15, Little Horse trailhead |
Cathedral Rock Sedona
At 1.2 miles round trip, Cathedral Rock looks like nothing on paper. The shuttle’s trail guide calls it straight uphill and almost vertical in places. That is why I would do it first, while the rock is cool and the route is quiet.
Wear shoes with real grip and skip the flip-flop bravado.
Devil’s Bridge Sedona
Devil’s Bridge is the other headline walk, a natural sandstone arch. The 4-mile route starts at the Mescal trailhead, which Route 11 serves from the West SR 89A park-and-ride.
After heavy rain or snow, the shuttle’s safety tips say to start from Dry Creek Vista instead, since flowing water can make the Mescal creek crossings hard or impossible. Check the sky before you commit.
Soldier Pass Sedona
Soldier Pass is the longer, steadier option. The trail is relatively flat until it kicks up toward the end, and the payoff is the Devils Kitchen sinkhole and the Seven Sacred Pools. It suits a hiker who wants distance more than scrambling.
Bell Rock Sedona
Bell Rock and Little Horse are the easy day. The trail to Chicken Point is 4.3 miles round trip, and the Bell Rock Pathway stretches to 7.2 miles for anyone who wants more. If Cathedral Rock took the morning out of you, finish here.
Sedona shuttle
The trailhead shuttle is free, and so is parking at its park-and-ride lots. The shuttle’s own pages say trailhead routes run year-round Thursday through Sunday, daily during spring break and select holidays, and need no reservation.
Route 15 leaves the North SR 179 park-and-ride every 15 minutes from 7:00 a.m. Cathedral Rock is a 10-minute ride, and Little Horse comes six minutes later. The last trip back from Cathedral Rock was listed at 5:12 p.m.
Route 14 runs to Soldier Pass from the Posse Grounds lot every 50 minutes, with departures from 7:00 a.m. to 4:10 p.m. Route 11 runs every 30 minutes from the West SR 89A lot to Dry Creek Vista and Mescal, with a final trip at 5:20 p.m. The Route 14 page carried an effective date of November 6, 2023, so confirm times on the day.
The catch is parking. The shuttle’s FAQ says the Cathedral Rock and Soldier Pass lots close when shuttles operate, and that the Cathedral Rock lot is not an overflow lot. On shuttle days, ride. Do not circle.
Red Rock Pass
A Red Rock Pass covers parking at many national forest sites around Sedona. The Forest Service says the Red Rock Pass and the Coconino Hospitality Annual Pass cover the fees at many recreation sites in the Sedona area.
The visitor bureau’s hiking page lists the daily pass at $5, the weekly pass at $15 and the annual pass at $20, so confirm the price when you buy. The visitor center at 331 Forest Road sells it and showed daily hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the date checked.
Shuttle riders skip it, because they pay no trailhead parking fee. The America the Beautiful pass is sold through the same Forest Service page, but that page does not say it covers Red Rock Pass sites. Ask a ranger before you leave the Red Rock Pass at the counter.
Oak Creek Canyon
Day 3 is the drive north on SR 89A through Oak Creek Canyon, with a swim stop at Slide Rock. Check az511.gov for closures on the morning you go, because this canyon road is the scenic route to Flagstaff. If the plan stretches a fourth day, our Grand Canyon South Rim itinerary picks up from Flagstaff.
On the date checked, Forest Service pages listed a temporary West Fork closure dated September 26, 2026, for rockfall and flood hazards after the Pocket Fire. They also showed the Call of the Canyon trailhead as temporarily closed. Closures like these can last months, so recheck the alerts page before you plan around West Fork.
Leave glass bottles at the hotel. The same alerts page lists a glass ban within 300 feet of Oak Creek, outside developed facilities.
Slide Rock State Park
Slide Rock is the canyon stop most people remember: Oak Creek pours over smooth red rock into shallow pools. Entry is by vehicle only. The park page says there are no walk-ins or drop-offs, no reservations, and entry is first come, first served.
From February 3 to December 1 the park is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with entry and the swim area closing at 5 p.m. The entrance fee is $20 per vehicle with one to four adults from Labor Day to October 31, then $10 from November through February. Additional adults pay $5 each.
Red Rock State Park
Red Rock State Park has marked trails and a visitor center. Its page lists $10 for adults 14 and up, $5 for ages 7 to 13, and free for ages 6 and under. The park is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last entry at 4:30 p.m.
Stay on the designated trails, and leave the swimsuit in the car. The park page says swimming and wading in the creek are prohibited.
Sedona jeep tours
A Jeep or helicopter tour is optional, and the operators’ own pages are the place to read the details. Jeep operators describe guided off-road runs in modified Wranglers. One operator’s page said it takes 2 to 6 guests per reservation and asks larger groups to call.
Prices and tour lengths sit on each operator’s booking page, so read them there. Helicopter operators work the same way, and each publishes its own flight lengths and passenger rules. I would book a tour for the afternoon of a rest day, not the morning of a trail day.
Best time to visit Sedona
Spring and fall are the comfortable seasons. Summer works if you hike in the cool hours. The shuttle’s safety tips recommend hiking before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m. in summer, and carrying at least a liter of water per person per hour.
Summer also brings monsoon storms and flash flooding. NWS Flagstaff carries a flash-flood outlook on its page, so check the forecast before you commit to a creek crossing. The same shuttle tips advise turning back once you have drunk half your water.
Where to stay in Sedona
Base yourself in town or in the Village of Oak Creek. Town puts the galleries, restaurants and Tlaquepaque close, and it is the better fit for Day 1 and the Oak Creek Canyon drive. The village sits south on SR 179 and puts you nearer Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock and the Little Horse trailhead.
Either base works with a car. If you are doing the trail day on the shuttle, check which park-and-ride lot is closest to your bed, because the three lots serve different routes. Our Utah Mighty 5 road trip and Zion two-day itinerary carry the red-rock theme north if you are linking trips.
What to pack for Sedona
Pack layers, closed-toe shoes with grip, a hat and a large water bottle. Mornings and evenings can feel cool and midday feels hot, so layers beat one heavy jacket. The shuttle’s tips note that Sedona Fire responds to hundreds of trail-related injuries a year, so proper hiking shoes are the one item to get right.
A carry-on holds everything Sedona needs. The usual over-packing mistake is a third pair of shoes that never leaves the room. Our carry-on only packing list covers the rest.
Sedona FAQ
Do you need a Red Rock Pass in Sedona?
Yes, if you park at a national forest site that charges the fee and you are not riding the shuttle. The Forest Service says the pass covers fees at many Sedona-area sites, and shuttle riders pay no trailhead parking fee. Confirm the site on the day you go.
Is the Sedona shuttle free?
Yes. Rides and park-and-ride parking are free, and no reservation is needed. Trailhead routes run Thursday through Sunday, plus daily during spring break and select holidays.
How many days do you need in Sedona?
Three days covers the town, the trails and Oak Creek Canyon. Two days works if you drop one trail, but I would not go below that, because the trail day needs an early start and a buffer.
Can you swim at Slide Rock State Park?
Yes, in the park’s swim area, which closes one hour before the park does. Entry is by vehicle only, with no reservations and first-come, first-served admission.
How far is Sedona from Phoenix?
Roughly two hours by car. From Flagstaff it is under an hour. Allow extra time at busy hours.
Prices are approximate, current as of publication, and change frequently — confirm the latest price with the retailer before buying.
Published October 15, 2026.
Photo credits: (1) Courtyard at Tlaquepaque Arts and Shopping… — Norton Gusky, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; (2) Chapel of the Holy Cross built into a red… — Nheyob, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; (3) Devil's Bridge sandstone arch near Sedona… — Kitten Fleming from Houston, TX, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; (4) Oak Creek flowing over red rock at Slide… — Don Graham from Redlands, CA, USA – God bless it!, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.