If you’ve never been to Sedona, Arizona then you need to go! If you’re flying in its only 1.5 hours north of Phoenix. If you decide to drive, then take some time to also visit the Grand Canyon, which is 2 hours north of Sedona. We stayed in Sedona at the Krazy K campground and spent 4 nights there.

We have both seen red rocks before at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado. So if you’ve seen that you may think you can skip Sedona – don’t! The mountains of Sedona are stunning and so big! When we drove towards our first hike we couldn’t see the red rocks and I was wondering how far we’d have to drive before we saw them… Then, all of a sudden, you go around a mountain and there they are.

Our first hike was Chuck Wagon Trail to Devil’s Bridge. This was just over a 6-mile hike, but if you need it shorter you can hike along the jeep road. Just be careful – it can get really busy. We took the Chuck Wagon Trail on the way to the bridge and told ourselves if we were too wore out we’d take the jeep road back to the car. We were on a high and opted out of the shortcut and finished the hike clocking in over 6 miles. We have NOT been training, and we were tired after this. Everything was sore afterward, but surprisingly we didn’t wake up sore the next day! So… take what you will of that. It’s nice to have the jeep road as a backup if you get tired at the end of the first half.

So, enough about the nitty-gritty of the hike, let’s talk about the amazing bridge we saw! It was a really gorgeous hike, especially at the beginning. I kept stopping and turning around in circles to see everything. After a while, you’re hiking through some trees so you can’t see too much, but there is still enough to see that you don’t get bored. Then, the reason you’re there, Devil’s Bridge! It looked very intimidating to go out on, but once you walk over to take a picture out on the bridge you’ve got a lot more room than you think. There were a lot of people out there (and we’re told it’s usually busy), so there was someone to take our picture for us. I did squeeze Brannon’s hand pretty tightly while we were out there, especially when our photographer took multiple pictures. I was ready to get back to a larger area!

Overall Experience: Loved it. Took us 3 hours (not including the 30-minute break we took for lunch and pictures at the bridge). Medium difficulty, quite steep to get up to the top of the bridge.

The next day was rainy which gave us a nice excuse to get some work done and relax. We went to a local coffee shop, and then to Starbucks after that one closed. The views at these coffee shops were incredible! The most amazing location for a coffee shop, I am pretty sad I can’t work there every day.

Our next hike was Doe Mountain Trail. This was a shorter hike than Devil’s Bridge but it was our favorite because of the views. Doe Mountain Trail is short but steep as you climb to the top of a mesa. Once you get up there you can explore the entire top, there are trails that go all the way around it, so you’ll end up hiking a bit more than the 1.2 miles the trail map suggests. If you want to see all of the Sedona areas this is the hike to do. By walking around the top of Doe Mountain you’re able to see everything. Mountain ranges, red rocks, the city of Sedona… everything for miles. This would also be a beautiful place to watch the sunset.

Overall Experience: Our favorite hike because of the views. Took us 2 hours, which included a 5-10 minute break at the top to sit and catch our breath from the climb, as well as the time to wander around the top and take pictures.

That same day we had a bit of time to kill before it was time to watch the sunset, so we drove 5 minutes down the road to the Boynton Trail. This trail is over 6 miles long, but when you start on the trail there is a cut off trail called Boynton Vista Trail that is only about .5 miles(total). So we pulled over and took off on this little trail that put you up on a cool hill with great rock formations and views. This took us 35 minutes total.

Overall Experience: Nice and easy. If you’re tired or have less than an hour to kill this is a great way to do it.

We ended that day, our final day in Sedona, by going back to the Chuck Wagon Trail to watch the sunset. The parking lot was pretty empty so we didn’t have to park far away from where we wanted to watch the sunset. The winds really kicked up that evening and it got cold fast! So if you’re going anytime that isn’t the summer make sure you have a warm coat.

We loved hiking in Sedona. While we stayed at an RV park there are a lot of really nice resorts and hotels there, you could make a very nice vacation out of your visit by mixing hiking with a nice massage… that sounds glorious right now.

Have you ever been to Sedona? If not, do you think you’ll add it to your bucket list now?