Sedona Arizona - A Great Place to Find Your Happiness

 Sedona is a place where you can step into another world that allows you to self-center and remember everything you enjoy most. Whether it is time to sit in nature and renew your energy, enjoy great food and drinks with friends, or get your adventure on and explore the miles of trails and canyons, Sedona will have what you are looking for.

Sedona is about 60 minutes south of Flagstaff, Arizona, and about 2 hours north of Phoenix.  You can take multiple routes to get to Sedona, each of them being designated as a scenic byway.

Where we Stayed:

We stayed in a very nice townhome that we found on Airbnb, located within walking distance of the downtown Sedona area.  It was ideal to leave the car parked and easily walk down to the Sedona Beer company or hit many restaurants and shopping.  The accommodations were very comfortable, and working with the management company was easy.  The unit was immaculate and well maintained, so we felt good about our stay.  The kitchen was also well stocked with decent tools for the kitchen, and the knives were sharp.  

The outdoor patio was the real charm of this location for us.  The furniture outside was very comfortable, and you had a decent view of the red rocks of Sedona.  While the temperature was warm, the north-facing patio provided adequate shade, and the temperatures became quite pleasant quickly in the evening.

Hiking in Sedona

There are a lot of hiking options in Sedona.  If you are going to go hiking a couple of important things to remember.

1. Get to the trailhead early, like when the sun is rising.  The trailhead parking areas are not very large, and they fill up quickly.  If you go later, you will be having to park along the busy road and adding mileage to your hike.  The added bonus is that sunrise is a beautiful time of the day, and it is also the coolest time of the day.
2. Take plenty of water.  You are in the desert, it is going to be warm, and you need to have plenty of water to stay hydrated. 
3. Know which sites need to have a pass for parking, and make sure you know where you will get your pass.  Cathedral Rock has a kiosk in the parking log, but others do not.

Visit my post on hiking in Sedona for a rundown of the trails we could complete while we were in the area.  Read More!

Eating In Sedona

Pisa Lisa
2245 W Hwy 89A
Sedona, AZ 863336
9820282-5472
Website

Who would have thought that the most amazing meal we would have during our stay in Sedona would have been pizza?  Pisa Lisa was recommended to us by a couple of people before we left for Sedona, so we went on our first night to give it a try.  The restaurant was following all the COVID precautions, so we had about a 45-minute wait for a table, but it was worth it.  We started the meal with their Greca salad.  We chose to split this, and it was plenty of salad for two.  The salad has an amazing greek style dressing and is topped with cucumbers, red onions, plum, tomatoes, olives, and feta cheese.  It was a classic greek salad and made a great start.  

For our pizza, we shared a Funghi Decadente and added the fennel sausage to it as an additional item.  This pizza tasted great.  It starts with mushrooms and caramelized onion.  The for cheese, it gets provolone, parm-Reggiano, and one of our favorites, gorgonzola.  Finished with just a hint of truffle oil for a little extra flavor.  The pizzas are wood-fired, so the crust is as good as all the toppings. 

Since we had shared the salad and pizza as an excuse, we also got some salted caramel gelato from their gelato bar for dessert.  This was the perfect finish to a great meal.  Pisa Lisa offers a full bar and has different beers, including a few from the local breweries.

Outlaw Grille
250 Jordan Rd Suite 9
Sedona, AZ 86336
928-862-4085
Website

If you are looking for a nice casual lunch, Outlaw Grille is a great place to grab a hamburger and a beer to fuel you up for the rest of the day.  Located in the main shopping area of downtown Sedona, this is an easy place to get to but is tucked in between a couple of stores.  It is a long thin corridor with tables and a counter where you order, and then they bring you your food.  

We split one of their burgers because they are so large.  They were very kind to cut it and serve it in two different baskets, which shows me they were paying attention when we ordered. We got the Ace-High Burger which had blue cheese crumbles, bacon, grilled onion, and mushrooms. {$13.99}

This was just one of their 8 burgers on the menu.  They also offer salads, sandwiches and other entrees like ribs and rings, so you are bound to find something that you like.

Javelina Cantina
671 AZ-179
Sedona, AZ 86336
928-282-1313
Website

We wanted to make sure that we got some good Mexican food while in Arizona, so we headed to Javelina Cantina for dinner one night while in Sedona. We were able to get a table pretty easily inside and ordered a round of Margaritas to start the evening off right.

Everyone at our table got something different, so it was wonderful to be all the different meals.  I got a combination plate because I just could not decide what I wanted.  It had a chili relleno, an enchilada with mole sauce, and a crunchy taco.  The mole tasted great, but the best thing on the plate was the chili relleno.

Someone else in our party doubled down on the chili relleno by getting the chili relleno platter which is on the specials menu and features two of these tasty treats.

Also on the specials meal is the Carne Asada Plate that featured marinated sirloin steak cooked on the grill and served with roasted peppers, onions, and tomatillo sauce.

If you want to build your own smaller combo, you can do that as well.  The final person in our group got a chicken enchilada and a crunchy taco with rice and no beans.

The one thing that I detested about the Javelina Cantina is that they have some bizarre rules about their advertised happy hour.  The advertised happy hour pricing for their margaritas is only available if you are sitting at the bar; you will pay full price if you are sitting at a table.  We picked our time to go based on the happy hour advertisement we saw and felt like this was just a way for them to screw the customer over.

The Cofee Pot
2050 W State Rte 89A
Sedona, AZ 86336
928-282-6626
Website

The Coffee Pot boasts that they have over 101 different omelets, and they are absolutely not kidding.  This breakfast spot was recommended to us by some friends from Arizona, so instead of making breakfast in the AirBnB like we normally do, we headed off for a late breakfast at The Coffee Pot.

The restaurant is much larger than I thought it would be, so even if there are many cars in the lot, be sure to stop by and see how long the wait might be.  The breakfast here is big and tasty.  I got a seafood omelet with grits and toast.  The food was good, and it was amazing just how many options there were. The service was very efficient, and they were cranking out the food.

Out waitstaff was on the ball and kept the coffee cups full while we waited for our meal.  There is also a gifts shop at the restaurant's front to visit while you wait with many local souvenir-type items.  

Shopping in Sedona:

While I am not one for a lot of extra shopping when you are in such a beautiful place as Sedona, there is one group of shops in particular that I did enjoy shopping in while we were there.  The Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts village is located just south of one of the main traffic circles in downtown Sedona.  You drop down the hill by a river which helps the large trees grow and provide shade.  The shops are all accessed through the courtyard area, and there is a great mix of shops to choose from.  The art galleries are amazing and have many different styles of art.

The courtyard is quite pleasant if the ladies in your group want to take a little more time in one of the shops, you can head out to the courtyard and enjoy a little quiet time or people watch.  If it is an appropriate time of the day, there is a brewery and a distillery located within the shops for you to visit.