Hiking in Sedona | Arizona

Sedona was on my “must visit” list for some time now. We planned this trip very loosely, and honestly, I hadn’t even planned to be able to visit this town originally. But various weather events had us driving way farther south than we anticipated, and that turned out be a really awesome thing. I had images in my mind as to what Sedona might look light, and it exceeded any expectations I could have had.

We stayed at a nice little campground called Rio Verde in the desert close to many hiking trails. We only had a few short days here, so I wanted to make the most of our stay. I googled some good hikes online and came across the Cibiola Pass and Jordan Trails. Both were pretty short and close to town but were reported to have great views of the red rock formations around Sedona. Plus, doggies were allowed, so Migo was able to join us!

The day of our hike, we lucked out with hot sunshine and fluffy white clouds. Since that day, we have not seen many clouds in the desert. I love the texture that they add to the sky. As we hiked along the trail, both I could not stop saying “wow!”. It feels like we said it at least once a minute. Everywhere we turned there were were epic red rocks and adorable little plants growing out of the desert. Just honestly so breathtaking. I was really wishing we had a couple to photograph in this location. Seriously,  I would come back in a heart beat!

We hiked all afternoon until the sunset. Once it started getting dark, we headed into Sedona to peruse the little shops. Sedona is a bit of a mystical town- there are areas reported to be energy vortexes, and there are plenty of shops that sell crystals and other mystic related items. Whether or not people believe in it, I think mysticism is fun. I really enjoyed this town. On our way back to the campground, we saw a group of wild pigs on the outskirts of town. There was even a little babay! The next day, we hopped on our bikes for a ride through the desert. Plenty pics of that to come!

Thanks so much for reading! Plenty more photos of this beautiful desert to come! Shelley Hartman, Arizona + North Carolina Wedding Photographers