Visiting Sedona – Hiking and Photography in Arizona's Red Rock Landscape
- Andrew Bondarchuk
- Dec 23, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Sedona is a desert town north of Phoenix, known for its beautiful scenery and relatively mild climate. It sits within a high-desert landscape with lush greenery and dramatic red rock formations rising abruptly from the surrounding terrain. The area's scenic drives take you around towering sandstone buttes and through narrow canyons. An extensive network of trails makes the landscape easy to experience up close.
The contrast with Phoenix is apparent. The city can feel relentlessly hot in the summer, while Sedona – still warm – offers a sense of relief by being higher, greener, and more contained. As you approach town, the landscape begins to close in, with the vast Arizona desert feeling less expansive and more personal. Sedona attracts a mix of people – hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, photographers, and visitors drawn by the area’s spiritual reputation and vortex sites. With its blend of dramatic landscapes and varied experiences, Sedona is a great place to adventure or simply spend time among its iconic red rocks.
Driving north from Phoenix, the road begins to climb, the desert floor giving way to higher terrain as saguaros thin out, replaced by juniper and pine trees. With every few miles, the air cools – by the time the red rock formations come into view, the change in temperature is obvious and refreshing. Stepping out of the car in Sedona felt like entering a different season, a reminder of how much elevation shapes the landscape and the experience.
Bell Rock Loop
We stayed in the Village of Oak Creek, just south of Sedona. It’s smaller and noticeably quieter, but close enough to the main sights to feel connected. The town sits along Highway 179 – one of the most scenic drives in the area – where the red rock formations gradually reveal themselves as you head north, hinting at the grandeur that lies in the desert ahead.
The Village of Oak Creek sits conveniently next to the Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte trail system – the parking lot is just outside town. With a hot summer day ahead, I set out early to explore the area while it was still cool, hoping to catch the first light on Bell Rock.
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I chose the shorter Bell Rock Loop, an easy two-mile walk over red, rocky ground. The trail alternates between smooth paths and uneven stone, weaving through low vegetation for part of the loop. The trail is easy to follow, but it’s worth paying attention to forks and trail markers – I missed a turn on my first walk around and ended up briefly on the much longer Courthouse Loop, before retracing my steps back and continuing on.
Moving through the trees, I noticed small cacti tucked among the bushes, easy to overlook in the low light. A cool breeze lingered, until the sun finally cleared the horizon. Almost instantly I felt the desert heat, and soon enough the top of Bell Rock caught the sunlight, glowing against the darker rock below. I watched as the warmth spread and the desert began to wake. As heat settled in and the shade retreated, I turned back towards the car.
Cathedral Rock
Cathedral Rock is one of Sedona’s most recognizable landmarks, the towering sandstone butte visible from many places in the area. Cathedral Rock Trail is the most direct way to experience this unique red rock formation up close. Fortunately, there are several other viewpoints that offer striking perspectives without committing to a strenuous climb – from Crescent Moon Ranch near the Red Rock Crossing Trail to a small pull-off near the Secret Slickrock Trailhead. I was amused by the irony in the name – the spot is hardly a secret once it makes it onto the map. Parking is limited, so it’s best to arrive early, especially if you’re hoping to catch the sunset light.
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We arrived here on a gorgeous summer evening. A breeze moved through the area as the sun dropped behind us, leaving Cathedral Rock glowing in soft, golden light. The scale of the formation becomes especially apparent from here, framed by cacti and patches of greenery along the short trail leading to the viewpoint. There are several angles to explore, each offering a slightly different balance of rock, vegetation, and sky as the light fades.
Sedona is just one expression of the Southwest’s landscapes, offering a more contained and balanced desert experience. Further west, Death Valley shows the region at its most extreme – vast, exposed, and shaped as much by absence as by scale. Closer to Phoenix, the Superstition Mountains present another distinct variation of the desert landscape.
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