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Arizona, USA · North America · northern hemisphere
Sedona is at its best for city & culture in March to April and October to November. Good but not prime in February, May, September and December.
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hiking | 39 | 65 | 87 | 93 | 77 | 45 | 13 | 16 | 69 | 92 | 87 | 57 |
| City & Culture | 42 | 60 | 85 | 95 | 78 | 20 | 9 | 12 | 73 | 95 | 87 | 56 |
No reliable monthly crowd data for this destination — the proxy used elsewhere did not pass its checks here, so nothing is shown rather than a guess.
Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the year.
Red sandstone at 1,300m, which makes it about 5°C cooler than Phoenix two hours south — the reason it works as a spring and autumn destination when the rest of Arizona does not
Short, steep slickrock walks; some trailheads need a Red Rock Pass or shuttle. No guide needed; shuttles serve the busiest trailheads.
Thursday to Sunday year-round if you can. The town has two roads, and the Cathedral Rock and Soldier Pass car parks are closed to the public whenever the shuttle runs, Thursday to Sunday — no arrival time works.
March through May, then September through November — the weeks after Thanksgiving are among the quietest of the year
Short trails with big views and no real exposure on the popular ones. Summer heat is the constraint, and the vortex-and-crystals end of town is either charming or tiresome depending on the family.
Uptown Sedona is the expensive, walkable end. West Sedona is ordinary and much cheaper, Cottonwood is twenty minutes out with the wine tasting rooms, and Flagstaff is an hour north and 700m higher.
Cooler than Phoenix but still 35°C+ on unshaded slickrock. The creek trails are the summer answer.Jun · Jul · Aug
Monsoon storms flood Oak Creek and the side canyons fast.Jul · Aug
Kept out of the score on purpose. Averaging a rare catastrophe into a monthly number would tell you something false; the warning is the honest form.
Almost everything here is red slickrock with no shade, which makes summer midday walking a bad idea. West Fork and the creek trails are the exception and are where locals go in July.