Vacations are no longer limited to summer getaways, although there is a special magic to the long days, short nights, and sultry temperatures that accompany the summer solstice, especially when you choose Sedona for your annual vacation! Offering sunny skies, scenic vistas, and a feeling that something special is waiting around every corner, your summer journey to Arizona promises to be the vacation that you talk about fondly for years. However, if you find yourself seeking slightly cooler temperatures and even more color than can normally be found in red rock country, a trip this fall in Sedona promises to shine bright in your future, especially when you choose Stay Sedona for your accommodations. Offering luxury, comfort, and warmth no matter what the season, our homes are the best way to turn an ordinary vacation into an extraordinary journey, and this Sedona travel guide to the ultimate vacation in the summer and fall will ensure that you will not miss out on a single minute of the fun!
Welcome Home
The most memorable vacations begin with the best vacation homes and Stay Sedona has just what you need to feel welcomed and wanted! Each property we offer is different from the others in style, size, and design, but in all of the homes you will find a touch of Sedona that adds a magic to the structure under which you will eat, play, and sleep. Kitchens that are open to the rest of the home are where family feasts can be created or can be used to enjoy leftovers under the light of the stove. Fully equipped for all your needs, these spaces are the heart of the home, but there’s no need to eat standing in front of the refrigerator (even if that were something you would do at home) when a dining room (or area) is located just a few steps away. Dining room tables offer seating for all the members of your traveling party, and serve multiple purposes including game stations for no holds barred games of Scrabble, puzzle building spots, and planning stations; comfortable and inviting, planning out your days as you snack on chips and salsa you brought home from one of the many Mexican food restaurants in the area is always a great idea!
Our homes also offer super soft sofas perfect for reading, napping, or hanging out and watching the state-of-the-art televisions hanging directly across the room, and bedrooms that allow you to shut the door to the world and retreat into a dreamland, sleeping peacefully through the night. We at Stay Sedona understand that to have a great day exploring the magic of our red rock village, it is important to have a great night’s sleep to give you energy and good temper, and our beds offer premium mattresses that are soft and comfortable and placed in spaces that are designed to encourage sleep. Because many of our properties offer fire pits under the stars, beginning your night while gathered around a roaring fire, staring up at the velvety purple of the night sky can be your first step in ensuring that your sleep will be deep and uninterrupted with worries or stress! Some of our properties also offer hot tubs that add romance to your getaway while also performing a functional purpose, relieving aches and pains that may have been earned during your daytime adventures in town. Because we understand that the idea of family is different for everyone, some of our Stay Sedona properties are pet-friendly, allowing your fur baby to join in the fun!
Sedona Activities in Summer
The beauty of Sedona grows rich and verdant as the summer months arrive, and there is plenty of fun to be had in our Sedona travel guide. One of the more popular summer Sedona activities is shopping, as apparent by the plethora of shops that dot our landscape. Offering air conditioning which is always much appreciated in the hotter months and a variety of unique and unusual wares that exemplify the Southwest Spirit, you may find yourself unable to stay away as you fall in love with the selection of gifts and goodies that are available to you! Our town is known for its mystical properties, and many of the shops and boutiques sell items that help with the magic. Sedona Crystal Vortex, for example, offers a vast selection crystals, minerals, and gifts that are guaranteed to delight their recipients. Step out of the heat into the cool and lightly scented shop space and open your mind; many of the crystals and minerals sold here will speak to you, helping you with problems you may or may not have even known you have! That shiny red stone you see displayed comes with a little card that tells you its name (red jasper) and its healing properties that include calming its owners while helping them communicate with the earth. Used as a part of chakras, the red jasper is just one of many mystical and magical stones you will find in this store and many others throughout town.
History buffs may want to study the history of Sedona, and an in-depth exhibit of our rich and storied history can be explored at the Sedona Heritage Museum, located at 735 Jordan Road. Open 7 days of the week from 11 AM until 3 PM, this informative establishment believes in not just preserving the past, but in giving visitors a beautiful picture of how we have evolved over the centuries. Learn about the Native Americans who settled this land, surviving and thriving against incredible odds, although one tribe, the Anasazi, seemingly disappeared overnight. Montezuma Castle National Monument, located in Camp Verde, offers an incredible example of where the Anasazi lived; a structure carved out of the cliffs tells a more complete story of their lives in the desert, so be sure to stop by if you have the time, as it is only about an hour’s drive away from your Stay Sedona escape.
Falling for Fall
There is no bad season to visit Sedona, but the beauty of fall does make it one of our favorite times of the year. These are the months where you can get out there and explore the red rocks without fear of getting overheated. Take the opportunity to explore psychic vortexes, made even more fun when examined from the back of one of the many-colored jeep tours available in Sedona; pink jeeps are the traditional shades, but the Red Rock Western Jeep Tours offer rides in brilliant shades of crimson and the Safari Jeep Tours offer rides in a variety of shades, including red, black, and Army green! You may be wondering what a psychic vortex is right now, and the simplest way to describe them is that they are areas in the red rocks where the earth seems to come alive, offering healing properties as the energy leads itself to meditation. You may have heard about these energy centers, and may expect them to be all over Sedona, but the reality is there are only four, with Boynton Canyon offering the most powerful of all the vortexes! The jeep tour guides, no matter which color you choose, will take you to the vortexes, but also give informative tours of the region, so if you do nothing else this fall in Sedona, take a Jeep tour!
If you really want to get out there in nature and do not fancy sharing the adventure with strangers, a good hike through Oak Creek Canyon will give you a sense of peace, tranquility, and accomplishment as you hike off the extra calories you have been consuming during your stay in paradise. Autumn is truly a special time in Sedona, and as you hike, you may come across examples of local wildlife, including elk, mule deer, and the occasional fluffy bunny rabbit. The trees turn brilliant shades of gold, orange, and red, complementing the red rocks that surround you, and the cooler weather will allow you to walk further than you might have been able to during summer in Sedona. Want to check out the landscape without having to do a whole lot of walking? Fall is when the skies of Arizona begin to fill with colorful and interesting hot air balloons, and Northern Light Balloon Expeditions and Red Rock Balloons offer a variety of tours and even include a champagne picnic with your flight.
Culinary Explorations With Our Sedona Travel Guide
As you might expect, our neighbors to the south have influenced our food tastes, and it will be hard to go far without coming across a spicy and delicious Mexican food restaurant! From the haute cuisine choices offered by a local celebrity chef at Elote to the simple dishes found in the family owned Tamaliza, there are no wrong choices, but if we had to pick just one, we would suggest you try out the delights offered by Oaxaca. Pronounced waa·haa·kuh, this stucco structure has been a tradition in Sedona for more than a couple of decades, serving our favorite dishes while offering views of the red rocks that will touch your soul. The patio is our favorite place to dine during fall in Sedona, but every seat is the best seat in the house when the chips and salsa are placed before you!
Sedona attracts travelers from all over the world and because we want our guests to feel at home, we also offer a large variety of international restaurants. Try out the Italian classics found at Picazzo’s Healthy Italian Kitchen, savor American favorites at Creekside American Bistro, or enjoy the Japanese specialties found at Minami. If steak is what you desire, steak is what can be found at Judi’s Restaurant & Lounge, open again after the pandemic and serving the comfort foods that make everyone feel at home in the desert. If you simply cannot choose between breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it is no big deal, as Pump House Station Urban Eatery & Market serves all three!
Every Day Is a New Adventure with Our Sedona Travel Guide
We never get tired of experiencing the changing of seasons in Sedona, and if this is your first visit or your 100th, you will soon discover exactly why we love this part of the world as much as we do! Every day will be a new adventure made more comfortable and luxurious when you choose Stay Sedona for your vacation accommodations and when you follow our Sedona travel guide. Reserve your vacation home away from home today and discover a journey that speaks to your soul as you explore psychic vortexes, grab peeks into the past with visits to ancient “castles,” and devour the savory tastes of the town!
