How to Spend 3 Days in Sedona: Relaxing Weekend Getaway Itinerary

Traveled in March 2026

Is there anything better than spending time in nature to recharge and reconnect? Sedona is the perfect place for a nature reset. With hiking trails for every level and endless opportunities for heart-to-heart chats under the stars, it’s an ideal escape. This trip was a long-awaited moms’ getaway that finally made it out of the group chat, where we packed in 3 years of catching up into 3 days. It was the perfect mix of spending time in nature to let go of our mental loads, enjoying slow dinners with great views while the food was still hot, and refilling our cups by reconnecting with old friends. If you’re looking for a relaxing Sedona long weekend with easy hikes that have big scenic payoffs and plenty of laid-back sightseeing, just copy this 3 days Sedona itinerary and leave the planning to me.

3 Days Sedona Itinerary

Just Give Me The Highlights! (aka the TL;DR)

Here are my top hotel picks and must-dos in Sedona:

Hotels in West Sedona

1. Courtyard by Marriott Sedona ($$) – chain hotel option next to the Devil’s Bridge Shuttle parking lot.
2. Casa Sedona Inn ($$) – charming adults-only inn with views of the red rocks from the balcony.
3. Sky Ranch Lodge ($$$) – cottages with kitchenettes with spectacular views.
4. Twin Pines home rental ($$$) – where we stayed! Pristine 3 bed 3 bath home with plenty of communal indoor and outdoor space to hang out and relax.

Things to Do

1. Easy Iconic Hikes: Devil’s Bridge, Seven Sacred Pools, Airport Mesa Loop, Bell Rock Trail
2. Chapel of the Holy Cross
3. More Challenging Iconic Hikes: Subway Cave, Cathedral Rock, Birthing Cave
4. Pink Jeep Tours (for those that want to see the views without the hiking)
5. Stargazing Tour

When to Go

Spring and Fall are the best times to visit Sedona if you’re planning on hiking. We visited in early March and the weather was perfect for hiking, not too hot and not too cold. Sedona gets HOT in the summer. Hiking in those temperatures is just not pleasant.

Spring and Fall are also ideal for less crowds. Parking at the trailheads is pretty limited. Sedona has a helpful shuttle system to the trailheads. But the shuttles only run about every 30 minutes, and only carry 25 people per shuttle. In high season, it’s possible that you may not make it on the shuttle for popular hikes and have to waste time waiting. Even when we visited in shoulder season, we had to walk to the trailhead from the shuttle parking lot for one popular hike because the shuttle was too full.

How to Get There

The closest airport to Sedona is the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (airport code PHX). Sedona is an easy 2 hour drive from PHX airport. There is a small airport in Sedona, but it is only for private and chartered planes.

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Bonus Booking tip: sign your kiddo up for frequent flyer accounts with airlines to start earning airline miles for them! Most airline miles do not expire for minors so your kiddo will thank you later.

Where to Stay

I recommend staying in West Sedona. This is where we stayed for our 3 days in Sedona itinerary, and it turned out to be the most central and convenient area for groceries, restaurants, and easy access to hikes and Sedona’s main sights.

Courtyard by Marriot Sedona ($$)

The Courtyard by Marriot Sedona is a midrange hotel located a couple minutes drive from the center of West Sedona. One of the main draws of staying here is that it is right next to the shuttle parking lot for the Devil’s Bridge Hike.

Casa Sedona Inn ($$)

The Casa Sedona Inn is a charming inn with cozy rooms in the middle of West Sedona. Some rooms even have beautiful views of the red rocks from the balcony. All of the rooms are uniquely decorated, so it feels more like staying in a home than a hotel. Note that this is an adults-only hotel, so children under 18 years old are not allowed.

Sky Ranch Lodge ($$$)

The Sky Ranch Lodge has cute rooms and even cottages for those looking for more space. Some rooms also have kitchenettes. It’s located right next to Airport Mesa, so the views are spectacular. It’s a couple minutes drive from the heart of West Sedona. This hotel is also pet friendly for those that want to bring their furry friends!

Home Rental: Twin Pines ($$$)

Since this was a girls trip, we opted for a home rental for more communal space to hang out and catch up, and to have a full kitchen. We stayed at the Twin Pines in West Sedona and loved our stay! The home was exactly as described and was pristine and clean. We loved the space – with 3 bedrooms and 3 baths there was plenty of space for all of us. The couch was perfect for lounging and chatting, and the outdoor space was nice and cozy. The kitchen had everything we needed to prepare breakfast in the mornings. We also loved the location. It was right in the middle of West Sedona, with easy access to restaurants and minutes away from the trailhead parking lots, but tucked away in a residential area. If you’re lucky enough to find it available, I would highly recommend it!

Or, check out these other highly rated options in West Sedona:

Another option is to stay in Uptown Sedona. This area is closer to restaurants and shops, but a bit further from the popular hikes. It’s a bit more touristy, but there are better views of the red rocks.

How to Get Around

You definitely need to rent a car to get to Sedona and get around Sedona for this 3 days in Sedona itinerary. The car rental center at the PHX airport is located in a different building from the terminals. But there is an easy sky train that will whisk you from arrivals to the car rental center in just 2 stops. All of the car rental agencies are housed in the car rental center.

Booking tip: if the car rental agency has a free membership program, sign up for it! Members usually get extra perks like a free additional driver, discounts, or faster reservation check ins.

3 Days in Sedona Itinerary at a Glance

Day	Activity	Sleep In
1	Arrive in PHX Lunch at The Farm Kitchen in Phoenix Drive to Sedona (2 hrs)	Sedona
2	Devil’s Bridge Hike Sedona Airport Scenic Lookout	Sedona
3	Seven Sacred Pools Hike Chapel of the Holy Cross Shopping in Uptown Sedona	Sedona
4	Drive to PHX (2 hrs)

Day 1: Arrive in Phoenix and Drive to Sedona

Phoenix is an easy 1.5 hour flight from the Bay Area. After landing at PHX, we hopped on the sky train and headed straight for the car rental center. We arrived around lunchtime, so we stopped for lunch near the airport before our long drive to Sedona.

Lunch at The Farm Kitchen

This was a serendipitous plan B because the lunch restaurant we initially tried to go to closed early the day we visited. The Farm Kitchen is located on The Farm at South Mountain and it is just adorable. This working farm is also an event venue (imagine the cutest farm wedding venue you’ve seen on Pinterest). They have a couple different dining options on the farm. The Farm Kitchen is the casual option, with sandwiches and salads you can order at the counter and eat at picnic tables on the property. It was just so pleasant, enjoying the view and catching up.

The drive from Phoenix to Sedona takes about 2 hours without traffic. We started driving around 3pm and traffic was already picking up, so it took us about 2.5 hours to get to Sedona. Our first stop after arriving in West Sedona was the supermarket to pick up groceries. There is a Safeway and Whole Foods along the main street (W Arizona 89a).

We didn’t make reservations for dinner, so picked up pizzas from Pisa Lisa to take home to our rental. Keep in mind that the popular restaurants in Sedona generally require (or strongly recommend) reservations on the weekends. Walk ins are usually quoted waits of over an hour! So if you have your heart set on eating at a certain restaurant, learn from our mistake and make sure to make reservations well in advance.

Day 2: Devil’s Bridge Hike and Airport Mesa

Devil’s Bridge Hike (moderate)

The Devil’s Bridge Hike is one of the iconic hikes in Sedona and definitely a must-do. Compared to some of the other hikes, it’s rated a moderate intensity hike and does not require a lot of complicated rock scrambling. It’s definitely one of the more popular hikes in Sedona.

Along the hike, you’ll be surrounded by vistas of the red rocks. The hike ends at a natural bridge over a canyon that you can walk on for a breathtaking picture. While the hike itself is not very long, there can be a long line at the end to take a photo on Devil’s Bridge. We waited about an hour for our photo op, but it was worth it. The walk out to the middle of Devil’s Bridge can be a bit dicey, but everyone in line is so supportive and it was a heartwarming and fun experience to cheer everyone on as they were getting their photos.

Note that there are two different trailheads to get to Devil’s Bridge. Everything we read recommended taking the Mescal Trailhead because it is more scenic, and I agree with that assessment. Apparently the Dry Creek Trailhead is just a dusty path, with some 4x4s driving by kicking up more dust. We took the Mescal Trailhead and it was a pleasant hike with expansive views of the red rocks.

• Trailhead: Dry Creek Trailhead or Mescal Trailhead. The Mescal Trailhead is a more scenic walk and the one we took and recommend.
• Distance: About 4 miles round trip from the parking lot.
• Parking: The Mescal Trailhead and Dry Creek Trailhead parking lots have about 40 spots each. A Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Pass is required to park in either parking lot. However, these spots fill up fast, and you generally need to get there before 8am to secure a parking spot. If those lots are full, park at the free W SR-89A Park and Ride parking lot and take the free shuttle to the Mescal Trailhead (the 2nd stop). The shuttle operates every 30 minutes.
• Difficulty: Moderate

Lunch at Mesa Grill

The Mesa Grill is right next to the tiny Sedona airport. The restaurant has a wall of windows looking out onto the little runway with panoramic views of the red rocks behind it, so it was fun to watch the little planes landing and taking off while we ate. We did not have a reservation when we arrived around 2pm and we were quoted a wait time of one hour! But in the 15 minutes it took us to use the restroom and start looking for other places to eat, a table magically opened up and they seated us. Portions are big here so definitely splittable if you don’t have a huge appetite!

Sedona Airport Scenic Lookout

The Sedona Airport Scenic Lookout has amazing views of the red rock buttes and mesas surrounding Sedona. It’s just down the road from the Mesa Grill, so we walked down from the restaurant after lunch rather than paying for the $3 parking lot across the street from the lookout. This is apparently a beautiful place to watch the sunset and gets quite crowded, but it was pretty empty when we visited in the late afternoon.

Optional Hike: Airport Mesa Loop

• The Airport Mesa Loop is a moderate hike that loops around Airport Mesa, giving panoramic views of iconic red rock formations like Cathedral Rock and Bell Rock. The trailhead is just down the road from the Sedona Airport Scenic Lookout. There is a small parking lot at the trailhead, or the bigger paid parking lot ($3 fee) across the street from the Sedona Airport Scenic Lookout. If parking at upper paid lot, you’ll have to hike down to the trailhead. This hike is popular for having one of the “vortexes” in Sedona, areas of intense healing and positive energy.

Dinner at The Hudson

The Hudson is a New American restaurant in Sedona with more beautiful views of the surrounding red rocks. The restaurant has a deck with beautiful views, though it was closed the day we visited because of high winds. We made a reservation in the early evening so that we could enjoy the sunset views. Reservations recommended if visiting on a weekend. Walk ins were being quoted waits of 1.5-2 hours when we checked in!

They are famous for their chicken pot pie, and it was a winner! It’s a big and hearty pot pie, with really homey flavor.

Day 3: Seven Sacred Pools Hike & Chapel of the Holy Cross

Seven Sacred Pools Hike

The Seven Sacred Pools hike is another popular hike in Sedona because it’s relatively easy and flat. We saw a lot of families and young kids on this hike. This is also a two-for-one hike because you also pass by the Devil’s Kitchen sinkhole on the way to the pools. To be honest, the pools are probably a bit more impressive when they are full, after a rain. When we visited, they were more like seven muddy puddles. But since it was a pretty low effort hike, it was still worth the time for us.

You can continue on past the Seven Sacred Pools to the Soldier Pass Cave. But we read that it requires a steep and challenging scramble to actually get into the cave, so we passed on that. We were going for a relaxing vibe on this trip, so no rock climbing for us, thank you very much.

The shuttle to the trailhead only comes every 30 minutes and only holds 25 people at a time. If the shuttle is too full and you don’t want to waste time waiting for the next shuttle, you can actually walk about 20 minutes from the parking lot to the trailhead. This is what we ended up doing at the direction of a park ranger. There is a trail at the end of the parking lot that takes you to a residential street. Cross the street and follow it until you see a park. Turn right and follow the signs to the Soldier Pass Trailhead.

• Trailhead: Soldier Pass Trailhead.
• Distance: About 1.1 miles from the Soldier Pass Trailhead.
• Parking: There is a small parking lot at the Soldier Pass Trailhead, but the parking lot was closed the day we visited so we had to park at the shuttle parking lot at the Posse Grounds Park & Ride. The shuttle operates every 30 minutes.
• Difficulty: Easy

Lunch at the Pump House Station

The Pump House Station was such a great find for lunch. We were a little over all the fancy restaurants quoting one hour wait times for those without reservations and Pump House Station was the perfect antidote to all that. The decor was eclectic and homey, and the food (salad, sandwiches, and breakfast) was great and unpretentious.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

The Chapel of the Holy Cross is a unique architectural gem in Sedona. It’s a church that looks like it is rising out of the red rocks. I definitely underestimated the popularity of this church. I assumed that we would be able to just drive up and park in a big lot to visit, but that’s not the case. The chapel is perched on a hill, and parking is basically along the winding road that leads up to the chapel. We wound all the way to the top and had to turn back down before luckily finding a spot near the exit. There is a steep path to walk up to the chapel, or there are nice volunteers in golf carts shuttling folks up and down the steep hill.

We are not particularly religious people, but still found the chapel worth the visit because of it’s architectural uniqueness and soaring views.

Optional Hike: Bell Rock Trail

The Bell Rock Trail is another easy to moderate hike close by to the Chapel of the Holy Cross. It’s mostly flat, so it’s a good option for families. The hike has more beautiful red rock vistas of Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. It’s supposedly another “vortex” site, if you want another positive energy recharge.

• Trailhead: Bell Rock Trailhead North (closer to Sedona) or South (closer to the Village of Oak Creek).
• Distance: 3.6 miles round trip.
• Parking: Each trailhead has a small parking lot. A Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Pass is required to park in either parking lot.
• Difficulty: Easy-Moderate

It was getting hot in the afternoon, so we skipped the Bell Rock hike in favor of an ice cream stop.

Shopping in Uptown Sedona

Uptown Sedona has a cluster of restaurants and souvenir shops that are fun to browse. My family tradition is to get a Christmas ornament as our souvenir and there is a Christmas shop in this area!

Our other objective in this area was ice cream, and there is plenty of it at the Black Cow Cafe. They have housemade ice cream and pies in classic and unique flavors (like prickly pear).

Optional: Shopping at the Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village

The Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village is an outdoor market with a collection of art galleries and craft shops if you’re looking for a more unique souvenir. It’s also just a cute area with lots of cobblestone paths and arches for photo ops.

Other Iconic (But More Challenging) Hikes

These other hikes in Sedona are social media favorites because of their unique geological features. But when reading more about the hikes themselves, most of them mention having to scramble up rocks or dicey trails with steep drop offs along the way.

• Cathedral Rock
• Subway Cave
• Birthing Cave

Other Tours and Activities

We didn’t have time for all of these tours because we wanted to prioritize sitting around and catching up time. But they are all unique activities to fully appreciate the natural beauty of the area!

• Pink Jeep Tours: We saw quite a few of these on our hikes. They may be a good option for families with kids who want to see it all, but may not have the stamina to complete a whole hike.
• Sedona Stargazing Tour: There was impressively little light pollution in the city of Sedona, so it made for great stargazing. Having a guide point out the stars for us would have been even more illuminating!
• Spa Time: Sedona is a wellness hub because of its vortexes. Getting a massage and spa day is the perfect way to lean into that wellness vibe.
• Wine Tour: I was surprised to learn that there were wineries in Arizona! If you don’t want to do as much hiking, then a wine tour is always a good girls’ trip activity.

Day 4: Fly Home

The drive from Sedona back to PHX airport can take 2-2.5 hours depending on traffic. Make sure to budget plenty of time to return the rental car and travel on the sky train to your terminal as well!

Looking for more outdoor adventures? Extend your trip with a visit to Grand Canyon and Antelope Canyon or the Utah National Parks!