August 12, 2020 at 11:29AM

Sharing some of our favorite spots in Sedona, plus some good hikes to do with the kids. 

Hi friends! How’s the week going so far? I’ve loved reading your comments on yesterday’s discussion post and your Anniversary Sale comments! For today’s post, I wanted to share some details from our adventures in Sedona. We wanted to go somewhere close to home with the opportunity to be outdoors (it’s scorching hot in Tucson!) and enjoy some time together before we were back in the distance learning thing.

Sedona was an easy choice because it’s one of our very favorite places. Last time we took the girls, P was a baby! She didn’t remember it, but Liv vividly remembered the amazing hotel and the gorgeous red mountains. We knew it would be the perfect spot for a short getaway. For today’s post, I thought I’d share a little recap, along with some of our favorite family-friendly spots in Sedona.

Where to stay in Sedona

We’ve been to Sedona a few times and always stay at L’Auberge de Sedona. We should probably check out some of the other gorgeous hotels (and cute Airbnbs) in the area, but we love L’Auberge so.dang.much. It’s surrounded by lush trees and the property lines the creek. They also have a lounging area with different types of chairs where you can sit and watch the water, and in the morning, you can feed the ducks. The spa is amazing, the food is incredible, and they have a hot tub and pool (<— important with the kiddos). I highly recommend staying in a cottage if you go! You can check out my recaps of the cottages here and here.

The cottages were booked out when I booked our last-minute trip, so it was our first time staying in the lodge. We got a junior suite with a sofa bed for the girls and it was perfect.

Pics from the room:

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Pics from our epic dinner one night:

and room service breakfast, which the Pilot and I ate on the patio. (The girls ate their giant waffles inside while watching a show in the morning.)

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Family-friendly Sedona activities

Good Sedona Hikes for Kids

While we were in Sedona, we learned something new about the girls: they love to hike!! When I suggested a nature walk after we checked into the hotel, they put on their sneakers and hats so quickly. They were ready to go!

For a couple of the trails, we didn’t have cell service, so I’d recommend downloading the maps in advance. (The Pilot had everything mapped on his phone, so we didn’t get lost.) We brought lots of water, a couple of snacks, some sunscreen and bug spray for each hike and just carried everything in a cooler bag like this.

Seven Sacred Pools

The first hike we did was Seven Sacred Pools, which was recommended by a friend. I could tell the girls were a little apprehensive when they had to climb over their first bit of rocks but after that, they were INTO IT. I think they really enjoyed the freedom to explore, find rocks and sticks, and the satisfaction of accomplishing something challenging. This hike was about 90 minutes out and back, taking a leisurely pace. This hike isn’t super shaded but is an easy hike for kiddos. They loved seeing Devil’s Kitchen, which is a giant sinkhole.

Hike to Birthing Cave through Long Canyon Trail

It’s funny because the girls were a little bored for the first portion of this hike. It’s pretty flat and while you’re surrounded by gorgeous scenery, it doesn’t involve as many hills or little climbs… until you get to the end. When we hit the portion of the trail up to Birthing Cave, it got pretty steep. They were on hands and knees for some of it, dodging cactus, and didn’t want to stop until we reached the top. The view was INSANE. 

We met a couple that were up in the cave and chatted with them for a bit. They snapped this family pic for us and Air Dropped it to my phone!

Note: the directions online were a little tricky for this one, so I recommend reading the comments section on All Trails to navigate. At the first fork in the road, you take a sharp left. At the decision point about a half mile after that, you go OVER a giant log (it looks like it would be blocking this path but apparently it’s a signal that it’s the right one). You’ll head straight for a while after that and finally on the right side, you’ll see a small path that heads up to the cave. It’s really helpful to have all of this mapped on your phone in advance!

West Fork Trail

This is a beautiful, shaded, lush hike. We only hiked this one for a short bit – we had the dogs with us for this one and they were super tired – but I can’t wait to go back. You cross multiple streams and it’s an easy, flat hike. Heads up: this one gets pretty busy, so I’d get there early. The entire trail is 7.2 miles long.

Outdoor activities

Slide Rock

You guys. Slide Rock was SUCH A BLAST. I posted a ton of videos on IG stories, but essentially, it’s a creek with natural waterslides built into the rocks. The rocks are coated with algae, so they’re smooth for sliding. There are multiple points to slide down rocks, swim, or jump off cliffs. (Liv and I both jumped off one of the cliffs together!)

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The water was freezing but it didn’t matter since we weren’t submerged or swimming the entire time. We’d slide a bit, walk around to a new spot (and dry off in the process) and slide some more. This is probably my #1 kid-friendly pick. We were there for 3 hours and could have stayed longer.

Some Slide Rock tips: bring water shoes or waterproof hiking shoes because they rocks are slippery. We also brought towels and a cooler with waters, sunscreen, and snacks. They have a little market (you can buy water, snacks, or water shoes if you forget them) but it’s closer to the entrance than the park itself. A lot of people brought pop-ups, but we found that it was pretty easy to find shady spots for our stuff. It’s about $20 to get in, and there’s usually a line because once they hit capacity, it’s one car in and one car out. I’d get there early!! We were a bit later in the morning but thankfully the line went quickly. We’ll absolutely go back!

Pink Jeep Tour

We’ve heard amazing things about the Pink Jeep Tours but didn’t try them on this trip. You can review the various options online and choose different terrains and levels depending on the kids’ ages.

Shopping in Tlaquepaque

Tlaquepaque is an arts and shopping village, lined with specialty shops and restaurants. It was very quiet while we were there, and the girls were able to hit up the beloved toy store. It’s a lot of fun to walk around and browse the stores, especially since it’s well-shaded. You can get local wine, art, jewelry, or grab a bite to eat.

Ice cream and good eats on 89A – right outside L’Auberge. This is a touristy area, but it’s lined with little shops and sweet treats, like Sedona fudge and Black Cow Cafe. We got ice cream one night and I had an enormous chocolate drizzled macaroon.

All in all, it was a lovely little getaway. The change of scenery was so needed, and I really enjoyed hiking with the family. I’m excited for the weather to cool down a bit and our favorite local trails to open up so we can do more of this in the fall. This trip was a nice little boost for all of us.

Have you taken any staycations or little trips recently? What’s a spot that you love that’s an easy drive from where you are?

xo

Gina

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