Sedona Verde Valley

The Sedona Verde Valley was our second stop wintering in Arizona. This area, north of Phoenix, spans the towns of Camp Verde and Prescott to the south, Sedona to the north and Cottonwood, Clarkdale and Jerome in between. We fell in love with the area and its small towns but especially liked the red rock area of Sedona. We set up camp in the quieter community of Camp Verde.

It was early Spring so the temperatures were still mild (cold by locals standards) and perfect for outdoor adventuring. We did our share of hiking and off roading and were amazed by the beauty. But before we get into that, lets talk about the aforementioned towns.

Sedona is a busy, vibrant town and a winter getaway for many. It’s a fun place with amazing arts districts such as Tlaquepaque, endless entertainment and lots of bars and restaurants. Mariposa’s Latin Restaurant, with its incredible mountain views was a favorite. And a stop at Vino Sedona after a long hike or for some evening entertainment on their back patio is a great way to spend some leisurely time having a cocktail. Another worthy stop while in Sedona is a visit to the Chapel of the Holy Cross. This beautiful 1950’s chapel is built into the side of the mountain and has amazing views of the Sedona area. Plan your time carefully when traversing through Sedona, since it’s common for traffic to back up at the busier sections.

We had several tips to visit Jerome and they were all spot on. We visited this small mining town 3 or 4 times and wish we had gone back for more. The town is literally built into the side of the mountain with the streets that switchback up the mountain. The drive up the mountain is beautiful and the town is incredible. There are lots of very unique shopping in this town, including Nellie Bly which specializing in custom kaleidoscopes created by many different artists. The Haunted Hamburger is a must stop place to eat when in Jerome with its great views and even better burgers (and more). To learn more about this old mining town be sure to visit the Jerome State Historic Park. Also, just down the road past town is the Gold King Mine and Ghost town. A small admission fee gets you access to many historic artifacts. As a bonus we came home with a couple dozen fresh eggs from their chickens.

Cottonwood is in a central location of the Verde Valley and home to many locals. If you need a Walmart or hardware store, this is the place. However, the Old Town Cottonwood strip is a fun area with (you guessed it) more shopping, restaurants and bars. We highly recommend breakfast at Crema Craft Kitchen, unless fresh baked goods, awesome breakfast items and amazing coffee in a friendly quaint environment is not your cup of tea.

Prescott (pronounced Pres-kit) is a popular area that we visited a couple of times to get some work done on the Jeep. It’s probably best known for its Whiskey Row entertainment district with many bars, live music venues and restaurants. If we were staying closer we certainly would have indulged more because this place looks like a ton of fun. In the center square of Whiskey Row is the historic, still operating, court house. Not overly advertised, but they allow visitors to tour the courthouse, which we did and thoroughly enjoyed. Just a short distance from Prescott is Watson Lake. Whether you hike some of the trails around the lake or just meander through (or over) the rocks from the parking lot, you are certain to be amazed by the beauty. This gorgeous lake looks like something from another world with its various rock formations.

Camp Verde, only about 20-30 minutes south of Sedona, is where we called home during our visit. Although most of what we did was outside of Camp Verde, we found our stay there pleasant since it is much quitter and away from the crowds. However, there are some great spots in and around Camp Verde. For example, Moscoto Italian Restaurant is a five star eatery in any city or town – fresh made pasta and sauces from their two chefs, For your Mexican food fix, La Casita pleasantly passed our south of the border standards. And for coffee, Thanks a Latte is a must stop. There are many festivals that are hosted in their city park that we enjoyed as well. Also, close by are the Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well National Monuments. The Castle is actually cliff dwelling ruins of the Sinagua people dating back to the 12th century. A friendly boardwalk will take you right by the ruins. The Well is a natural limestone sinkhole through which some 1,500,000 gallons of water emerge each day from an underground spring. Its a unique ecosystem, due to the high concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide, 600 times higher than most natural aquatic environments. There are hiking trails around the well so you can to enjoy it from many vantage points.

OK, now for the amazing hiking and off-roading in the area. Sedona has some of the best hiking we have done with its amazing scenery. Here’s our top 10 11 list in no particular order:

Hikes

Devils Bridge

3.9 mile hike to the largest natural sandstone arch in the area. The hike is beautiful the whole way with great vista views that culminates with a little rock climbing to the “Devils Bridge”. It was a little crowded on top but I was impressed how orderly everyone was so that everyone could get their individual picture taken on the bridge. Simply amazing! If you have a high clearance vehicle I highly recommend driving the first mile down the dusty road where there will be another parking area.

Birthing Cave

A relatively short hike to an amazing cave which requires a bit of climbing but once you do… wow! The cave is incredible and the views are breathtaking. Depending on how daring you are (or how much of a death wish you have) there are some additional ledges and pockets you can venture too, but be careful, the surface is flat and slick.

Long Canyon

If you’re into a leisurely hike after completing Birthing Cave, this is a nice hike through a desert meadow area with the red rock canyon following you along the way. It’s a 7.2 mile trail but bite off as much as you want to chew.

Boynton Canyon

A little longer hike at 6.1 miles offering some shade and two amazing detours along the way. More on that below. The canyon at the end is one of the most majestic places I’ve been to. Plan to hang out for a while and eat that sandwich you packed in your backpack, or just sit back and admire the beauty.

Boynton Subway Cave

This is a very popular turn off on the Boynton Canyon Trail at the 2 mile point. Look for the hanging tree over the trail, which is just before the turn-off to the right. It’s a short trail with some intense rock climbing to get to the cave. You will need to trust your footing and hand-holds to get into the cave, but it is an extremely rewarding experience once you do. However, just to the left is a much easier climb to an equally beautiful shelf, so pick your poison. We did this and then continued to the end of the Boynton Canyon Trail.

Boynton Vista (Kachina Women)

At about the 1/4-mile point on Boynton Canyon trail is the turn off to Kachina Women via the Boynton Vista Trail. You will know it by the namesake tall rock formation. It is said that there is a natural vortex at the site. I can’t say we felt any energy from this but on the way up a wonderful gentleman gave Shannon a heart shaped rock, and we had a wonderful conversation. I later found out that this was Robert, the flute player who frequents the location and spreads his good message. This was one of Shannon’s favorite hikes with just enough of a challenging rock scramble at the end to the saddle between the two-rock formation. If you don’t have the time or energy for this trail after hiking the Boynton Canyon trail, just come back another day for this part.

Copper Canyon

Great 3.9 mile hike near Camp Verde and perfect for the dogs. Lots of up and downs and good views along the way. A very pleasant surprise at about the halfway point was a little side trail to a waterfall. The dogs loved swimming in the pool below the falls.

Chicken Point Overlook

This is another amazing must do trail. You get to the overlook via the Broken Arrow trail. This is a fairly easy and short trail that leads to an amazing overlook. Spend plenty of time exploring and get all your pics. Next, you can backtrack the way you came from our take the more challenging High on the Hog trail. If you don’t like traversing along steep edges, this part of the hike is not for you. I loved it, Shannon, not so much.

Fay Canyon

Very pretty easy hike and another one perfect for the dogs. It’s a mostly dirt trail but at the end is an optional rock climb that rewards you with beautiful views of the canyon you just traversed through.

Cathedral Rock

One of my favorite technical hikes. It’s not for everyone but fortunately those not inclined can stay down low on Easy Breezy. The hike is a strenuous uphill journey with a couple near vertical climbs. When you crest the top to the saddle it takes your breath away (assuming you have any left) The views are amazing and the photo opportunity out on the ledge is one to make all your friends back home jealous. Before you leave the saddle head to the left and around the right side of the rocks. This will lead you to another short uphill climb to another amazing spot directly behind the spires. Simply amazing hike and beauty!

Bell Rock

There’s a couple of ways to do this hike/climb. We opted to first hike the Big Park Loop / Courthouse Butte Loop and then the ascend up Bell Rock. I made it part way up before my better senses told me that was enough. Lots of slick rocks with minimal hand and foot holds and nothing but a long fall below. What I did was fun and the Loop trails were very nice, traversing around Bell Rock and the Courthouse Butte.

If you don’t own a Jeep or other off-road capable vehicle, you don’t know what you’re missing. There are so many places beyond the main roads and hiking trails that are simply amazing. Besides, the whole off-roading experience is really cool! These are some of the trails we did in the Sedona Verde Valley area:

Off-roading

Dry Creek Road

If you’ve taken the OHV road to Devils Bridge (see above) when you’re finished with the hike, turn right to continue on Dry Creek road for a little off road adventure. It was fun with a couple nice water crossings.

Outlaw Trail

We took this via Loy Butte Road to the Honanki Heritage Site. There you can get out and walk the short trail and see the 12th-14th century cliff dwellings up close and personal. Once you’re done take the Outlaw Trail at the intersection. This is rated at 2/4 but there were a few challenging spots for our un-lifted Jeep. Nice trail with just enough tactical challenges for us.

Squaw Peak

This 10 mile trail starts out easy but progressively gets more difficult (steep and rocky), especially near the last 1/4 mile to the top, 2,000 feet up from where you started. The views at the top are simply amazing.

Diamondback Gulch

Another great trail rated 3/4 with a little bit of everything. The middle part coined rollercoaster hills is where it gets interesting with some very steep up and down grades and many obstacles where I left a little paint behind from the skid plates.

House Mountain

Another great trail, rated 2/4 with a view of the red rock area and Humphreys Peak from a much different vantage point. We had so much fun exploring around the peak. The backside has a great view of the Cottonwood valley.

Missed in this OHV list is Schnebly Hill Road, a Jeep Badge of Honor Trail, which unfortunately was still closed due to snow. We will come back and do this next time. Also worth mentioning is Arizona 89A which is a paved scenic road that goes all the way from Prescott to Flagstaff. We especially liked the section from Prescott to Jerome. This is good for any vehicle but may not be the best route for the RV.

We thought spending the winter in Arizona was going to be a time to slow down and chill for a while. Yes we did slow down a bit but Arizona surprised us with both its beauty and the abundance of things to do. We will be back, but the snow is starting to melt, so it’s time to start moving North.

Be sure to check out the rest of our pictures of the Sedona Verde Valley.