Things to Do in Sedona: A Private Chef's Local Guide

Sedona is one of our busiest Arizona markets — wellness retreats, milestone birthdays, bachelorette weekends, red-rock weddings — so this guide is what we actually tell guests when they ask what to do between meals.

The red-rock classics

Start with the hikes that put Sedona on every list: Cathedral Rock at golden hour, Devil's Bridge for the photo, Bell Rock for an easy first morning, and Airport Mesa for sunset. The move locals actually use: start before 8am, ride the Sedona Shuttle to the busy trailheads, and save your afternoon for the creek. West Fork Trail in Oak Creek Canyon is the shadiest, prettiest walk in the region and the right call in summer.

Oak Creek and Slide Rock

Slide Rock State Park is the natural waterslide everyone remembers from childhood photos — arrive early, it caps out by mid-morning in July. The drive up Oak Creek Canyon toward Flagstaff is one of Arizona's great scenic roads, and the swimming holes along the creek are how Sedona survives June.

Verde Valley wine country

Twenty minutes from Uptown you're in Arizona's most serious wine region. Page Springs Cellars pours creekside, Alcantara Vineyards sits where the Verde River meets Oak Creek, and Old Town Cottonwood packs a dozen tasting rooms into four walkable blocks. Add Jerome — a copper-mining ghost town bolted to a mountainside — for the best day trip in northern Arizona.

Tlaquepaque, the Chapel, and the night sky

Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village is the town's arts heart — sycamore courtyards, working galleries, and fountains built like a Mexican village. The Chapel of the Holy Cross, set directly into the red rock, is worth the short climb whatever you believe. Pink Jeep's Broken Arrow tour earns its reputation, and because Sedona is an International Dark Sky Community, the stargazing from any patio in town is genuinely spectacular.

The dinner move

Sedona's restaurant scene is small for the crowds it draws — the marquee rooms book out weeks ahead in spring and fall, and the wait for a sunset table is real. The move locals recommend to visiting groups: keep one marquee reservation, and let the rest of the trip come to you. A private chef in Sedona handles dinner on your rental's red-rock view deck, builds menus around your retreat or celebration, and sources from Verde Valley producers. For bachelorette and family groups, a private cooking class in Sedona turns one night's dinner into the activity itself.