Destination Guides: Sedona, United States - City Overview

Sedona has become a center for traditional and contemporary arts and offers a variety of galleries, boutiques and specialty shops. It is an upscale retirement and tourism community, and the gateway to tours of the Red Rocks region.

Early Native Americans considered the Red Rocks sacred and traveled for days on end to perform ceremonies among the formations. Only the bravest chiefs and medicine men were allowed into what was considered to be the home of the gods. Cathedral Rock was honored as the birthplace of the first man and woman.

Until 30 years ago, Sedona was a small farming community.  Then Psychic Page Bryant claimed to discover several "vortexes," or psychic energy sites that release psychic power from the earth, in the hills around Sedona.  The four local points which she considered to be energy vortexes are Bell Rock, Table Top Mountain, Cathedral Rock and Boynton Canyon.  Her revelations have  brought spiritual seekers to Sedona in ever increasing numbers.

Millions of tourists also visit the Sedona/Oak Creek Canyon area each year for its western history, scenic beauty, its thriving arts community, its world class hiking and golf, and its famous jeep tours.  Recently voted by USA Today the most beautiful city in the United States, Sedona is one of Arizona's most popular destinations

The motion picture industry was also attracted to Sedona and such films as John Wayne's The Angel and the Badman and Robert Mitchums's  Blood On The Moon  were filmed there. Photographers love Sedona.  It is almost impossible to take anything other than a fabulous picture, and the natural lighting is superb.

Sedona's canyons, creeks, Indian ruins, and red rocks are readily accessible on foot, and the area is easy to hike. Another option is to take a jeep tour.

The setting and architecture of the Chapel of the Holy Cross (known locally as the Church on the Rock) are impressive.  Built in 1956 by Marguerite Brunwige Staude, a disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright, this modern landmark, with a huge cross on the facade, rises between two red-rock peaks. Vistas of the town and the surrounding area are spectacular.

In 1950, surrealist painter Max Ernst moved to Sedona, and other famous artists followed. Many artists have been attracted to Sedona and its rugged beauty. Over the years, an artist colony has developed in Sedona, and many of the artists sell their work in local galleries and shops.

The town is filled with upscale art galleries, Southwestern souvenir and craft centers, and crystal shops. The town's shopping showplace is Tlaquepaque (TLA-kay-PAH-kay), an adobe-style complex of shops and galleries and the site of a brilliant annual December light display with luminaries. 

The fishing is excellent; the sunsets are glorious; there are hiking, running, water sports, archeological tours, and an ideal climate year round.  Imagine a photograph of the incredible red rocks of Sedona set against a cloudless sky.  Wouldn’t you like to be in that picture?