Sedona is a special place, with red soil underfoot, a backdrop of stunning red sandstone formations, and a series of New Age vortexes, and it has long drawn celebrities, other visitors, and wealthy retirees, plus movie and television crews.
It's also the gateway to Oak Creek Canyon, whose walls are made up of the same red-and-white sandstone formations and whose best-known feature, Slide Rock, is enjoyed by kids who want to do just what the name suggests.
Sedona has had its share of fame – it's the inspiration for Disney's Thunder Mountain ride (note the "Sedona Mining Co." sign), the 1950 movie " Broken Arrow " with Jimmy Stewart, and the "Sedona Red" color for the Arizona Diamondbacks' uniforms. It also has drawn a diverse range of famous residents, from the surrealist artist Max Ernst after World War II to the singer-songwriter Michelle Branch, who was born there and launched her career there.
Sedona is a haven for outdoor enthusiasts, with more than 100 trails for hiking and biking, plus jeep rides, golf, tennis, rafting, and other activities. It also has a thriving arts community, both visual arts and performing arts, and hosts the Sedona Arts Festival, Sedona Film Festival, and Sedona Jazz Festival.
The Sedona area originally was populated by the Sinagua tribe from 500 to 1425 AD. The Sinagua were dry farmers and lived in pit houses until about 1150 AD, when they began building pueblos in the Verde Valley . They left in the early 1400s for unknown reasons.
Other Native American tribes arrived in the 1700s, with the Yavapai settling in the area of Sedona and Prescott while Apaches lived in eastern Verde Valley . The tribes were forcibly removed by the U.S. government to make way for white settlers after gold was discovered in Prescott in 1863. About 1,500 members of the two tribes were marched to the San Carlos Indian Reservation 180 miles to the southeast in midwinter in 1875. Several hundred died. About 200 returned to the Verde Valley in 1900 and created the Yavapai-Apache Nation based in Camp Verde, though the tribes remain culturally distinct
The first white settlers arrived in Sedona in the 1876, and the town was founded in 1902 to serve the nearby farms and ranches. Sedona began to develop as a tourist destination in the 1950s, taking advantage of its proximity to Flagstaff , but wasn't incorporated as a city until 1988. The city is spread across two counties, Coconino for the main part of town and Yavapai for west Sedona.
Enjoy the red rocks as part of your Arizona vacation and get great rates for Sedona hotels and resorts.
Sedona Sedona Facts
Population: 10,192 (2000 Census)
Land area: 18.6 square miles
Counties: Yavapai and Coconino (
Altitude: 4,326 feet
Climate: A mild four-season climate with low humidity. Annual precipitation of 19 inches.
Summer weather: Average high in July is 97. Average low in July is 64. Monsoon storms in the summer can bring severe thunderstorms with heavy rain, large hail and strong winds.
Winter weather: Snowfalls are unusual, totaling just 4 inches a year. January has an average high of 56 and low of 30.