Sedona weather by month

The best time to visit Sedona is April, October and November — 92/100 in April, 24°C and 2 rainy days. The best season is spring, March to May (88/100 on average).

The worst month is July at 45/100 — sweltering, a little rain. See July →

Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis

Planning the wider trip? Best time to visit United States →

Sedona🇺🇸 United States · Desert Southwest · Trekking92
  1. 75Jan
  2. 80Feb
  3. 85Mar
  4. 92Apr
  5. 86May
  6. 53Jun
  7. 45Jul
  8. 57Aug
  9. 71Sep
  10. 90Oct
  11. 88Nov
  12. 78Dec

Best season: March to May (88/100 on average) · worst July (45/100)

Days
24°C
Nights
6°C
Wet days
2
Sun
12 h
Humidity
37%
Daylight
13 h
Sedona, United States
Photo: Beth Fitzpatrick · Pexels

Sedona, month by month

Comfort score out of 100 for the kind of trip Sedona is best for, the average high, rainy days and hours of sun a day from the climate normals, and how busy it tends to be.

MonthScoreTierHighRainSunCrowdsOn
Jan75B12°C5 d8 hBusy1
Feb80A14°C4 d9 hBusy2
Mar85A17°C6 d10 hPeak4
Apr92S24°C2 d12 hBusy3
May86A27°C2 d13 hBusy3
Jun53D35°C1 d13 hPeak3
Jul45F36°C5 d12 hPeak4
Aug57D34°C5 d12 hPeak4
Sep71B31°C4 d11 hPeak5
Oct90S25°C2 d10 hPeak4
Nov88A19°C3 d9 hPeak3
Dec78B14°C4 d8 hPeak2

What's on in Sedona through the year

Festivals, natural spectacles, holidays and the seasons to watch out for — curated and sourced. The month pages carry the detail.

January
  • Trailhead shuttle only1 Jan – 31 DecRule
February
  • Sedona International Film Festival15 Feb – 2 Mar (usually)Festival
March
  • Red rock wildflowers20 Mar – 10 May (usually)Nature
  • Spring break crowds1 Mar – 20 Apr (usually)Holiday
May
  • Slide Rock swimming season15 May – 15 Sep (usually)Season
June
  • Summer heat1 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)Hazard
July
  • North American monsoon1 Jul – 15 Sep (usually)Season
September
  • Dark-sky season15 Sep – 20 Nov (usually)Nature
October
  • Sedona Arts Festival8–20 Oct (usually)Festival
  • Oak Creek Canyon colour15 Oct – 15 Nov (usually)Nature
December
  • Tlaquepaque Festival of Lights8–16 Dec (usually)Festival

Everything on in Sedona through the year →

Crowds in Sedona in April

How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.

BusySpring break crowds(estimated)

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet

Good to know before you go to Sedona

Real experiences from travellers' own write-ups, quoted with a link to the original.

hiking

We bought a Red Rock Pass at the trailhead kiosk before our first hike, since it's required to park at almost every trailhead in the area. Bell Rock was the easier climb and became our favorite for the sunrise light on the sandstone, while Cathedral Rock, nearly a thousand feet of monolith, was the more demanding scramble we tackled the next morning. We stuck strictly to marked trails after reading how much erosion shortcutting causes on this kind of terrain. Midday heat pushed us toward Tlaquepaque for lunch and art shopping, saving the harder trails for early morning and the views from Airport Mesa for sunset.
Grant O. · Read the original ↗

Traveller notes on Sedona

What people who have been say about the place — the year-round notes first, then month by month.

Sedona-forum threads asking if January is too cold get a nuanced answer: afternoons regularly reach comfortable temperatures in the 50s to 60s Fahrenheit under sunny skies, genuinely pleasant for hiking the red rock trails, but mornings and evenings drop to freezing or below, cold enough that layering matters more than the daytime high alone suggests. Posters describe the month as variable year to year - some Januarys pass with barely any snow, others bring a real blizzard severe enough to shut the town down for days. Regulars are consistent that heavy snow accumulating in Sedona itself, versus the surrounding higher terrain, is uncommon though it does happen. The standing advice is to check the specific week's forecast and pack for both a sunny hike and a genuinely cold snap. The record: 11.9C days feeling like 8C, -1.8C nights, 42mm across 4.8 days, a notably high 19.5cm of fresh snowfall, 61 percent humidity and 8.2 hours of sun.
RedRockJanuaryRegular · January · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
Sedona-forum threads on a February visit describe daytime highs as genuinely typically in the sixties with real sunshine, posters naming nights dropping into the thirties as the standard overnight swing. Regulars call any snow genuinely quick to melt by midday, several posters warning rocks turn slippery afterward, especially near caves and shaded ledges. Posters call rain the more likely alternative when snow doesn't fall, several regulars naming muddy trails as the real result either way. Regulars call December through February genuinely the best hiking stretch of the year here, several threads naming this the reason locals recommend winter over the brutal summer heat. Posters recommend real traction and caution on red rock after any precipitation, several regulars calling this standard given how slick the surface gets. The record: 13.9C days, -1C nights, 38.9mm across over 4 days and 58 percent humidity.
SedonaFebruaryRegular · February · 1 month ago · Read more on tripadvisor.co.nz ↗
Sedona-forum threads on March weather call this genuinely one of the more popular months, posters describing daytime highs typically in the sixties to seventies Fahrenheit while nights turn noticeably chilly. Regulars call spring break a real crowd factor, March traffic and trailhead parking considered busy every day of the week though weekends run noticeably worse. Posters recommend booking accommodation well ahead given how far in advance March fills up, several regulars calling it genuine peak season locally. Regulars call Bell Rock, Boynton Canyon and Red Rock Crossing all solid March hikes, the Chapel of the Holy Cross and Tlaquepaque worthwhile non-hiking additions. Posters call solitude still findable in March for anyone willing to skip the most photographed viewpoints, real quiet available just off the busiest trails. The record: 17.2C days feeling like 16C, 1.7C nights, 45.2mm across nearly 6 days and 47 percent humidity.
SedonaMarchRegular · March · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
When forum visitors ask Sedona regulars for the perfect window, the consensus answer is that there is never a bad time - but March through May is named the busy season, which puts April right in the middle of the crowds, and the standing advice is to start popular trailheads early before parking fills. April's record shows what draws them: 23.5-degree days against 5.9-degree nights, dry desert air at 37 percent humidity, under two precipitation days a month, 12 hours of sunshine and the steady 18-kph breeze the red-rock country is known for.
RedRockHiker · April · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
I’ll go with Soldier Pass in Sedona in April. Had rained a lot the PM & overnight and looked iffy but stayed ok all day except a tiny sprinkle at the pass. Started at the 7 Sacred Pools which were nice & full. I didn’t hurt myself getting up & in this cave either 😊
Liz · April · 1 month ago · Read more on Bluesky ↗
Sedona-forum threads on keeping cool in May are consistent: mornings are for hiking, afternoons are for shade or somewhere indoors, and sunset is for a walk rather than a trail - Red Rock Crossing gets named specifically for that slot. The reliable selling point posters repeat is the gap with Phoenix, typically ten degrees Fahrenheit or more cooler here, which is exactly why it's a popular escape from the desert floor. May is also called the better month over June for crowds, landing before Memorial Day and school letting out fills the trails. The record: 27.3C days feeling like 25C, 9.3C nights, just 10mm total across two days, humidity a dry 31 percent and 12.8 hours of sun - close to no precipitation risk most days, genuinely hot by early afternoon.
RedRockCrossingSunset · May · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
Sedona-forum threads asking whether July is too hot describe daytime readings as commonly in the mid-nineties to low hundreds Fahrenheit, posters calling the low humidity at least some consolation. Regulars recommend hiking by sunrise and being finished before ten, the heat building fast enough that a midday trail attempt becomes genuinely risky. Posters call carrying far more water than feels necessary standing advice, dehydration here sneaking up quickly even on a short red-rock walk. Regulars recommend waiting until five or six before heading back out for a second round, the worst of the afternoon heat easing by then. Posters describe nights as genuinely pleasant by contrast, temperatures dropping into the sixties Fahrenheit and called wonderful after a scorching day. Regulars call the red rocks still worth the trip in July for anyone willing to plan around the heat. The record: 36C days feeling like 36C, 18.8C nights, 43.2mm across over 5 days and 40 percent humidity.
SedonaJulyRegular · July · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
Forum posters call October a genuinely transitional month - highs starting near 80F early in the month and cooling through to the 70s by month's end, with nights dropping into the 40s-50sF requiring a jacket or windbreaker for mornings and evenings. The overall verdict shows up repeatedly in similar phrasing: 'not too hot, not too cold, just wonderful,' with shorts comfortable most days and just an extra light layer needed once the sun goes down. The one clear trade-off posters flag: October is one of Sedona's busiest months precisely because the weather is so good, so accommodation rates run at a premium and booking ahead matters more than in shoulder months.
Tripadvisor community · October · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
November is the hinge month on the Sedona forum: fair weather and the last of the colour early on, winter edging in by the end. Early November runs high 60s to low 70s F with chilly evenings; mid-month days stay pleasant and the nights get colder. The hiking argument is simple - this is the cool end of the year for it, with fewer people on the trails than the spring peak. Two timing notes regulars give: the crowds do not really thin until the second week, then Thanksgiving fills the town again; and the colour is mostly finished up-canyon by November, though West Fork can still be holding some. Snow is unlikely but not impossible - our row records 3.8cm across the month. The rest: 18.7C days, 3C nights, 2.7 precipitation days, humidity 47 percent.
WestForkLateColour · November · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

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