What's on in Sedona, United States through the year

Busy — Winter / Christmas break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Rule

  Trailhead shuttle only

  1 Jan – 31 DecClosures

  The car parks at Cathedral Rock, Soldier Pass and Dry Creek are closed to cars on the days the free shuttle runs, which is most of the week. Park in town and ride, or walk a long way in. Source ↗

Busy — Sedona International Film Festival

• Festival

  Sedona International Film Festival

  15 Feb – 2 Mar · usuallyCrowdedBook early

  Nine days of independent film in late February, in the quiet stretch before the spring crowds. It fills the town's small hotel stock for a week. Source ↗

Still on: Trailhead shuttle only (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Peak crowds — Sedona International Film Festival, Spring break crowds

• Holiday

  Spring break crowds

  1 Mar – 20 Apr · usuallySchool holidaysCrowded

  Phoenix is two hours south and it all comes up in March and April. State Route 179 through the village backs up for miles on those weekends and the trailheads fill by eight. Source ↗

• Nature

  Red rock wildflowers

  20 Mar – 10 May · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  Prickly pear, penstemon and Indian paintbrush along the Bell Rock and Boynton Canyon trails from late March, and the cottonwoods along Oak Creek come into leaf at the same time.

Still on: Trailhead shuttle only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Sedona International Film Festival (15 Feb – 2 Mar (usually))

Busy — Spring break crowds

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Trailhead shuttle only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Spring break crowds (1 Mar – 20 Apr (usually)), Red rock wildflowers (20 Mar – 10 May (usually))

Busy — Slide Rock swimming season

• Season

  Slide Rock swimming season

  15 May – 15 Sep · usuallySummer season opensCrowded

  The natural chute in Oak Creek is the summer answer to the heat, and the state park car park fills and closes to new arrivals by mid-morning at weekends. High bacteria counts close it some weeks.

Still on: Trailhead shuttle only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Red rock wildflowers (20 Mar – 10 May (usually))

Peak crowds — Slide Rock swimming season, Summer break in United States

• Hazard

  Summer heat

  1 Jun – 10 Sep · usuallyExtreme heat

  At 1,300 metres Sedona is cooler than Phoenix and still too hot to walk red rock after ten in the morning. Slide Rock on Oak Creek is where everyone goes instead, and it fills by nine. Source ↗

Still on: Trailhead shuttle only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Slide Rock swimming season (15 May – 15 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Slide Rock swimming season, Summer break in United States

• Season

  North American monsoon

  1 Jul – 15 Sep · usuallyRisk

  Storms build over the rim most summer afternoons and break hard over the canyon, then clear into the best light of the year. Slot canyons and creek crossings are the risk, not the road.

Still on: Trailhead shuttle only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Slide Rock swimming season (15 May – 15 Sep (usually)), Summer heat (1 Jun – 10 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Slide Rock swimming season, Summer break in United States

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Trailhead shuttle only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Slide Rock swimming season (15 May – 15 Sep (usually)), Summer heat (1 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)), North American monsoon (1 Jul – 15 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Slide Rock swimming season, Summer break in United States

• Nature

  Dark-sky season

  15 Sep – 20 Nov · usually

  Sedona keeps a lighting ordinance and the skies after the monsoon clears are the clearest of the year. Go on the nights either side of a new moon and get out of town towards Boynton Pass. Source ↗

Still on: Trailhead shuttle only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Slide Rock swimming season (15 May – 15 Sep (usually)), Summer heat (1 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)), North American monsoon (1 Jul – 15 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Sedona Arts Festival, Oak Creek Canyon colour

• Festival

  Sedona Arts Festival

  8–20 Oct · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  A two-day juried art fair at the middle school campus in mid-October, running since the eighties and timed to the best fortnight of Sedona weather. Source ↗

• Nature

  Oak Creek Canyon colour

  15 Oct – 15 Nov · usuallyAutumn colourCrowded

  The maples and sycamores in the canyon north of town turn from the top down through late October and into November, so the colour walks downhill towards Sedona over a month.

Still on: Trailhead shuttle only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Dark-sky season (15 Sep – 20 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — Oak Creek Canyon colour, Thanksgiving break in United States

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Trailhead shuttle only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Dark-sky season (15 Sep – 20 Nov (usually)), Oak Creek Canyon colour (15 Oct – 15 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — Tlaquepaque Festival of Lights, Winter / Christmas break in United States

• Festival

  Tlaquepaque Festival of Lights

  8–16 Dec · usuallyChristmas & New YearCrowded

  Six thousand candle bags are lit at dusk across the courtyards of the arts village on one Saturday in mid-December, and the whole town drives in for it. Parking on 179 is the entire problem. Source ↗

Still on: Trailhead shuttle only (1 Jan – 31 Dec)