100 Places To See With Your Dog: SEDONA, ARIZONA

Ah, Summer that carefree season is around the corner, which means it’s time to plan our Summer vacay!   More and more, my husband and I find that we don’t want to leave our dogs, Icy and Phoebe, home when we go on vacation, especially if our travel is domestic. 

Icy is my beautiful, sometimes even regal, Siberian Husky.   My little Phoebe is a small white dog, some kind of mixed breed.  One day I will do a DNA test to figure out what Phoebe really is so I can answer the frequent question “What kind of dog is she?”  For now, it’s a glorious mystery.   Over the last few years we’ve taken Icy and Phoebe to different places across the U.S.  It all started when we didn’t want to put Icy, who weighs 50 pounds, in the belly of a plane so we decided to drive from Arizona to New York to see family that Christmas.  Since it’s more than 2,500 miles I wanted to make a fun adventure out of it so we chose to spend 8 days traveling and stopped in some fun places.  It was such an interesting adventure we decided to continue the trend of traveling around the country with our dogs. 




Icy and Phoebe, piled in the backseat, ready for a Road Trip!

One of my absolute favorite places to visit with our dogs, is Sedona, Arizona.  Sedona is one of the most breathtaking places in the U.S.  People head to the Grand Canyon in droves, but not everyone visits Sedona which is only about 2 hours South of Grand Canyon.  The Red Rock Region, as Sedona is called, is spectacular.  The rock formations and deep desert red colors set Sedona apart from most geographical areas.  Sedona is nature’s beauty at it’s best. 

Icy perched on a rock on a Sedona hiking trail

 

Our favorite hike in Sedona is the West Fork trail in Oak Creek Canyon.  It's just a few miles round trip, every inch of it gorgeous scenery.  You hike across Oak Creek at several points along the trail, but it's not difficult and it's shallow all the way through.    We also love the Boynton Pass hiking trail.  Honestly, every inch of Sedona is stunning and there's a photo op every which way you look.  Many of the old western movies were filmed there because of the dramatic backdrops.

  

Icy taking a dip to cool off during a hike in Oak Creek Canyon.  She won't go  near a pool, but we can't get her out of the creek!

Like most of Arizona, Sedona is super dog friendly.  You can take your dog just about anywhere.  Every park and recreation area in Arizona is dog friendly, you’d be hard pressed to find one that isn’t.  There are lots of dog friendly lodgings in Sedona, and many restaurants are dog friendly on the patio.  One of our favorites in Sedona is Ken's Creek Side.  They even have a dog menu with items like doggie beef stew, which our dogs devour!

Icy enjoying eggs at breakfast, made just for her by the chef at The Lodge at Sedona, a B&B we frequent in Sedona.  They're ultra dog friendly.

My husband John and Icy a the end of the West Fork trail in Sedona

Icy, Phoebe, and my husband enjoying a Starbucks after a long day on the Sedona trails.  This is our favorite way to end a day in Sedona.  p.s. John and I met at a Starbucks.

What places have you ventured to with your dog?  What was your dog’s favorite travel destination?  Tell us by posting a comment. 

See my post Road Trip With The Dogs for some tips on traveling with dogs.