We decided to try the snow bird lifestyle this January and drive down to Arizona for a few weeks. Our first stop was Sedona, Arizona – a gorgeous, super dog-friendly city.
We stayed at the Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock – a very dog-friendly hotel in Sedona. They give you a special dog gift bag upon check-in and offer special opt-in dog amenities like dog beds and bowls (which we refused since we brought our own). The lobby has a dog station with water bowl and treats and they have a restaurant with outdoor seating dogs are allowed to be in (complete with giant bonfires!).
We stayed in Oak Creek, which is just south of Sedona. The hotel was within easy walking distance to the shops and restaurants of Bell Rock. We took the very comfortable walking path in and out of town many times with the dogs.
We didn’t end up going to any of the town’s restaurants with the dogs, though we did try to go to Red Rock Cafe with them, and although they have outside seating they are NOT dog-friendly, so avoid that restaurant if you’re with your dogs.
Hiking is the number one activity in Sedona so it’s very popular. The first time we tried to go all of the parking lots were full – we must have tried at least five or six before we gave up and went into Sedona for shopping and lunch. Sedona is a large collection of shops and restaurants that are outside – so while they may not all be dog-friendly you can still easily check them out from the sidewalk.
Many of the restaurants have dog-friendly outdoor seating, too. We had lunch at 89 Agave Cantina and enjoyed their outdoor seating with our pups. If you go order the guacamole – they make it in front of you and it’s incredibly delicious.
This is the view we had from our table:
The outdoor seating is also right on a roundabout and we enjoyed quite a lot of car-drama while we were there. We actually did enjoy it, it was pretty amusing, but obviously not the place for a romantic night out.
After lunch we stopped by the Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village – a super cool pedestrian- and dog-friendly shopping area comprised of a labyrinth of shops and art galleries.
Dogs aren’t allowed in most of the stores but we had no problem taking turns waiting outside with the dogs while the other explored.
After lunch and shopping we tried hiking again were able to find ONE available spot. This was in the later afternoon and with sunset at 5:00pm we had to rush a short hike to get back before dark, so I recommend getting there early to grab a spot or park further away and walk in (it’s a pretty long walk but technically doable). It is SO worth it, though. So beautiful.
We also took the dogs to the Sedona Dog Park to let the stretch their legs. It’s a nice park with an amazing view.
We were only in Sedona one full day so that’s all we were able to get to on this trip but I would love to return to Sedona for more hiking. It’s one of the absolutely most beautiful places I have ever been.
aussiedoodleadventures.com 