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Ever since the early days of movies, when Hollywood has wanted to show the unique beauty of the West, it has gone to Sedona, a place that looks like nowhere else.  Beginning with The Call of the Canyon in 1923, some hundred movies and TV shows have been filmed in and around town. We fell under Sedona's spell, too, and while debating our No. 1 spot kept returning to it for the same reasons Hollywood does: The area's telegenic canyons, wind-shaped buttes and dramatic sandstone towers embody the rugged character of the West -- and the central place that character holds in our national identity. There's a timelessness about these ancient rocks that fires the imagination of all who encounter them. Some 11,000 years before film cameras discovered Sedona, American Indians settled the area. Homesteaders, artists and, most recently, New Age spiritualists have followed. Many cultures and agendas abound, but there's really only one attraction: the sheer, exuberant beauty of the place. People come for inspiration and renewal, tawny cliffs rising from the buff desert floor, wind singing through box canyons, and sunsets that seem to cause the ancient buttes and spires to glow from within. We hear the canyon's call and cannot resist. From USA WEEKEND's Annual Travel Report, The 10 Most Beautiful Places in America
Red Rock Country is a four-seasons playground for everyone - for history, geology, archaeology, art and sports buffs, and especially for curious, outdoor enthusiasts who love spectacular scenery. For couples, Sedona has become well-known as a premier wedding destination and for those seeking personal enrichment, Sedona's world-wide reputation as a spiritual mecca and global power spot has drawn some of the most amazing healers, intuitives, artists and spiritual guides now on the planet.
Sedona is situated in a unique geological area that has mesmerized tourists for decades. Indeed, this picturesque city is surrounded by beloved red-rock monoliths named Coffeepot, Cathedral and Bell even Snoopy because their massive shapes resemble these distinctive objects. Also, the site of this memorable city marks the mouth of unbelievably beautiful Oak Creek Canyon, a breathtaking chasm that even today, is wildly wonderful.
Towering high above Sedona and its hallmark canyon is the geologically dominating Mogollon Rim, formed from ancient deposits of limestone, mudstone and sandstone when this area was the west coast of a still-emerging continent. This awesome rim, which constitutes the southwestern boundary of the vast Colorado Plateau, is home to the largest contiguous stand of ponderosa pine in the world and imagine, the enormous plateau extends into parts of five other states.
The collection of Sedona's impressive, natural endowments also includes the 1.8 million-acre Coconino National Forest, which essentially engulfs this city and encompasses seven intriguing wilderness areas. Obviously, the list of sightseeing and recreational amenities, including state parks and national monuments, is extensive. In fact, it hardly is a surprise that the winding road through Oak Creek Canyon not only is Arizona's first officially designated scenic highway, it is the first leg of a day trip to one of the world's great wonders, nearby Grand Canyon.
Despite this land's myriad geological features, however, many tourists relate Sedona's exceptional charm to the fact that visitors conveniently can spend a day hiking, horseback riding, or bouncing in a Jeep on trails and dirt roads that crisscross this area, and then enjoy the comfort of deluxe hotels, country inns and prestigious resorts at night. Indeed, this is the paradox and enchantment of Sedona: luxurious resorts and bed and breakfasts, unique shops, impressive art galleries and fine restaurants nestled in an unusually rugged canyon surrounded by an expansive national forest. From the Sedona Chamber of Commerce Tourism Bureau. |
