As I end my year in Sedona, it feels like a good time to share my favorite recs, as many of you have asked me!
As a taste cognition, taste determination with gate 8, I’m more than happy to talk up the very specific things I love 😉
Food
I pretty much only eat out at two places in Sedona and they have somewhat inconvenient hours (close by 4-5pm), but hey - I want what I want, and having anything else feels terrible. It works for a 2nd color, 2nd tone being.
My go-to's
- Chocolatree - Your typical healthy-hippie fare. Soups, salads, raw crackers; lots of seeds and veggies, everything is GF DF. Dessert and an overwhelming number of drink options. (If you get a drink here, consider ordering it less or unsweetened - they tend to have a heavy hand with the maple). Beautiful garden to sit in where there’s a high likelihood of overhearing classic Sedona conversations.
- Local Juicery - More of a hip/cool feel, lots of white and plants. Smoothies, juices, and to-go salads. You can also pick up all the other wellness goods here (like adaptogens/supplements, moon juice, bee products, protein powders, etc).
If you need some other options for dinner:
- Elote Cafe - Southwestern/Mexican. You’ll need to make a reservation several weeks out.
- Hiro’s - Solid Japanese. Really nice staff.
- Picazzo’s - If you need another gluten-free option.
Grocery store
- One of my quirks is to always visit the grocery store when I travel…tasting during my travels. Interdependence is the local grocery here. Everything you can’t find at Whole Foods, plus local organic produce + flowers when it’s available.
- On Sundays. Small, cheery vibe. Note: It’s the desert so there's a limited selection of produce, but lots of local vendors nonetheless.
Cacao + drinks
- Synergy - Truffles + cacao drinks. I personally prefer their chocolate, which is sweetened with coconut sugar, over any of the other options in town!
- Lacuna - Kava bar, cash only. Nice place to get your chill on.
Water
- Harding Spring: Gathering my own spring water has been a magical ritual I've been so grateful for. The spring is about 30m from Sedona, halfway on the way to Flagstaff.
- Water Store: If you're a hydro hippie, you'll love this spot. Lots of super-friendly folks slinging a variety of alkaline, super-charged, structured water tumbled over crystals.
Hikes + nature
There are SO many hikes I’m not going to choose a favorite. While the popular hikes are beautiful and popular for a reason (Cathedral, Devil’s Bridge, Bell Rock etc) , you really can’t go wrong with any hike. The lesser known trails = fewer people, obviously :)
- For shores folks, try to get up on any of the rocks/mountains to catch a great sunset.
- For caves folks, there are tons of actual caves here too (Birthing Cave, Subway), so for caves people, it could be super fun to check out a real cave or two and see how you feel. Def let me know what you think if you do!
- Of course there’s vortexes to check out. My personal favorite are the vortexes at the beginning of Boynton Canyon (Kachina Woman + Warrior Man), which you can do alone or as a stop when you do the whole trail.
- If it’s hot - find somewhere to jump in the creek!
Activities
- The Living Room is a cozy basement space with some cool conscious artists (I’ve seen Equanimous and Mose here!). Check their page to see what’s on.
- Conscious dance, sound healing, and lots of other things at Sun Moon Studio
- Both Synergy and Lacuna also have events in the evenings, so check their schedules!
Shopping
Lots of woo-shops if you need another crystal or pendulum. Crystal Magic is extensive and Center for the New Age (though it can get a little touristy).
Sedona has been such a special and magical place to/for me. If you check out of any of the above places, please let me know!
x Victoria
