Sedona With Kids

Spring is the easiest season for hiking with children. From March through May, average highs climb from the upper 60s to the mid 80s, and April averages a high of 75 degrees and a low of 44. October, at 79 and 51, is another good month for the trails. Summer is creek season, when families hike early, cool off in Oak Creek or at Slide Rock, and spend the warm afternoons indoors. Winter days reach the upper 50s, good for short walks and long evenings at the house.

Sedona sits at about 4,350 feet. It runs roughly 10 degrees cooler than Phoenix by day and 15 to 17 degrees cooler at night, and West Sedona is about two hours from the Phoenix area by car. If you are flying in, our guide to getting to Sedona compares the airports and the drive, and the best time to visit page goes month by month.

Sedona Pickler is a single-level house in West Sedona, about 10 to 15 minutes by car from the restaurants and shops in town and about 20 minutes from Cottonwood. Red Rock State Park is about 10 minutes away and Crescent Moon Ranch about 15. Out of Africa Wildlife Park and the Verde Canyon Railroad are each about half an hour away, and Montezuma Castle about 40 minutes. On most days a family can be at a trailhead after breakfast and back at the house for lunch, a nap or a game on the court.

One outing a day is plenty with children. Mornings suit the trail or the park, afternoons the creek, the court or a rest, and evenings the grill and the fire table. A week of short outings leaves room for the day when someone needs a nap or a slow morning in the bunk room.

The house sleeps eight in four bedrooms, with check-in after 4 p.m. and checkout before 10 a.m. The person booking needs to be 25 or older, and the house is smoke-free, pet-free and hosts no parties or events. Families who stay with us write most about the court and the bunk room.

The youngest traveler usually sets the pace for the day. Here is how we would sort Sedona's family outings by age, with the age rules each operator lists.

Little kids, about 2 to 6

Little kids do best with short walks and short drives. The Bell Rock Pathway is wide and mostly level, so you can walk ten minutes or an hour and turn back whenever you like. Creek play at Crescent Moon Ranch, the big playground at Posse Grounds Park and a morning with the giraffes at Out of Africa Wildlife Park all suit this age. Children 6 and under enter Red Rock State Park free, children under 6 are free at Slide Rock, and Montezuma Castle is free for everyone 15 and under. Out of Africa's Feed-A-Tiger add-on starts at age 3, and A Day in the West takes children from age 3 on its jeep tours.

School-age kids, about 7 to 12

School-age kids can collect Junior Ranger awards. Red Rock State Park's program is for kids 6 to 12, and the book at Montezuma Castle earns a wooden badge. Kids this age can ride the slide at Slide Rock, rock-hop up the West Fork of Oak Creek, ride the Verde Canyon Railroad and take a jeep tour. From age 8 they can ride horses with A Day in the West and take the Racing Raptor zip line at Out of Africa.

Teens

Teens can take on a longer hike, the rugged jeep trails, a longer trail ride, a sunrise balloon flight and a telescope tour after dark. Many teens take to pickleball fast, and a parents-against-teens match on the indoor court tends to turn into the rematch of the week.

Wildlife is part of the fun at every age. Keep an eye out for javelinas, the bristly, pig-like animals of the high desert, and for lizards sunning on the rocks. A guest named Mark wrote in May that the kids loved chasing the lizards and running around outside the house.

The bunk game room is the kids' own space. It has twin-over-twin bunk beds, a foosball table, a TV and a sectional, so the kids sleep there and spend their downtime there too. Two families have written about it in their reviews.

After a day on the trails, the kids can pile onto the sectional for a movie while the grown-ups settle into the living room with a show of their own. A family from La Grange, Kentucky, wrote about that kind of evening:

“The kids loved “movie night” in the bunkroom while we watched our stuff in the living room.”

Hannah from La Grange, Kentucky, May 2026

The foosball table is good for a tournament. Tape a bracket to the wall, play kids against parents, or let the youngest player team up with the oldest. A game of foosball is quick, so even a short attention span gets a full match in before bath time.

Board games come out at the round dining table after dinner, and there is Wi-Fi for streaming and for older kids who want to check in with friends at home. The washer and dryer take care of muddy creek clothes and red trail dust, which helps anyone who packed light. The house is all on one level, so little ones are never far from the grown-ups, and there are no stairs between the bedrooms, the kitchen and the game room.

On a slow afternoon after a big outing, the bunk room is a good place for a quiet hour, with a book on the bottom bunk or a nap on the sectional.

“The game room with bunkbeds was a dream come true for our kids and our family had a blast playing pickleball on the indoor court.”

Victoria from Corona, California, June 2026

Sedona Pickler has four bedrooms and five beds for up to eight guests: bedroom one has a king bed and its own ensuite bath, bedroom two has a second king, bedroom three has a queen, and the bunk game room has twin-over-twin bunks. There are two baths in all. Settling who sleeps where before anyone packs makes the first night easy.

A family of four or five has room to spread out, with a king for the parents, the bunks for two kids and the queen for the oldest, who may want a door of their own. Two families of four fit well: each couple takes a king, two kids share the bunks and two share the queen. The driveway fits four cars, so two families can each bring their own. Three generations work too. Give the grandparents bedroom one with its ensuite bath, the parents bedroom two, and the grandchildren the bunks and the queen.

Single-level living helps with little ones. A toddler who wakes at night is a few steps from a parent, and grandparents never have stairs to climb. The baths fall into an easy rhythm: the kids bathe at night, and the ensuite in bedroom one keeps mornings moving.

You can also stay a month or longer, a good fit for a family spending part of a summer or a school break in the cooler air at 4,350 feet, with the full kitchen and the washer and dryer making a long stay comfortable.

The room planner below lets you type a name into each bed and copy the plan into the family group chat, so nobody argues about rooms in the driveway. For a longer look at hosting three generations under one roof, read about planning a family reunion in Sedona.

“The house was so comfortable for all 8 of us.”

Erin, a guest in July 2026

The private indoor pickleball court sits in its own steel building on the property. It is air-conditioned in summer, heated in winter and lit for any hour, and with the AC on it holds about 68 degrees on a summer afternoon. Paddles and balls are provided, so all anyone needs to bring is a pair of court shoes, kids included.

Pickleball is easy for children to pick up. The paddle is solid and light, the plastic ball has holes and moves slower than a tennis ball, and the court is the size of a badminton court, so short legs can cover it. Most kids get the basics in a few minutes, and by the end of the week a few of them will be beating a parent.

Three rules get a first game going. The serve is underhand, hit below the waist from behind the baseline. The ball must bounce once on each side before anyone hits it out of the air, which keeps the first shots slow and fair. And nobody volleys while standing in the kitchen, the seven-foot zone on each side of the net. That last rule is the one kids love to call on their parents. The beginners' page on pickleball rules and scoring covers the rest, and the scoring cheat sheet fits on a phone.

Short games with loose scoring work best at first. Play to 5 or 7 points, count how many soft shots in a row two players can trade over the net, or set a paper cup on the court as a target. Older kids and teens can try a full family round-robin with the rotation in running a round-robin for 8 players.

Mixed-age doubles keeps everyone in the game. Pair the strongest player with the youngest, let little kids serve from a step inside the baseline, and give each pair a turn to choose the next game. Grandparents who have never played can join on the first afternoon, since the soft game near the net rewards touch more than speed.

Because it is your own court, nobody is waiting for it. An early riser can hit balls at 6 a.m., and a ten-minute game fits between dinner and bath time.

“For our family, the highlight was the indoor air conditioned pickleball court. Our family had so much fun being able to play whenever we wanted to.”

Karen from Mesa, Arizona, August 2026

The yard at Sedona Pickler is fenced, with a picnic table for lunch in the sun and a BBQ grill with utensils for burgers, hot dogs and corn on the cob. The high desert around the house is juniper, green hills and big sky, and the yard is a good place to look for lizards on the rocks and birds in the junipers.

The picnic table works as the family's outdoor dining room. Breakfast outside on a cool morning, a sandwich lunch between outings and grilled dinners at sunset all feel like part of the vacation. Kids can set the table and carry the plates, and a teenager can run the grill with a parent close by. With the yard fenced, parents can sit at the table with a coffee while the little ones play in sight, and a soft ball or a flying disc from home gives them something to chase.

Evenings happen on the covered deck. It has a pergola, a gas fire table and two freestanding soaking tubs with plenty of hot water. Pour cocoa, gather around the fire table and talk over the day. The tubs are a treat after a hike or a long afternoon at Slide Rock, so bring swimsuits for everyone; little ones love a soak with a grown-up right beside the tub.

A family from Kentucky wrote that after hiking or pickleball, the tubs and the fire pit were the big hits of their stay. The fire table runs on gas, so there is no wood to haul and it is ready the moment everyone sits down.

The grill makes dinner simple after a long day out: hot dogs for the kids, something bigger for the adults, and everyone at the picnic table while the light fades. After dark, the yard is a good place to count stars before bedtime, and the stargazing chapter below has more on Sedona's night sky.

“We loved sitting outside on the covered deck with a beautiful firepit and others used the bathtubs.”

Mark, a guest in May 2026

The Bell Rock Pathway along State Route 179 is our favorite first walk with kids, because the red rocks show up in the first few minutes. It is wide, hard-packed and mostly level, with Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte in view from the start, so you can walk ten minutes or an hour and turn around wherever the kids run out of steam. A sturdy all-terrain stroller handles the main pathway. The Courthouse Vista lot is about half an hour from the house; bring a Red Rock Pass for the dashboard, or ride the free shuttle to Little Horse.

Fay Canyon, off Boynton Pass Road on the west side of town and about 20 minutes from the house, suits school-age kids. It is about 2.1 miles round trip with about 140 feet of climbing, up a box canyon between tall red walls that throw shade. The trail ends at the back of the canyon, a natural turnaround and snack spot. A steep, rocky scramble up to an arch is optional; with little ones, skip it.

For a stroller or a wheelchair, the Sedona Wetlands Preserve has a flat loop of about 1.6 miles on crushed gravel around ponds where herons and ducks feed, and it is free. Posse Grounds Park, about 14 minutes from the house, is a free city park with a large playground, restrooms and flat paved paths, a good place for kids to run on a rest day.

The West Fork of Oak Creek is for kids who like water. The trail follows the creek through a shady canyon with about 13 crossings on rocks and logs, so plan on damp shoes and turn back whenever you like.

From Thursday through Sunday, all year, the free Sedona Shuttle runs to several trailheads, including Little Horse on the Bell Rock side and Cathedral Rock, which saves hunting for parking with a car full of kids. A guest in May wrote about it:

“Leave the house and drive a mile or so on 89A to a free shuttle at the high school to take us on hikes.”

Mark, a guest in May 2026

More short trails are in our easy hikes guide, with a page each for Bell Rock, Fay Canyon and the West Fork. The shuttle and the parking passes are on the getting around page.

Red Rock State Park is a nature preserve on Oak Creek at 4050 Red Rock Loop Road, about 10 minutes from the house, and one of the best places in Sedona for kids to learn what they are looking at. The Miller Visitor Center has hands-on exhibits about the plants and animals of the area, and volunteer naturalists lead a guided nature hike every day at 10 a.m.

Kids 6 to 12 can become Junior Rangers here. Ask for the full Junior Ranger booklet at the visitor center, the ranger station or the office, and when a ranger approves the finished work, your child takes the Junior Ranger Pledge and receives a Junior Ranger button. The park's website also has a one-page activity sheet to print before you go. Called Rules Are Tools, it asks kids to match each park rule to a picture of what could happen without it, a good way to talk about trail manners in the car. Arizona State Parks runs Junior Ranger programs at nearly all of its parks, so a button here can be the first of several.

About five miles of connected, family-oriented loops wind through the park. The easy, flat walks follow the creek, and a few trails climb to viewpoints for older kids. Save the wading for Crescent Moon Ranch and Slide Rock; here the creek is for spotting birds from the trail. Picnic tables and shelters make it easy to stay for lunch.

Birders of any age can join the guided bird walks on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 8 a.m., or 9 a.m. in December. Two programs this fall suit kids. Snakes of Arizona, on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at 1 p.m., includes a meet-and-greet with Cowboy, a California kingsnake. The Star Party on Saturday, November 7, runs from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and needs registration. Curious older kids and teens can join the geology hike on Sunday, November 8, or the archaeology hike on November 15, both at 1 p.m. with reservations, and an ethnobotany hike about the area's plants follows on Sunday, November 22, at 1 p.m.

The park is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last entry at 4:30, and the visitor center from 9 to 4:30. Fill a water bottle for each child at the house before you leave.

Crescent Moon Ranch, the Forest Service day-use site on Oak Creek at Red Rock Crossing, is about 15 minutes from the house and has the classic view of Cathedral Rock rising over the creek. For kids it is a place to splash, toss pebbles and hop from rock to rock along the bank under the sycamores, so bring water shoes and a picnic.

Families spread out along the creek with a blanket and a cooler, and the site has picnic tables and restrooms. Little ones can wade at the calm edges, holding a grown-up's hand, and older kids can rock-hop along the bank and race leaves down the current. Teens tend to head for the classic photo of Cathedral Rock reflected in the water.

Crescent Moon collects its own day-use fee at the gate, and its hours shift with the seasons, so a quick look at the Forest Service page the morning you go keeps the day easy.

Late morning works well. Arrive with a picnic lunch in the cooler, play until the kids are tired, then head home for a nap, a soak in the tubs or a game on the court. In the warm months, set up in the shade of the sycamores along the bank.

Pack a towel and a dry change of clothes for each child, since the creek stays cool much of the year. If the family wants a walk too, the Baldwin Trail nearby loops toward Cathedral Rock on gentle ground. The trails are on our Cathedral Rock page, and more spots along Oak Creek are in Sedona's summer swimming holes.

At Slide Rock State Park, Oak Creek runs down a natural chute in the sandstone and kids slide into the pool below. The park sits on the old Pendley Homestead apple farm in Oak Creek Canyon, about half an hour from the house on State Route 89A, and the walk down to the creek passes the orchard and the old farm buildings. On weekends, the park opens the historic Apple Packing Shed from 10 a.m. to noon.

The slide suits school-age kids and teens who are steady on slick rock and happy in cool water; the creek comes down from the high country and stays cool even in summer. Little ones can splash with a parent and cheer on the big kids. The swimming stretch of the creek runs close to half a mile, so families can wander up or down from the main slide to a quieter pool. Water shoes or old sneakers make the rocks easier on everyone's feet, and a towel and a dry layer make the walk back up more pleasant.

Everyone arrives by car through the entry station, so our tip is to be there at opening on a weekday, claim a shady rock and make it a half day.

From January 31 to November 20, the park is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the swim area open until 5. From November 21 to January 30 it keeps winter hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the swim area open until 4. As listed in October 2026, entry was $30 per vehicle for one to four people in summer 2026, from May to August 21, and is $20 from August 22 through April 2027, plus $5 for each extra person. All children under 6 are free.

The Slide Rock guide has more on the park. Pair it with a drive up the Oak Creek Canyon road, and be home for lunch and a nap.

Montezuma Castle National Monument protects a cliff dwelling built by the Sinagua people, high in a limestone cliff above Beaver Creek, and a short, paved loop under the sycamores leads to the viewing area below it. The monument is near Camp Verde, about 45 minutes from the house, and it makes an easy half day on its own or a pair with Out of Africa Wildlife Park.

Each of the monument's two locations, the Castle and Montezuma Well, has a short nature trail of about a third of a mile, which suits the smallest hikers. Montezuma Well, a detached part of the monument about 20 minutes from the Castle, has no entrance fee. It is a limestone sinkhole about 368 feet across, formed when an underground cavern collapsed, with dwellings built into its rim and walls, and kids who expect a small well are in for a surprise. At the Castle, the fee is $10 per adult 16 and over, good for seven days and also covering Tuzigoot National Monument near Cottonwood, and children 15 and under are free. The monument is open from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Kids can earn a Junior Ranger badge here. Pick up the Junior Ranger book at the Montezuma Castle Visitor Center, or download it and start at home, then hand the finished book to a ranger during your visit. Each new Junior Ranger earns a wooden badge to add to the collection, and there is no age limit, so parents and grandparents can earn one too. For families visiting several parks, the Arizona Explorer Junior Ranger book covers all 22 National Park Service sites in Arizona; complete at least five of its eight activities for an Arizona Explorer patch.

If you have a fourth grader, get the free 4th Grade Pass from the Every Kid Outdoors program before the trip. Your fourth grader completes a short activity on the program's website, you print the voucher and trade it for the pass at a participating site, and it covers the child and three adults from September through August. Kids are already free at Montezuma Castle, so here the pass covers the three adults, and it keeps working at other federal sites through August.

The visitor center has a small museum with Sinagua pottery and other artifacts, which helps kids picture daily life in the cliffs. The Castle and the Well each get their own section in our Montezuma Castle guide.

Out of Africa Wildlife Park, at 3505 W. State Route 260 in Camp Verde and about 30 minutes from the house, is home to giraffes, tigers, rhinos and many more animals. Strollers, wagons and wheelchairs are welcome, and a tram shuttle runs between the exhibits, so the day suits a mixed group.

Admission includes the African Bush Safari Tour, a ride out among the animals; the Wildlife Preserve Tram Shuttle; and the day's shows, which are Creature Feature, Tiger Splash, the Giant Snake Show, and either Predator Feed or Wonders of the Wildlife, depending on the day. Check the show schedule when you arrive and plan the visit around Tiger Splash and the safari.

As listed in October 2026, general admission is $42.95 for adults 13 and over, $27.95 for children 3 to 12 and $40.95 for seniors 65 and over. The add-ons have their own age rules. Feed-A-Tiger is $5 a person from age 3. The SuperMog Adventure Tour is $25 from age 5, and riders climb a ladder into the vehicle. The Racing Raptor Zip Line is $27.50 from age 8, for riders between 60 and 285 pounds, and riders 8 to 17 go with an adult. An Expedition Passport bundles admission, Feed-A-Tiger and the SuperMog tour for $63.95 for adults and $48.95 for children 5 to 12.

Animal lovers 5 and older can book a closer look. The Rhino Encounter is $75 a person and Tortoise Feeding is $30, each for up to 10 people. The Sloth Encounter is priced by group, from $96 for one to three people up to $156 for seven, and children 16 and under join with an adult. For a month-long stay with repeat visits, a Family membership is $259 for two adults and up to four children 3 to 12.

The park is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., the admissions window closes at 4, and it closes only on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. We would arrive at opening, catch the morning shows, have lunch, and drive on to Montezuma Castle for the afternoon. The shows and the safari get a fuller write-up in our Out of Africa guide.

The Verde Canyon Railroad runs a four-hour round trip along the Verde River from its depot at 300 N. Broadway in Clarkdale, about 30 minutes from the house by way of Cottonwood. Every passenger has an indoor seat plus access to an open-air viewing car next to it, so kids can move between the window and the open air as the canyon goes by.

The fare is $139, and babies under 1 ride free on a lap, as listed in October 2026. Four hours suits school-age kids and teens best. For younger children, pack snacks, a small game and a warm layer for the open-air car.

For families with little ones, the railroad's Christmas trains are an easy fit. From November 27 to December 23, 2026, it runs a one-hour Christmas Journey at $60 for adults and $40 for children 2 to 10, and on Christmas Eve the fares are $70 and $50. An hour on the train leaves the rest of the evening for the house.

Horse-loving kids can pair the train with a ride. Trailhorse Adventures sells a Trails & Rails package that combines a one-hour horseback ride in Dead Horse Ranch State Park with a Verde Canyon Railroad trip, at $184 plus tax per rider. Book the train once your house dates are set.

Old Town Cottonwood is a few minutes from the depot for an early dinner on the way home. See our pages on the Verde Canyon Railroad and Old Town Cottonwood for more.

Sedona's jeep tours climb over slickrock and bounce down rough roads that no family car could manage, with a guide who names the formations as you go. Each company sets its own minimum age and its own car seat rules, so seats are the thing to plan.

A Day in the West takes children from age 3 on its jeep tours, and kids under 16 ride along with an adult from the group. Everyone wears a seatbelt, and children 5 and under get a booster seat or a five-point harness seat free of charge. The company keeps car seats and booster seats on hand and asks you to let them know in advance.

The other jeep companies in town set their age rules tour by tour, and the rougher trails usually ask for older kids. When you book, give every child's age and ask which tours suit them.

For the drive to the tour office, bring car seats or add them to your rental. If you fly in, the rental counter at the airport is the easiest place to sort this out before the two-hour drive north.

A scenic tour suits preschoolers, and the rugged trails suit older kids and teens who like a thrill. Dress in layers in winter and light clothing in summer, bring hats that stay on in the wind, sunscreen and water, and choose a morning tour in the warm months. Our jeep tours guide compares the trails and the companies, and the jeep rental page covers driving yourself.

Horseback rides

Horseback rides in the high desert start at age 8 with A Day in the West, and closed-toe shoes are required. The company may ask each rider's height and weight, so the wranglers can match everyone to the right horse. Trailhorse Adventures rides through Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood, about 30 minutes from the house. Its High Desert Trail ride is an hour and a half at $99 plus tax per rider, the Outlaw Trail is an hour, and a Picnic Trail Ride runs an hour and a half.

For the littlest cowhands, Trailhorse offers pony rides, a quick turn around the corral with one of its wranglers. Call for availability, and ask about ages for the trail rides at the same time. We would book pony rides for preschoolers, a one-hour ride for a first-timer of 8 or 9, and the longer trail for teens who have ridden before. Long pants and closed-toe shoes make the saddle more comfortable for everyone. More stables and rides are in our horseback riding guide.

Balloon rides at sunrise

A sunrise balloon flight is the big treat for older kids and teens. Red Rock Balloons asks that every passenger be at least 48 inches tall at the time of the flight, and kids under 18 fly with a parent beside them. Guests meet before sunrise, the flight lasts about an hour to an hour and a half depending on the winds, and the whole outing runs about three and a half to four hours, finishing with a toast after landing.

Passengers stand for about an hour and climb in and out of the basket, so the flight suits steady older kids. Flat, closed-toe shoes are recommended, and dress for the season, though the basket often feels warmer than the ground because of the burners. If the weather keeps the balloons on the ground, the company reschedules or gives a full refund, so book the balloon early in the trip to leave room for a new date. The hot-air balloon guide walks through a flight morning.

Sedona is a certified International Dark Sky Community, and on a clear, moonless night the sky over the high desert fills with stars. The yard at the house is a good place to start: turn off the lights, lie back on a blanket, give everyone's eyes about 20 minutes to adjust, and use a red light so the stars stay bright.

For a guided night, Evening Sky Tours sets up its telescopes at an observing site in Big Park, the Village of Oak Creek, about half an hour from the house. As listed in October 2026, tours are $117 for adults and $76 for children 12 and under. Start times move with the seasons: 8 and 9:30 p.m. in October, 7:30 and 9 p.m. from November through April, 9 and 10:30 p.m. from May through August, and 8:30 and 10 p.m. in September. The walk from parking is about 200 yards on dirt and grass, a few objects need a short step ladder to reach the eyepiece, and there are restrooms on site. Guests may bring their own non-alcoholic drinks, so a thermos of cocoa for the kids comes along nicely. For younger kids, the early winter tour at 7:30 is the easiest fit.

Red Rock State Park holds a Star Party on Saturday, November 7, 2026, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., and registration is required. In Flagstaff, about an hour from the house, Lowell Observatory sits at 1400 W. Mars Hill Road, a mile west of downtown, and is open from noon to 10 p.m., except on Tuesdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Its telescopes open around sunset, as early as 4:30 p.m. in winter, and a rooftop Dark Sky Planetarium show or a Lowell Universe Theater show is $5 each on top of admission. General admission needs no reservation. A Lowell evening rounds off a day in Flagstaff, and the Flagstaff day trip page covers the rest of the town.

Back at the house, finish the night on the deck with cocoa at the fire table, a blanket for each child and a sky app to name the brightest stars. The stargazing guide has more on Sedona's night sky and the meteor showers worth staying up for.

Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, at 336 State Route 179, is about 15 minutes from the house and makes an easy family afternoon of courtyards, galleries and ice cream. The village is built around shaded courtyards with fountains and archways, and kids enjoy exploring its corners. Shops are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Snacks are easy here. Dulce sells ice cream, churros and candies, and the village's food and drink list also includes El Rincon Mexican Restaurante, Secret Garden Cafe and Cake Couture Coffee & Dessert. A cone in a courtyard is the sweet end of a gallery hunt.

Two dates this fall are made for kids. On Sunday, November 1, 2026, Tlaquepaque holds its Day of the Dead celebration from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., a free event with entertainment and activities for adults and kids of all ages. On Friday, December 4, the village lights its 26-foot Christmas tree at Tlaquepaque North from 5 to 6:30 p.m., with Santa, activities for children, free hot chocolate and local holiday entertainment. Arrive by 4 to park and explore in daylight.

A gallery visit goes better with a game. Give each child a list of things to find, like a bronze animal, a painting of a horse or a piece of turquoise, and let the first one to finish choose the ice cream stop. Teens may want to spend their own money on a small piece of local art.

The village also runs family events through the year, among them Meet the Easter Bunny and Movies On The Move, so look at its events page for dates that fall inside your stay.

Holiday trips have their own guide, Thanksgiving to New Year's in Sedona, which covers the luminarias, and the page on Tlaquepaque's luminaria tradition covers the village in December. There is more on the village itself in our Tlaquepaque guide, and family dinners in town are in the best restaurants roundup.

“The drive into town for restaurants and shopping was an easy 10-15 minute drive.”

Karen from Mesa, Arizona, August 2026

On a rainy day or a slow afternoon, the house is the first answer: the indoor court is heated and air-conditioned, and the bunk game room, the board games and the full kitchen fill the rest of the day.

Two visitor centers have indoor exhibits. The Miller Visitor Center at Red Rock State Park has hands-on displays about the plants and animals of the area, and the visitor center at Montezuma Castle has a small museum with Sinagua pottery and other artifacts. Both are good places to work on a Junior Ranger book.

A longer outing fills a whole day. The Verde Canyon Railroad gives every passenger an indoor seat for the four-hour ride, and Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff runs planetarium and theater shows at $5 each, a good indoor hour for kids who like space.

A slow day is also the day to finish a Junior Ranger book, write postcards to the grandparents who stayed home, or pick the best photos of the week. Let the oldest child plan the dinner menu, and let the youngest choose the movie.

Cooking together fills an afternoon well. Make pizza dough or a batch of cookies, let the kids measure and stir, and bake while a pickleball game runs in the court building. A pot of chili on the stove and a stack of board games at the round table make an easy evening, and nobody has to drive anywhere after dark.

More ideas for days off the trail are in our rainy-day Sedona guide and in Sedona for non-hikers.

Kids have more fun with a water bottle of their own. Sedona sits at about 4,350 feet and the air is dry, so fill a bottle for each child at the house before every outing, carry extra on the trail, and make a water break part of every stop.

Snacks keep small hikers going. Pack crackers, fruit and a sweet treat in every daypack, and keep a cooler in the car with lunch and drinks for the longer days at Slide Rock or Out of Africa. Safeway, Whole Foods Market and Natural Grocers are all along 89A in West Sedona, and the Safeway has a pharmacy, minutes from the house, for anything a child needs. The full kitchen at the house has an oven and stove, a microwave, a dishwasher, a toaster, a blender, a refrigerator with a freezer and a coffee maker with coffee for the grown-ups, so breakfasts and packed lunches come together fast.

Hats with a brim, sunglasses and sunscreen go in every bag for the bright desert sun. In summer the trails are nicest early in the morning, with the afternoons saved for the creek, the court or a nap. Spring and fall mornings start cool, with April lows around 44 degrees and October lows around 51, so pack a fleece or a light jacket that can come off by mid-morning.

For shoes, closed-toe hiking shoes or sneakers with good grip for the trails, water shoes or old sneakers for the creeks, and court shoes for the pickleball court cover everything. Add a small first-aid kit, a red light for stargazing and a swimsuit for the soaking tubs.

For the drive, bring car seats or add them to your rental. The packing guide for a pickleball vacation covers the court side of the suitcase, and the list below covers the rest.

Here is the week we would plan for a family of eight with little kids and teens together: short drives from the house, two big days out, and quieter days close to home in between.

Day one is arrival. Check in after 4 p.m., let the kids claim the bunks, and play the first game on the court before dinner on the grill. Day two starts on the Bell Rock Pathway in the cool of the morning, with lunch and ice cream at Tlaquepaque on the way home, since both are on State Route 179, and a quiet afternoon at the house. Day three is the first big day out: Out of Africa Wildlife Park at 9:30, lunch in Camp Verde, and Montezuma Castle and the Junior Ranger book in the afternoon.

Day four stays close. Join the 10 a.m. guided nature hike at Red Rock State Park, then take a picnic lunch to Crescent Moon Ranch and play by the creek. In the evening, the older kids and a parent can take a telescope tour while the little ones have movie night in the bunk room with a grandparent. Day five is the second big day: a jeep tour in the morning for the older kids, Slide Rock at opening in summer, or the Verde Canyon Railroad for a slower day, with a family tournament on the court to close the week.

With toddlers, choose a scenic jeep tour or pony rides on day five and keep each outing to a morning. With teens, add a longer hike, a horseback ride or a sunrise balloon flight. Checkout is before 10 a.m., so pack the car the night before and have one last breakfast at the round table.

Pick your arrival and departure dates in the calendar below to see which family events fall inside your stay, then check the house calendar for your week.

1. Day 1Check in after 4 p.m., the bunks and the first game on the court
2. Day 2The Bell Rock Pathway, then lunch and ice cream at Tlaquepaque
3. Day 3Out of Africa at 9:30, then Montezuma Castle
4. Day 4Red Rock State Park at 10, then a picnic at Crescent Moon Ranch
5. Day 5A jeep tour, Slide Rock or the train, then the family tournament

“The deck bathtubs were a fun addition and the house was in a great location for various activities around Sedona.”

Victoria from Corona, California, June 2026