Sprinkle ferrous oxide into basalt, limestone, and sandstone, mix with wind and water, add some earth uplifts and you have Sedona Arizona’s beautiful red rock formations. While we enjoy hiking to experience the beauty, one can also get fabulous scenery from the road or by stopping at sites. Here are some of what we think are the best Sedona Red Rock views.

Oak Creek Canyon

This beautiful drive from Sedona towards Flagstaff is surrounded by dramatic cliffs lined with scenic viewing, picnic, hiking, and even swimming (in the form of Slide Rock Park) sites. We only drove 10.5 miles into the canyon, before reaching our destination of the West Fork trailhead (see above);

Red Rock Loop

A pretty drive that is just minutes from Lower Sedona takes you through beautiful red rock country, homes with incredible views, and to Red Rocks State Park.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

A lovely chapel is built into a red rock mountain. While the small chapel is certainly pretty in its own right, its seamless integration into the rocks and the views it provides are inspirational. And on a more materialistic note, it overlooks one of the most incredible estates in the area.

Schembly Canyon Road

It is supposed to be beautiful. Although we were told that we could drive it with a regular car, despite the warning, it didn’t take us long before we considered it to be too difficult without a high-clearance vehicle. So, we partially made up for this disappointment by cruising through uptown, viewing many of the same rocks—including the appropriately named Snoopy Rock, from the other side.

West Sedona

Dry Creek Road leads to some great trails, the Palatki Heritage Site, the wonderful Enchantment Resort, and some of the best views in the area.

Red Rocks at Sunset

While the color and the formations of the rocks are beautiful at virtually any time, the colors really pop at sunset.

Cactus and Wildlife

Sedona’s red rocks are magical. But so is its vegetation. Cactus is everywhere in Arizona. The area around Phoenix is dominated primarily by the huge, majestic Saguaro Cactus (see our blog on the Saguaro National park in Tucson. But as you get closer to Sedona, the giants disappear and you find many other types of smaller, but equally beautiful varieties of cactus, other succulents, and southwestern flowers, such as bluebonnets and columbines.