Thanks David and Ryan …. we are staying near old town
We will be hiking Camelback (Echo Canyon) at least one morning, but will be hiking other places tbd as well.
I do love the pancakes at the Phoenician, so maybe we will head there one day.
My favorite hike in the valley is Flat Iron. It is challenging and beautiful.
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That is a great hike - did it for the first time in March.
Theres a cool spot called Quiessence at the Farm on South Mountain out in the middle of nowhere a bit (relatively speaking). Much of the produce is sourced from the site. I havent been in years, but the wine list used to be quite good. Food was too.
Finally making a trip here in April after a few covid-aborted reservations. We have one night to kill after visiting GC before flight out of Phoenix, are there any interesting dining destinations within say 1.5 hours north of Phoenix that might be worth a one-night stopover instead of just an extra Phoenix night? (Not fancy, just cool…)
Sedona and Flagstaff are killer destinations. There are a ton of must see/do (April is high season for Sedona and 2nd tier Scottsdale/Phoenix)- if you want Phoenix/Scottsdale happy to add to the above (or you can stay at Sheraton Wildhorse Pass and eat at Kai).
Activities
Ski- https://www.arizonasnowbowl.com/ [possible in April]
Hikes/Mountain Bike
In Flag Schultz Pass (a number of trail options are there), sunset, fort valley trail system, rocky ridge
In Sedona: Mezcal(intermediate), Chuck Wagon(intermediate), hiline, hogs, hangover (advanced) and West Forks (hike only. would be three that would be fun for whole family)
Top mountain bike instructor: Simon www.simonsaysmtb.com
Places to see and/or hike:
-lava tubes hike Coconino National Forest - Lava River Cave
-Antelope Canyon- Page, AZ Antelope Canyon: slot canyon near Page/Lake Powell, Arizona
-Grand Canyon
-Sedona Red Rocks-many options
-Horseshoe Bend- Page, AZ https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60834-d621712-Reviews-Horseshoe_Bend-Page_Arizona.html
-Take a chair lift to the top of Snow Bowl mountain (summer or winter)
-Sunset Crater Volcano National Park https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60971-d255183-Reviews-Sunset_Crater_Volcano_National_Monument-Flagstaff_Arizona.html
-Walnut Canyon National Park https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60971-d108787-Reviews-Walnut_Canyon_National_Monument-Flagstaff_Arizona.html
-Wupatki National Monument Wupatki National Monument (Flagstaff) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go
-Lowell Observatory https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60971-d103173-Reviews-Lowell_Observatory-Flagstaff_Arizona.html
-Museum of Northern Arizona https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60971-d108785-Reviews-Museum_of_Northern_Arizona-Flagstaff_Arizona.html
-BearZona-Williams, AZ http://bearizona.com/
-River Rafting- https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60971-d1078863-Reviews-Arizona_Raft_Adventures-Flagstaff_Arizona.html
Out Of Africa Safari- Camp Verde, AZ http://outofafricapark.com/
Swimming Complex The Flagstaff Aquaplex | City of Flagstaff Official Website
-Cabin Fever (Indoor activities)-laser tag, climbing wall, etc http://www.cabinfeverplay.com/
-Horseback Riding- http://historichitchinpoststables.com/
-Bearzona
-Deer Farm
-Grasshoper point - cliff jumping, different levels/heights
Restaurants:
In Sedona:
-Elote- Amazing authentic Mexico City Mexican no reservations so should time it just before 5 or there will be a wait out the door
-Mariposa- Gorgeous setting dinner on the patio. Food is good (not great but good) but expensive. Well worth it
-Enchantment- go for a drink at sunset, can’t be beat as it sets over the red rocks right in front of you while you are on the patio (good food as well)
-Coffee pot- great fun breakfast spot.
-Indian Gardens Marketplace- great place for sandwiches (breakfast or lunch) and other great convenience like items. Not cheap but very good food. Located on your way into Sedona and not too far from Forks or Slide Rock
-Local Juicery, awesome shakes, juices açaí bowls
In Flagstaff
Restaurant
- Tinderbox (worth making reservations but may have last minute availability)
-Brix - Shift Kitchen and Bar (not really that young kid friendly) great tasting menu
-Diablo Burger AMAZING burgers – (Very small inside seating good patio) locally sourced meat
-Pizza Fat Olives and Pizziclleta excellent pizza.
-Pato Thai Cuisine (Very casual atmosphere)
Coffee
-Matador Coffee Roasters (about 7 miles from home)
– Late for the Train
Shakes And Juices
-Local Juicery, awesome shakes, juices açaí bowls
-Sushi - Hiro’s Sushi, very casual
-motherroad brewery
-Fancy Sushi – Karma Sushi
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Just got back from a week in Scottsdale. Would recommend Fat Ox, The Mission, Olive & Ivy, and J&G Steakhouse (the truffle cheese fritters were so good) for restaurants. We hit up the tasting rooms at Carlson Creek, Airdus, and LDV Winery in Old Town. In general, the hosts just stayed at the bar, and didn’t share much knowledge or history, fairly disappointing but if you wanted to just drink some wine and relax would be good for that. Was hoping to learn more; the whole experience was very odd to me after so many tastings in Napa/Sonoma over the years and how that process generally goes. Bought some Petite Sirah and Syrah at LDV that will be fun to share with friends that like huge, full throttle wines as these feel like they are going to take the enamel off your teeth.
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Reporting back from Sedona, thanks to Ryan for advice here and off board. Elote is now reservation only and you have to book 60 days in advance. Conveniently they also do takeout, call at 3pm and keep trying until you get through…so we had one meal in house and one takeout. Food is so good and it’s not a restaurant with a view so can’t say takeout suffered at all in comparison to dine in. Even the kids menu chicken quesadilla was the best I’ve had.
Mariposa was great, given the amazing space and views the food could afford to be subpar but we loved everything except the cocktails.
Creekside American has decent views on the patio, food was fine, nothing special.
Great lunches at Indian gardens (go there and then hike west fork, or vice versa) and Secret Garden in the market.
It’s really astounding here. Avoided the IG-hyped hikes and except for some traffic driving through center of town it doesn’t feel overrun at all
We did a day trip to the Grand Canyon which is…crowded.
Sounds like you had a good visit to our little slice of paradise! Extra bonus points for plugging in to the Elote takeout hack. Mostly us locals taking advantage of that, at risk of repetitive finger trauma trying to get thru to order.
As you noted, Miraposa is more about the experience than the food. Still a place everyone should hit here.
We have a number of restaurants like Creekside, including Mesa Grill, Vault, Hudson, etc. All are fine, but not quite special. Rascals in West Sedona is great for brunch.
Shorebird is a step up. In the Village of Oak Creek, Dellepiane has good gourmet burgers, empanadas, etc. And Cucina Rustica has nice ambiance and solid Italian menu. Secret Garden punches above its weight in Tlaquepaque…
Glad you found a good selection of hikes. There’s a shit ton of them here. Ping me if you need more recs in the future. We keep finding new ones all the time…
Sedona is a fabulous place to live…
We also hit Pisa Lisa this morning after we hiked Fay Canyon before leaving, it was quite delicious. As I told my family, this is the good version of the pizza I try to make on the grill at home.
We love the Fay Canyon hike. Did you go all the way up the scramble at the far end? Great views to the South, and some lesser known glyphs around the side. Also, just down the road is Doe Mountain. Short, steep route, with amazing 360 degree views up on the mesa.
Oddly enough, we’ve had multiple bad experiences with Pisa Lisa food. Most folks rave about it, but we’re the exception. As they say, YMMV… ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Yes the scramble was awesome, kids loved it. We tried Doe Mountain was it was a bit much for the kids as a second hike of the day so didn’t make it all the way.
We’re in Tempe soon for 3 nights. Any recs on what to do, where to eat?
House of Tricks has always been the restaurant jewel of Tempe. I recall hearing it had recently sold, so hopefully it’s still around. Not too far north of Tempe (in Old Town Scottsdale) are a number of great restaurants, including one of our faves - Virtu Honest Craft. Even closer to Tempe still in South Scottsdale is Atlas Bistro, really the only legitimate spot for BYOB in town
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Bumping this for Fiesta Bowl travel. Any spots I should book now? Any BYOB in AZ?
The only one worth mentioning is Atlas Bistro. Prix fix menu and $20 corkage I believe. It’s quite good
Bumping this thread - wondering if any new restaurant recs? Will be out in Phoenix/Scottsdale area in mid April for few days
Kid friendly hikes?
Ty
Le Ame, at the newly opened Global Ambassador Hotel was very good when we tried it last month
Any suggestions for a private chef for about 10 in scottsdale in early March?
Massive recc for Anhelo in Phoenix…with major props to @Ryan_A on his wine list. Fantastic food and presentation (best duck breast I’ve ever had, by far), service was top-notch. Now that our son will be at ASU (Barrett Honors College) for 4 years starting in the Fall, I will most definitely want to go back.
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