Day 3 – Sedona: Devil’s Bridge & Tlaquepaque
My alarm went off at 6am but Stelios was already awake. We had a quick breakfast in our hotel room and arrived at the parking lot by 7am to catch the 7:15am shuttle to the trailhead. Today’s plan was to hike Devil’s Bridge, the most popular hike in Sedona because it has a dramatic sandstone arch that you can walk out to onto.
At the start of the hike we saw several hot air balloons float up into the sky in the distance, a very peaceful start to the morning. Along the way there were a couple of plateaus to stop at and take in the view but the hike never felt overly crowded considering this was the most popular (but we also started very early to purposely avoid the crowds) This hike was also overall less challenging than yesterday’s except for the small rock scramble at the top.
Once you get to the actual Devil’s Bridge arch there is a literal line of people waiting to walk out onto the arch and take a picture. Sadly the instagram influencers have ruined this hike making it a destination for a photo op. We thought about not waiting but there were only 5 couples ahead of us so we used the time to relax, catch our breath, and enjoy the views. Most of the people were quick and cordial but there were two pairs of girls who did 10+ poses before walking off the bridge (inconsiderate and solely there for the gram, eyeroll). It was honestly a bit nerve racking watching people walk out onto the very narrow cliff, in person it looks like they could easily slip or misstep and fall off, but when you actually walk onto it the bridge it is much wider than it seems from afar. It ended up being a 30 minute total wait and the line was easily 2x as long by the time our photo was done. Sadly the photo angle does not capture how narrow the bridge appears from afar in real life. Worth the photo op? Maybe. Would I do that hike again? Probably not.
After the devils bridge hike we were hungry so we drove back to Uptown Sedona and snagged an outdoor table at Wildcraft Kitchen. We ordered two speciality lattes and a hearty avocado toast. After filling up on brunch we decided to go back out for another hike!
Stelios had more energy than I did but I still wanted to be outside in the sun and explore. I searched for an easier Sedona hike on my AllTrails app and landed on the Baldwin Trail — a 2.7 mile loop with scenic views of the red rocks. It was a 20 minute drive to the trailhead parking lot and luckily we got the last open spot in the lot. We crossed the street to the trailhead and several mountain bikers passed us with their dogs running after them off leash and following behind which I found comical and also impressed with how well trained they were Overall it was a lovely easy afternoon hike.
By 2pm we drove back to the hotel, stopped for açaí bowls and a shake on the way back to cool off and then hit the pool. After relaxing we showered and got ready for our final dinner in Sedona. We had reservations at Reneè Tlaquepaque. A recommendation from the bartender at Redwall Distillery. We had a cute table in the outside courtyard and stayed warm thanks to the heat lamps. We learned from our server that Reneé’s was the first white table cloth fine dining restaurant in Sedona. The Tlaquepaque plaza that the restaurant was located in was 70-years old & it was actually built around the existing Sycamore trees on the property to preserve the natural landscape. That was the deal they made with the previous owner and was the only way he would sell the land. The history was extremely interesting and our dinner was delectable. We ordered a bottle of GSM (a red wine blend popular in Santa Barbara), the escargot appetizer, and shared the lamb chops and wagyu beef cheeks for our entree. Everything melted in our mouths and I would 100% would recommend this as a stop to anyone visiting Sedona for a romantic date night.
After dinner, it was time to drive to the airport. Our weekend in Sedona had come to an end and we were catching the red eye back home. A quick weekend away, but it honestly felt like perfect amount of time to spend in Sedona and explore. Until next time!
