Our First Girls' Trip: Four Days in Sedona

I remember being ridiculously excited for this trip. It was our first-ever girls' trip, timed around my best friend's birthday, and somehow we decided that meant we needed to become fully equipped hikers overnight.

We bought our first CamelBaks. Hiking boots. Hiking pants. Hiking shirts. All the things. I'm pretty sure I bought a Fitbit specifically for this trip.

We flew in early Saturday morning and, despite the travel and the time difference, were on our first trail by 5:30 that evening. I remember standing there on the red-rock gravel thinking, wow.

This was my first time seeing the American Southwest in person. Everywhere I looked there were shades of red, orange, copper, and brown against green desert vegetation. The formations seemed to shift depending on the angle, and I genuinely felt like I couldn't take it all in fast enough.

We hiked until dusk. By the end, our legs were exhausted, we were exhausted, and I was very grateful we'd grocery shopped ahead of time. We went back to our Airbnb, made dinner, and called it a night — because the next morning, we were taking on Cathedral Rock.

Cathedral Rock, a Packed Lunch & a Yoga Mat

In hindsight, the amount of stuff we packed for Cathedral Rock is hilarious. Books. Journals. An entire lunch. Travel yoga mats. Apparently we thought we were moving in. Cathedral Rock isn't exactly a casual walk — I remember it feeling like we were going straight up at times, scrambling and climbing over rocks, and I was definitely not in the best shape of my life to be doing it. But once we got up there, everything changed.

We found a small cove near Cathedral Rock, climbed down into it, and had lunch. We read. We journaled. We just... sat there. I remember feeling incredibly calm.

People talk about Sedona having a spiritual energy, and whether or not you believe in vortexes, I understand why people describe it that way. There was something about sitting among those enormous red-rock formations, after working so hard to get there, that made everything feel very still. Of course, we also had a mini photoshoot to commemorate the fact that we'd survived the climb.

Balance.

After Cathedral Rock, we headed to a spa in Sedona for massages and foot detoxes — possibly one of the better itinerary decisions we've ever made after a full day of climbing rocks.

That evening, we had dinner at Mole Sedona while watching the sunset.

Devil's Bridge

The next morning, we tackled Devil's Bridge Trail — the longer hiking day, from what I remember. There were some genuinely challenging sections, but the payoff was worth it. And yes, there's a line for the photo. Everyone waits their turn to walk out onto the bridge, and when it's finally yours, you get that iconic shot with the red-rock landscape stretching out behind you. What I remember loving most was how nice everyone was — people helped each other take pictures so every group could get their shot.

Start early. You'll beat some of the heat, and hopefully some of that photo line.

That evening we drove to Jerome, a little hillside town that feels completely different from Sedona. We had cocktails and dinner at The Clinkscale, celebrating my best friend's birthday — and this one stays on my recommendation list. After hiking all day, getting cleaned up and heading into this quirky little town for birthday cocktails was such a fun change of pace.

Unfortunately, We Have Jobs

The next day... we worked. Boooooo.

One of the perks of remote work was making a trip like this happen without burning quite as much PTO — but yes, laptops came to Arizona with us. Once we finished working, we headed to Montezuma Castle National Monument, and just like that, the girls' portion of the trip was over.

The next morning, we were picking up our husbands and heading north to Page.

Worth Knowing

• Camp Verde makes a good base if you want access to Sedona without staying right in it.

• Start popular hikes early — Devil's Bridge gets busy, and there may be a wait for the iconic photo.

• Cathedral Rock involves scrambling. It's short compared with some hikes, but don't let the mileage fool you into thinking it's effortless.

• Build recovery into hiking trips. Our massage/spa afternoon after Cathedral Rock was chef's kiss.

• Grocery shopping on arrival was worth it — after traveling and hiking until dusk on day one, nobody wanted to figure out dinner.

• Jerome deserves a stop. It's an easy way to add something completely different to a Sedona-heavy itinerary.