Sedona is gonna be fairly pricey this time of year.

No need to worry about creepy crawlies this time of year. You could stay in Flag and make a day of it in Sedona?

I've spent a lot of time in Sedona, Scottsdale and Flagstaff. In laws lived in these places at various times. I'm spoiled by accommodations so I can't help with the hotel situation.

Hiking far superior in Sedona. I've done everything from the 1 mile easy strolls to 20 mile runs on those trails save your hikes for there and the Grand Canyon. almost never bothered by wildlife during the day. Javelina at dusk and dawn, they tend to ignore you. Scorpions at night but never during the day. Snakes? only when I've gone off trail, and only when hot out.

A side trip to Jerome from Sedona is always fun. I've never done it but the pink jeep tours are popular in Sedona and will take you where you may not want to hike to with kids.

We stayed at a B&B there. Very new age hippie crystal vibe. Personally I would spend 1 night max and spend more time at the grand canyon

does your crew think the hilton is roughing it when the hyatt is full? ;-)

if you want minimalist, low key, this may be a place to try.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/...-Sedona_Arizona.html

we are staying here the last week of march. it'll be a guys trip. it's right next to bike and bean so if you want bikes for the family it's very convenient and they have a coffee shop so you can get your fix quickly. excellent trailheads are close by. you are just south of bell rock and courthouse butte. the down side would be if you want to be 'in' sedona you'll have to drive there, you wont be able to walk to the sedona touristy stuff.

in sedona and higher elevations you shouldn't have to worry about snakes yet. down in the valley...maybe. a few guys have already seen some snakes on the trail this year. we had some fairly warm days that have stirred a few up already. this link is our beginning of the year critter thread, guys are talking about what they've seen already.
https://forums.mtbr.com/...-2019-a-1096635.html

obviously the link is to a mtb site so that's what the discussions revolve around, but there is some good info on sedona in there if you do a little digging.

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ΜΟΛΩΝ-ΛΑΒΕ
we're doomed

As long as the place as a 1 bed we are set. Kids can sleep on the floor or couch. Our vacations generally consist of cooking all of our own meals and a lot of pp&j's . Which is why we tend to look for cabins or airb&b rather than a hotel room.

Good to know about the creepy crawlers and such. Wife did give me approval to rent a mtn bike for a day.

red agave may be a good choice for yall. again, it depends on if you want to be 'in' sedona, or go 'to' sedona.
this time of year weather in north az is harsh. the weather in flag this weekend is a high of 30 with snow. when exactly are you going to the canyon? are yall planning on hiking while youre there? do you have winter hiking gear?

youre a few weeks, months(?), away from coming out so i know it wont be the middle of the winter but winter up there can last quite a while. i think they've had quite a bit of snow this year.

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ΜΟΛΩΝ-ΛΑΒΕ
we're doomed

End of March. Looks like that red agave is booked solid.

We mainly plan on hiking as much as we can with a 5 year old and 2 year old (who would be in a backpack). So 2-3 miles tops. We will obviously have to do some kid/touristy crap.

oh crap.
one of the other guys is putting together the mtb ride, he has a BIL coming in from portland. i think that's where he wanted to stay and i dont think he's made reservations yet.

yall wanna stare a camp site together?
;-)

i'm guessing you appreciate good beer.

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ΜΟΛΩΝ-ΛΑΒΕ
we're doomed

When I moved my MIL out of Sedona we stayed at the Sedona Village Lodge in Oak creek for a night. Perfectly adequate.

We have spent a lot of time in that part of Arizona. There are lots of places to stay in Sedona- and I would stay in Sedona to minimize the time getting to places- and some great hiking. We've done about 20 hikes in several trips just to Sedona. The weather there is all over the place in March so pack to be flexible. As for hikes, Devil's Bridge is easy and picturesque- a must do in my book. Bell Rock and the West Fork Trail were also high on my list. Lots of options to fit your group's length and difficulty requirements.

If i had just 5 or 6 days in Northern Arizona, I would spend 2-3 of them in Sedona, 2-3 in the Grand Canyon, and a few hours in the Page, AZ slot canyons. The Antelope Slot canyons are cool, but a bit too many people and far too commercial for my taste- but amazing nonetheless.

I've got nothing to add on the Grand Canyon other than the further you get below the rim the more amazing it is- and the fewer amount of people. Get up early for sunrise and find a good place to view that sunset are the best things to do at the rim once you get a look at how big a ditch it really its. It will be crowded during spring break, so take that into account.

I didn't mention PHX/Scottsdale, because I wouldn't spend any time there when you have so many better options in Northern Arizona.

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Suffer Well.

Lived and stayed in the area many times.

In November, we stayed at the Hilton in Oak Creek. Nice with a heated pool. Some good kid friendly food around without having to deal with the Sedona traffic. Also close to Bell & Courthouse Rocks with good hiking for kids your age.

Flag will be a cheaper option, but cooler temps and a longer drive to Sedona hiking, but also has great hiking.

we stayed here a few years back - looks like it's been remodeled based on pics. Had a 1950-1960's Route 66 feel about it then, with a view of a wooded canyon off balcony. Could easily walk to places to eat etc.


Don't be tempted to stay in Flagstaff as that 'short' drive is a killer.


http://www.lapetitesedona.com/

I spent every summer in Sedona/Oak Creek as a kid. We always stayed at Don Hoel's Cabins. Now it's called the Butterfly Garden Inn. https://reserve2.resnexus.com/...3ED863BA8962?ID=2383

Not too far to get down the canyon to Sedona or up to Flag, and hiking in West Fork is nice.

We have family in AZ so we're there most spring breaks and several times a year. We spent a weekend in Sedona a few years ago, and honestly I didn't see the draw. Like someone else said, spend a day and you'll see most of it, and when we were there I wouldn't call it "kid friendly" In town is very artsy and hippyish so not something kids would find fun. We did do a jeep tour which was fun but I'm not sure I'd take a 2yo on something like that.

AZ at spring break and during baseball spring training can be crazy expensive but if you do some research or are willing to trust services like hotwire or priceline you can find some deals on very family friendly places that the kids will love in the Scottsdale/Phoenix area. We typically spend about 10 days over spring break and spend most of it with my family in the west valley and then spend 3 days in a hotel in Scottsdale lots of pool time and a lot for the kiddos to do.

Went with family (wife, 3 kids - 5, 8, 10, at the time) last year. Stayed at Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock. South of the city proper. Kids liked it. Good pool, kid friendly. Good restaurants (from fancy to not fancy) within walking distance, including a really good ice cream shop.

We really liked Sedona. Having a 2 year old will be tough. Slide Rock is really cool and fun (5 year old will love it). Montezuma park was interesting and an easy walk, including with a stroller. Most of the trails, even easy ones, will be hard on a 2 or even a 5 year old, however. Kids that young typically don't like to walk too far. At least it won't be hot when you go. That's good.

We did one thing everyone liked. We took the train from just west of Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon. It departs from Williams I think. My kids liked that. It's a one day thing. Up and back. So not too much time at the Canyon. The train purposefully has an old time western feel, with a sheriff and some fake robbers thrown in for "fun."

I would love to go back to Sedona when my kids are older, for hiking, mountain biking, etc. It's a beautiful place.

Will be there again in 2 weeks - fortunately I've got kin nearby so no longer pay housing.
We will again eat at the Heartline Cafe, a long standing est. with tasty food (yes with a hippy flavor-flave)
We also will walk the natural bridge trail - good to see who in your group does the most ass puckering

Thank you for all the advice everyone.

So update, we stayed at Sedona Pines, it was a timeshare place that thankfully we avoided the sales pitch. It was a perfect location as it was close to most of the trails and avoided the hellish downtown area.

My 5 year old loved the Montezuma Castle, she is all about earning the Jr. Ranger badges through the NPS now.

She hiked all the way to devil's bridge and back no issues (5 miles or so). Key is to bring enough food and water and frequent stops. 2 year old hung in the backpack the whole time and got out during stops.

Slide rock both kids loved it, kids and wife wadded in the water. I was the only one that went all in, water was maybe 35 degrees? Freaking cold.

Mountain biking was fun, scary at times but fun. Took a while to get the confidence to do a lot of intermediate stuff. I couldn't believe how many mountain bikers there were, my wife was happy to see a lot of women bikers as it is rare to find a woman mtn bike rider where we live.

Out of Africa is a good day trip for kids, its a zoo safari place, but it would be hot in the summer.

Grand Canyon was ok and crowded. Looks cool and would be fun to hike down into it, but can't go that far with little kids. 5 year old enjoyed it because she was fixated on earning her Jr. Ranger badge, 2 year old was cranky. Drive to the canyon sucks. Unless I was hiking and camping down at the bottom, I wouldn't spend more than a day there.

Final note, went to the outlet stores in Anthem on the way up. The Pearl Izumi store was closing and had 75% off everything, Wife and I bought over $800 worth of cycling gear for a whopping $200 bucks. High end bib-shorts cost me less than $25 bucks.

I can't imagine AZ in the summer. When it was 65 degrees in the sun it was HOT.

The hilton Sedona at Bell Rock is really nice- and they have a good gym and outdoor pool- would recommend

We are going there in May. My idiot buddies are pressuring me to do the white line ride. I'm not really afraid of heights normally, but damn, this give me the heebie-Jeebies!

Spoke to a local biker who rides there often on a single speed, he said the rest of the trail is fine it's that 300 feet or so that's crazy. His advice was just to walk it, not worth crapping in your pants.