Sedona is hot, beautiful, and expensive! I was so excited to see a Starbucks when we arrived but not so excited when I saw how much more my coffee order was. (Apparently milk is cheaper in Wisconsin Dairyland.) We’ve been living that “ballin’ on a budget” life while on the road so we know the importance of finding fun things to do for FREE, especially in expensive areas. Here are a few free things to add to your list if you’re heading to Arizona and don’t want to blow your spare change on the Pink Jeep tours.
Animal Watch
This is our favorite for any place we’ve been. If you’re willing to burn a little extra gas to tool around at sunset you’re sure to see a few animals coming out for dinner. We saw baby quails, lizards, lynx, and javelina.
Bonus: Make up your own animals calls and scream them out the window. 2% chance this will increase your odds of seeing an animal, 100% chance you will embarrass your fellow car passenger.
Hike
Okay, to be honest I’m kind of burned out on hiking at this point but it is free and always worth the extra miles on the hiking boots. Just make sure you keep an eye out for [baby] snakes jumping [dropping] in front of you [and causing you to jump 4 feet in the air].
Cool Off
Arizona is HOT! We were there in the early summer so I can’t imagine how hot it gets in the later months of the year. These aren’t totally free options, but they’re close enough and honestly sometimes it’s worth a few bucks just to cool off. Slide Rock is a natural waterslide area which I thought would be a gentle lazy river sort of setup. False. Be prepared to get dunked and possibly get a few booty bumps from the rocks. It is pretty crowded and I may have accidentally knocked a kid or four over on my way down. Oops. We also found a community pool a few minutes away from where we were staying. Best. Idea. Ever. It was only a few dollars to get in and we went on one of the free days. Highly recommend.
Window Shop
Sedona is full of lots of little shops and restaurants. The Uptown area has about 75 billion crystals at 34 different stores (I counted) so you can take some of the healing Vortex powers with you. A lot of the shops also offer discount cards for nearby restaurants. If you’re looking for a less touristy area, check out the Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village. I LOVED this! It is worth visiting and walking around to look at the art and walk in the European-esque streets.
Happy Hour
Honestly, the Olde Sedona bar may have been the best part of our trip. If you want to stick to free, just go for karaoke and skip the drinks. If you’re going to splurge, go for Taco Tuesday happy hour for cheap (but delicious) tacos and margaritas and stick around for karaoke afterwards. The dedicated local regulars, no shame drunken tourists, and singing bartender will make this worth the trip.
What are your favorite freebies in Sedona? Let us know if we missed anything!
Happy traveling!
Adventures With Sam 
Seriously, you are missing your calling! Your posts have me laughing out load alone in upper Wisconsin. Read anything by Erma Bombeck or Bill Bryson and then start your own novel. You are SO talented!!
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I often think folks who would simply adore some time in Sedona Arizona, are put off and flee because of the ever rising cost of everything. You have written just an excellent way to enjoy the area. Thank you.
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