Wow! Talk about a nice visitor center in the middle of a scenic area. There's information inside…read moreabout the geology of the area, the ecology, and more. The displays were quite informative. There was a gift shop area that was closed when I went, but looked like it had an assortment of stuff. My favorite part of the Ranger Station was the hummingbird feeders outside. I saw at least ten different hummingbirds of different species flitting around drinking from the feeders and chasing each other around. Helpfully, there were signs around helping to identify the species of birds. Seriously, I have never seen as many hummingbirds as I have during my visit. They pretty much ignore you too, so you can take photos and such. They're not shy! The bathrooms are outside the main visitor area - pretty standard. Great place to stretch your legs.

5 Star rating PLUS more goes to volunteer, BART ! What a wealth of information this man is. The…read moretime he spent with us sharing the places and sights we just had to see was so valuable and what we appreciated most was his true love for this area and wanted to share it with us. Huge visitor center inside with a lot of written information and pictures of the area, very clean restrooms & a huge map with very clear directions to all the trails in the area. Once you exit, BART made sure we took note of the most exceptional view right before us. Highly recommend stopping here.

I started off here before making my way around Uptown. I already planned out what to do, but just…read morewanted to check the place out. The people I interacted with were friendly. In the end, I bought a magnet.

Extremely knowledgeable people! We wanted information about the trails around Sedona including the…read moredifficulty and distance and the person we spoke to knew all of the above. Highly recommended going here

Very nice facility. Not big, not small and with just enough stuff to make it nice to walk thru…read more We came to Payson to try a particular restaurant and for just a day trip. So, we stopped in for suggestions. The employees were very welcoming, knowledgeable and helpful. They listened well, making a couple of good suggestions based on what we expressed most interest in. Often staff in centers like this do not listen to understand, thus making recommendations based on what "they" like. That was not the case here and that is what particularly made this such a helpful stop.

This is a cute and friendly visitor center. Juanita was very nice and helpful in answering our…read morequestions and providing us with maps and info sheets.

Have you been to Sedona?????…read more All I can say is WOW!!!!!!! Pictures do not do it justice!!! It's breathtaking...just amazing.... Go and let me know what you think!!!!

Awesome Father's Day at Tonto Bridge! Got there at 9am when the gate opens and even when we left…read morearound 11:30am on a Sunday there were plenty of parking spots still available in each parking lot. My husband had my 17 mo in a baby carrier and we did the whole loop. We spent a little over 2 hours here. Some parts were super slippery even without water present, esp more towards the bridge, but wear hiking boots and be sure of your footings and you're going to be just fine! Take your time. Stop every now and then and just look up. It's beautiful all the rocks and mountain cliffs. It's beautiful the whole loop trail. Under the bridge the breeze and spray from the water coming down is a treat after being sweating. We saw plenty of young children take on the rocky trails. If you can physically, do the entire big loop. It's worth it.

We are a little too unstable to try the various paths down to the creek, but we did walk on the…read morepath to the four viewing points of the bridge. We got there at 9:30 and the parking lot was almost empty. By the time we left, it was hopping. So from our perspective, the best time to go is early. Of the four viewing points, number one is best for the view of the bridge and number four is best for a view of the waterfall. The park and paths are well-maintained and the person in the gift shop that took our money was incredibly helpful and cheerful. We highly recommend this park.

Such a great place to stop and check out some beautiful sights. We stopped in at the Ranger Station…read moreon the was to Sedona. The ranger station has a really nice gift shop as well as informative things to see and read. They had a statue of Smoky the Bear, outfront.front as well. The parking was pretty full when we arrived "on a week day" so just be patient as this is a stop you'll definitely want to see. You can take awesome pictures right from the parking lot. When I was there, the moon was over a mountain, which made for beautiful picture.

The 7.5-mile drive serves as the gateway to Sedona. Along the way there are some must see sites. On…read morethe way in we stopped at Bell Rock. On the way out we stopped at the Chapel of the Holy Cross.

We were fooled into thinking this was a real visitor information center. It's a place where they…read moresell time shares at a resort nearby. I knew something was off when I started pulling brochures off the wall, and the guy there started telling us not to waste our time with those , but to do a 2 hour Jeep tour with his company. My husband said it perfectly," Nothing was adding up and dude was standing on my lungs with his sales pitch! And it's ironic that the brochure said "no pressure". My husband decided to speak up and break the man's sales pitch by saying we were not interested in a time share. The man refused to shake my husband's hand, claiming he did not want carona virus. We found more information from a magazine we have at our air bnb.

I may have entered the zip code wrong for this place, but it is in Sedona, right downtown by the…read morecreek and Arizona 179 Where do I begin? This place has big blue signs saying Visitor's Information, and Free Maps and the like. What it really is is a set up for you to go sign up for a Time Share resort at the edge of town. Agressive sales pitch is putting it mildly. My wife and I went in to ask about maps to the Vortexes. What we got was some information about that and a cheesy map, but lots of leading questions about where are you staying, would you like a free night's stay at a luxo spa? And so forth. We were there for the day staying overnight in Phoenix, and when we said no, the saleswoman started circling the map where Walgreens was so we could buy toothbrushes and such to stay overnight - At Their Luxo Sucko Timeshare Salespitch Crappo BS Resort. Clear? If you want maps and information there is a place to the right of the traffic circle up Hwy 89 if you are coming from the south on 179. I wasn't there, but it has got to be better.

We really enjoyed our short hike at Bell Rock Pathway in Sedona, AZ…read more Bell Rock Pathway, is kid friendly and is a popular, wide trail offering iconic views of Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte, accessible for hikers, bikers, and horseback riders, with options for both easy strolls and more challenging climbs. There's free parking available and restrooms. Be sure to wear sunscreen and bring water bottles before your hike. Check it out when in the area! Happy Yelping :)

I'm not saying Bell Rock called my name... but if you'd heard it too, you probably would've shown…read moreup. There's something about Bell Rock that pulls you in. Maybe it's the shape. Maybe it's the energy. Maybe it's just that classic Sedona magic. Whatever it is, I felt it. Now let's start with the one challenge: parking. Limited spots and a bit of patience required. It took a while to find a place, but I decided to call that my warmup. Pro tip: arrive early or later in the afternoon if you want better odds at a spot. Once you hit the trail, everything changes. The path is wide and welcoming. No punishing climbs. No technical scrambling. Just an easy walk surrounded by those famous red rock views that make Sedona feel like another planet. And the quiet. That's the part that sticks with you. Step onto the trail and the noise of the world fades away. You're left with open sky, towering rock, and that peaceful stillness that reminds you why people come here in the first place. Whether you're a seasoned hiker chasing summits or someone who just wants a beautiful walk through nature, this trail delivers. Put this one on your Sedona list. Because sometimes the best hikes aren't the hardest ones... they're the ones that simply make you stop, breathe, and look around. Some places you visit... and some places feel like they were waiting for you. Bell Rock might just be one of those.

Cute town filled with plenty of good restaurant options, state parks & National Monuments all in…read morethe area. We stopped into the visitor center and the lady working was very sweet and helpful and FULL of information! They also have a museum right there on site. Next to the visitor center is a city park and around the corner was a State Park- Fort Verde. We also hit Montezuma's Castle and Montezuma's well and even grabbed some frybread from a roadside stand.

Red Rock State park was the passport to our Sedona adventure. I didn't realize there was such an…read moreextensive trail system. On my list now is to figure out how to stitch all these trails together and come back and do a mega hike. Please come and create your own adventure.

We took the whole family out to Red Rock State Park, and it ended up being one of the most balanced…read moredays we've had out here. Not overwhelming, not chaotic, just... right. If you've spent time around Sedona, you know how quickly things can feel crowded and overrun. This place is the opposite. It feels more intentional, more preserved. You're still surrounded by those iconic red rock formations, but here they're framed by open meadows, clusters of trees, and the steady presence of Oak Creek winding through the park. We set out as a group, a mix of adults and kids, and found trails that worked for everyone. That's the beauty of this place. You don't have to be chasing a summit to enjoy it. The trails are well-marked, manageable, and still interesting enough to keep you engaged. You're moving through changing terrain the whole time. One minute you're walking through sunlit grass, the next you're tucked into shade near the water, then you turn a corner and the red rock rises up again like it's been waiting for you. The creek pulls you in. There's something about moving water in the desert that makes you slow down without realizing it. We stopped more than once just to sit for a minute, let the kids explore a bit, listen to the sound of it moving over rock. No rush, no pressure to keep pushing forward. Wildlife shows up if you're paying attention. Birds moving through the trees, the occasional lizard darting across the trail, subtle signs that this isn't just a scenic backdrop, it's a living system doing its thing. What stood out most was the pace. This isn't a place that demands anything from you. It lets you take it in at your own speed. Some of us pushed a little farther down the trail, others hung back and soaked it in. Nobody felt like they were missing out. It's also one of those rare parks that feels curated without feeling artificial. You can tell it's cared for. Trails are maintained, signage is clear, and there's a quiet respect for the environment that seems to carry over to the people visiting. By the time we looped back, nobody was checking the time. That's usually a sign you picked the right place. If Sedona at its busiest feels like a spectacle, this feels like a conversation. Same landscape, different tone. And sometimes that's exactly what you want.