Courthouse Butte Loop Trail near the Village of Oak Creek, Arizona Click on image to see more photos |
Sedona Arizona Custom Private Tours
this tour can be extended to include visits to oak creek canyon, montezuma castle & well, jerome ghost town, other indian ruins, and vinyards.
On one of our Custom Private Sedona tours you will visit the most scenic wonders and historic locations of this red rock area. We know the best sites to visit and the best times to be there.
The Sedona area is one of such profound beauty that it could have easily become one of our most spectacular National Parks. Sedona rivals the famous Grand Canyon as Arizona's second most popular tourist attraction. Sedona is distinguished by it's many scenic and cultural features throughout this "Red Rock Country". Most of it's appeal is attributed to it's unique and scenic geology. Sedona has also been a major attraction to filmmakers for decades where many Western Cowboy motion pictures were made. Hardly a day goes by that you don't see a scene from the Sedona area in a television advertisement. For more information on the Red Rock Country, go to the Red Rock State Park.
The Sedona area was first discovered by the movie industry in 1923 when Victor Fleming filmed The Call of the Canyon, a black and white silent movie adapted from Zane Grey's novel. The movie was actually filmed in Oak Creek Canyon at the confluence of West Fork and Oak Creek, at a site that was to become a popular early resort.
Sedona was founded in 1902, ten years before Arizona became a state when President William Howard Taft was president. Sedona is named after the wife of one of the early settlers, T. C. Schnebly. The original names suggested for the settlement were Oak Creek Crossing and Schnebly Station, which were both rejected by the postmaster because they were too long to fit on a cancellation stamp. One name that did stick is Schnebly Hill Road, one of the most scenic back-country drives in the area. At the time, this whole red rock country was wild, remote and virtually unknown. It is now one of the most scenic destinations in the Southwest.
Just to the north of Sedona is the Mogollon Rim, which is so large that it is easily observed as a major landscape feature from the space station. An overlook high above the floor of Oak Creek Canyon offers spectacular distant views. Arizona's famous Oak Creek meanders through this scenic canyon, creating a diverse riparian habitat abounding with plants and wildlife. Oak Creek is an appealing destination for campers and fly fishermen with its' fresh springs of gushing water.
Slide Rock State Park is a popular stop where a natural slippery water slide
has been carved into the rust colored solid sandstone floor of the river. Visitors
may slide down the slick natural water chute or wade and sun along the creek.
The swim area is located on National Forest land which is jointly managed by
Arizona State Parks and the U.S. Forest Service. This location also has
one of the most breathtaking views of the multicolored canyon walls. In
season, there are fresh apples and other fruit from the trees located on this
Arizona State Park land. This area has seen the making of many Hollywood
movies such as "Broken Arrow" (1950) with James Stewart, "Drum
Beat" (1954) with Alan Ladd and Charles Bronson, "Gun Fury" (1953)
with Rock Hudson and Donna Reed, and a scene from "Angel and the Badman" (1946)
with John Wayne. You can read more about this state park at Slide
Rock State Park.
Combined Sedona, Oak Creek, and Indian Ruins
Tour