Sedona "Wildlife"

[Jo-Anne]

We are heading to Sedona in late August for a family vacation. The kids are 13 & 10. I expect we'll do the typical Grand Canyon, Pink Jeeps and some hiking. However, since we're from Canada, we haven't experienced Desert hiking! I'm a little afraid that we might encounter some "wildlife" that we're not used to like snakes etc. What should I be prepared to encounter on hikes (basic hikes on the beaten path) - anything to be nervous about!???

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Are you visiting the Grand Canyon too? It is about a 3-4 hour drive from Sedona.

August will be warm, even for Sedona. There is always a chance you might encounter a snake, Just be aware of your surroundings. A snake doesn't want to deal with you anymore than you want to deal with it. Other than the occassional squirral and lizard, most wild life will stay away from well beaten trails and paths. Make sure you take plenty of water with you on your hikes and wear a lot of sun screen! You may want to consider your hikes earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon/ early evening.

 

[Huff]

I live in AZ and hike all over the state. In over 20 years here I've only seen a couple snakes. They do not like the heat and will be in hiding during the day. As long as you're on a hiking trail I doubt you will encounter any. If you do they'd be under rocks or shrubs to the sides of the trail. They won't bother you if you don't bother them but honestly, I just don't see them.

At night we see skunks very often. I've even been sitting around a campfire and looked down to see one sniffing my foot. They will not spray unless threatened, chased etc. We got use to a family of them walking through our campsight nightly. Never a problem.

Mountain Lions are common to the area but again, not on trails. I have never heard of an attack in the Sedona/Oak Creek Canyon area.

The only animals you will most likely see are chipmunks and squirrels along with the many colorful blue jays and cardinals.

 

[CruiserMom]

We are in Sedona right now on vacation. DH went on a hike this morning and saw a snake, which was unusual. We have been told to stay away from the shady sides of rocks because that is where snakes might be.

At the Grand Canyon, we stayed at the Kachina Lodge, and at 5am a bunch of elk came out and grazed on the lawn between the buildings and the rim. That was really neat!

Other than that, we haven't seen any other wildlife, except squirrels and birds. On our last trip to Sedona, we saw javelinas (wild pigs), and some desert rats.

 

[HelloChum]

Hi,
We just returned from a 2-week trip to LV...Zion/Bryce....GC/Sedona.... We spent 3 nights in Sedona at Sky Ranch Lodge.

I highly recommend the book "Sedona's Top 10 Hikes" by Dennis Andres. We have 3 DS (2 teenagers and 1 11yo). We did the Devil's Bridge hike--great photos! We also did the West Fork hike which was great--lots of water crossings and shady--nice way to spend the day! We had hoped to go to Slide Rock State Park the same day as that hike, but the park was closed due to high bacteria levels. Fortunately, during the West Fork hike, there was a "slide" about 2 miles into the hike at one of the stream crossings--so we were happy to get a little natural water slide in anyway!!

We also climbed to a Vortex at the airport mesa and did part of the Bell hike. On that hike, we actually saw a tarantula (or atleast a giant hairy spider that looked like one). That was our only wildlife encounter in Sedona. Before the trip, I was worried/curious about what we might encounter--pretty uneventful hiking as far as snakes, etc. (Of course we flew home to a snake on our deck )

We enjoyed Red Planet diner for breakfast--food was great and the sci fi theme was fun-- and the CoffeePot (101 omelettes) for breakfast. The Cowboy Club was a fave, too.

89a is a beautiful drive!

We loved Sedona!! Enjoy!! Word of caution--many of the "info booths" are time share sellers---the chamber of commerce had a great booth with lots of info.

PS--If you go to GC, we loved El Tovar for dinner! If you go to Lake Powell--Antelope Canyon was great--our guide was fantastic and we got great photos!