Sedona AZ or nearby at Christmas?

I haven't done them, but there are jeep tours in that area that take you off-road.

Oak Creek Canyon, between Sedona and Flagstaff, is a drive you can make yourself. It's a must-see.

Sedona is a popular winter tourist destination. I'm sure there are commercial tour options during the time you'll be there, though I don't know what they might be. There's nice craft shopping, too.

Bear in mind that it's winter and you could easily have snow storms. A day trip from Sedona is a bit much especially with the days being so short. You might want to stay overnight at the Grand Canyon. Go to the GC website and check about the park hours and what's available. There's a Best Western just outside the park entrance in the small town there. We've stayed there twice. It's fine.

You could contact the Chamber of Commerce in Sedona to see what's around that time of year. It will be cold though. Sedona is 4000 feet above sea level and Flagstaff is 7000 feet above sea level. Even in the spring and fall when we've been there, the temps can be close to freezing during the night.

As a former AZ resident, what I'd do is spend 3-4 days in Sedona to get your fix of that, then depart for Flagstaff. See some of the sights in the Flagstaff area as weather and driving conditions permit in a day or 2. (I like the truly unique Meteor Crater, as well as the National Monuments at Walnut Canyon and Sunset Crater - they are more interesting than their names imply. The Petrified Forest NP is also wonderful.) Then, if conditions warrant, make your day-dash to the South Rim from Flagstaff with a drive-time savings over Sedona. If conditions don't warrant (e.g. snow happens) you can always go skiing! Or back down the hill to Sedona.

Sedona's touristy. I believe there are other places to stay in the area, but none I can recommend. If there's little or no snowfall, it sounds like a great trip.

Thanks for all the replies. We will probably only have 5 nights. Should we just stay in Flagstaff?

I've only been out there once, and it was a good while ago. It was my impression that people stay in Flagstaff to go to the Grand Canyon and make other nearby day-trips, but they go to Sedona because the town itself is nice. I found it considerably more attractive than Flagstaff. Maybe Google for photos to help you decide?

Flagstaff is a good base to visit Meteor Crater, Petrified Forest, Walnut Canyon, Wupatki . . . . if there's no snow. If you want to visit the Grand Canyon, it's closer from Flagstaff, but as someone said, better to spend the night either in the Park or near the entrance. From Sedona you can visit Montezuma Castle (it's south).

Anyone familiar with Sedona Summit Resort? Looks to be timeshare but with lots of rentals. I would typically prefer to rent a house or cabin but thought this would be good in case there is snow, more likely to be cleared and there will be other options of things to do. Any other suggestions?
Thanks!

celeste - We enjoyed visiting the Cross of the Holy Chapel and many of the hikes around Sedona. We especially liked the Moon hike at Red Rock State Park. Roadrunners and Javelina skulls if you are lucky but the icing on the cake is watching the moon pop up from behind the mountains. You need to take a flashlight with you for that hike. Check their calendar when time gets closer and see what is offered. We enjoyed the Indian sites and also made a little day trip to Cottonwood and Jerome. Slide Rock is neat to view although we did not swim there and you wont either in winter but it should be pretty. Instead we kept driving up the mountain and stopped at a little picnic place on the side of the road called Banjo Bill's which is right by the stream that feeds Slide Rock. Seems we had bought some type of cheap parking pass at the southern entrance to Sedona and it was needed at that site. At the top of that mountain the Indians often set up stalls and sell beautiful jewelry and crafts at reasonable prices. Sunset and Strawberry Craters is a fantastic loop drive to make on your way to the south rim and at one point you can see the Painted Desert. We easily did that and the Grand Canyon as a day trip from Sedona. We also drove down to Arcosanti which was sort of cool. We toured the buildings then they had a little music concert and had little stands with things to sell. And hey - if you are in luck you might see Richard Gere while you are in Sedona! Enjoy your trip!

You asked about Sedona Summit. We stayed there for a week in 2012. Here is part of my review from TripAdvisor. We would stay there again. It was about a 10 minute drive into the town center.

We stayed for one week at Sedona Summit recently and found it to be very well run and the units were well appointed with everything you'd need for a long stay. We did constantly have trouble with our paid internet connection and people came to our housing cluster more than once to reset the router. This was quite a nuisance as we were trying to accomplish a working vacation. Also, it would have been nice to have some type of bar/restaurant at the resort although there were plenty of nice restaurants in town to drive to.

Room Tip: Choose an upper room for the best views.

Our family has visited Sedona many times, and we usually stay at the Sedona Summit. It's a nice place, although a small section of the resort has been renovated more recently, and those rooms are really great! It is a little south of town and there is not much around it. Take advantage of the kitchen full of pots/pans/dishes, etc and run by the Bashas in town to grab things for dinner and breakfast. We usually eat out or picnic at lunch.
I also think you should spend 2 nights or so in Sedona, and then stay in Flagstaff. Sedona doesn't get much snow, and it only sticks for a limited time, but it will be chilly for jeep tours or hiking. Bring a good coat! But pray for snow-the sight of it on the red rocks is one of the most gorgeous sights you'll see on your trip!
In Flagstaff or surrounding area there are many quaint cabins for rent. Use this as a base for your trip to the South Rim, Painted Desert, Snow Bowl ski resort if that's your thing, and the Crater. You will encounter snow in Flag, although it usually hasn't fallen enough at that time of the year to impede your trip. Have fun!

We went to Sedona last January and purchased a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom at the Sedona Summit as we plan to return almost yearly. I love the snow on the Red Rocks. There is a spa at the Sedona Summit with views of Doe Mountain which you can hike in December as long as its not icy.

If you go to Flagstaff enjoy Fratelli's Pizza and the Beer Brewery right across the street. You can also walk around Historic Flagstaff.

In Sedona you have the beautiful Telqapaque and the good restaurants. Be sure you go to Cornville(The Tavern is a Local place to eat with inexpensive food and a Happy Hour and Nic's is a great place). Also the Village of Oak Creek has a Moroccan Restaurant that is very good in the Bell Inn Shopping Center. I really enjoy the Wildflower Bakery Cafe located at the Hyatt Pinon Point Shopping Center. Its owned by Panera but it has different items and you can sit by their fireplace enjoying your coffee and reading the paper.

Jerome is also a nice day trip as is Prescott and Scottsdale.

Be sure you drive up 176 off Highway 17 when you are entering Sedona for the Firs Time then you can take 89A(make a left) and hit Basha's on the right. There is also Whole Foods too. Bashas is the best deal and has this delicious Pompernickle Bread its a healthfood store too.

You will find local restaurants along Highway 89 A Cafe Jose, Elote, 89A Agave are great places to eat.

Enjoy the Christmas lights and shopping. Also you can Google Gallery Opening Receptions for good food and to meet locals. Be sure to stop by the Chamber of Commerce too.

If you want to do a tour sign up for a Timeshare Presentation with Diamond Resorts or Hyatt and you can either get a Visa/AMEX GIft Card or a Tour. Worldmark also does one tour too.

Also do the Pink Jeep Tour they run year round. For a Grand Canyon Tour I would go with Great Adventures. http://www.greatventures.com/tours.aspx?id=4 Take their all day tour with Lunch. Its totally worth it. They will pick you up from most hotels in Sedona in the early AM and you will be back by 5 PMish.

Enjoy your time!!!!!!!

In nearby Clarkdale, you can ride the Verde Canyon Railroad through some of the most beautiful red-rocks scenery in Arizona. You do have to book ahead, because it's a popular excursion. You can sit in enclosed comfort, or for the best pictures, head out to the open-air cars till you're too cold to point and shoot. We go to Arizona annually, and this is one of our must-sees.

Thanks to everyone for all the great info. We are flying into PHX on Christmas Day in the early afternoon. We ended up booking at The Ridge on Sedona Golf Resort. Any suggestions for a nice place for Christmas dinner? We will land around 1:30, so could do a late lunch/early dinner in Phoenix before heading to Sedona, or dinner in Sedona later. I expect I'll need to make reservations.
Thanks again!!