Get active in these Sedona city parks

Although Sedona is famed for its vast array of desert and forest trails, swimming holes, natural land bridges and red rock monoliths, its smattering of city parks offer a different type of appeal. Most are backdropped by Sedona’s infinite views and offer easily accessible swaths of space for kids and adults alike to enjoy. Whether you want to skateboard, toss the bocce ball on the grass or sit in solitude, you’ll find it in Sedona’s best city parks.

Posse Grounds Park

This massive recreational area (almost 80 acres) in West Sedona is the ultimate gathering place to get active. Posse Grounds Park became Sedona’s first city park when the area was no longer used by its namesake sheriff’s posse. Surrounded by the ever-present limestone edifices, the vast area is carved up into mini parks for skateboarding, biking and, yes, dogs. Expect to see yogis or picnickers using the shady pavilions, people playing tennis or pickleball in the courts and organized teams on the soccer and softball fields.

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Jordan Historical Park

This homage to the city’s pioneering roots shares space with the Sedona Heritage Museum, which is situated in the former homestead of Walter and Ruth Jordan. It’s free to wander the grounds of this historic site in Uptown off Jordan Road. With almost five acres of land to explore, which includes a fruit orchard and old farm implements resting alongside interpretive nature trails, Jordan Historical Park is a lovely throwback in time less than a mile from the heart of downtown.

Sedona Wetlands Preserve

At 27 acres, the Sedona Wetlands Preserve offers excellent opportunities to discover the diversity of desert animals, like bobcats and bears, plus reptiles and different species of birds. Located about three miles from the turnoff for Red Rock State Park on 89A, the preserve was created in partnership with the Sedona Wastewater Treatment facility. The wetlands are composed of six basins filled with 9.6 million gallons of water. It’s a helpful way to support Sedona’s wildlife and migratory birds.

Amitabha Stupa and Peace Park

Stretching 14 acres among the junipers and pinyon pines, the Amitabha Stupa and Peace Park is a sanctuary in the desert. Rooted in Buddhist beliefs, the park features two stupas (a type of shrine) and trails that weave among the junipers; one leads to a meditation wheel made of stone. Colorful prayer flags dance in the breeze, inviting a sense of spirituality and solitude in this public park, which is free of charge. A large, covered meditation platform with chairs provides respite from the sun and a head-on view of the 36ft Amitabha Stupa. Beyond sits a large Buddha and distant views of Chimney Rock, Thunder Mountain and Coffee Pot Rock. The park is free to enter and open to anyone looking for, as the organization puts it, "a destination for prayer, meditation and the experience of peace."

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Sedona Botanical Garden

Nature and art come together in Sedona Botanical Garden, a small park situated barely a block off route 89A in West Sedona. It’s just one-quarter acre, but its impressive design includes live-sized sculptures of javelina. Look out for the roadrunners and coyotes that mingle among the native plants and trees. The botanical garden is also a great example of Sedona’s community coming together: plants and interpretive signs were donated by organizations and residents, and local artists created the sculptures.

Sunset Park

Spread across almost seven and a half acres, Sunset Park sits in a residential area of West Sedona, with pathways connecting to a number of trailheads. With two covered playgrounds, each smartly earmarked for kids over or under five, plus a splash park open seasonally, it’s an excellent place for families. The park has courts for tennis, basketball and pickleball, as well as a grassy area to stretch out on a blanket to watch the kids on the “tot lot” or take in the views.

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Jack Jamesen Memorial Park and Sedona Military Service Park

Even small parks can make a big impact. Jack Jamesen Memorial Park in West Sedona does just that by incorporating the Sedona Military Service Park within its one-third acre environs on Northview Road right off route 89A. The pocket-sized park with brick-lined pathways pays tribute to Jameson, a former member of the Sedona 30 and other charitable organizations. The small military park honors the greater Sedona veterans of the US military; names are engraved on granite walls in the service park area, fronted by benches. Among the park’s desert plants and leafy trees are sculptural pieces, including a bronze relief of Jameson and Invocation, a life-sized sculpture of an Indigenous Teysha man.

Greyback Park

The one-quarter acre sliver of space at Greyback Park has a few benches, spots shaded by trees and yucca plants that add a pop of pink to the desert landscape when in bloom. Although this park at the nexus of Kachina Road and Dry Creek Road isn’t exactly a destination, it’s a pretty spot to sit while gazing up at Chimney Rock and Lizard Head Rock. It’s also representative of the city’s focus on creating more open spaces, such as pocket parks. As part of Dry Creek Road’s realignment, this pretty patch of nature was created from reclaimed roadway.

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