The Verde River, a major tributary winding through the Verde Valley’s verdant landscape, derives its majesty from its contrast. On the two-and-a-half-hour Sedona Adventure Tours’ Water To Wine experience, you’ll meet your guide at the sustainably farmed, family-owned Alcantara Vineyards – 13 kilometres south-east of the small city of Cottonwood – and be driven to a secluded stretch of the river.  From there you’ll paddle past great blue herons in an inflatable kayak as bald eagles watch on from nearby trees before docking on the winery’s own private beach. Here you’ll sample some of the 17 grape varietals on offer – the nectarine, honeysuckle and lime notes in the 2022 Albariño pair perfectly with the sycamore-scented breeze – while basking under the Arizona sun.

While the desert town of Sedona’s famed red rocks – a geological marvel of fiery crimson spires and buttes reaching skyward – are an incredible sight to behold from land, the true scale of their drama becomes even more apparent from above. In Cottonwood, known as “the biggest little town in Arizona”, Sedona Air Tours offers sky-high aeroplane expeditions, with helicopter experiences available in the American autumn. If you’d prefer a more serene affair, a sunrise hot-air balloon ride with Red Rock Balloon Adventures will have you admiring Red Rock Country with a 360-degree perspective. Launching near Dry Creek Road in Sedona, you might spot a golden eagle sharing the airspace from your perch in the sky, or closer to the cliffs spy rock squirrels sunning themselves as the world wakes up. On the nearby slopes and plateaus, mule deer, coyotes and peccaries (small pig-like desert-dwellers) occasionally make an appearance as well, alerted to the presence of outsiders only by the passing shadow of your vessel overhead.

With journeys ranging from mild to bumpy and even extreme, and spanning 1.5 to 11 hours, exploring the ochre landscapes of the Sedona Desert with Sedona Jeep Tours is a choose-your-own-adventure limited only by your sense of excitement. Departing from Sedona, you’ll tackle rocky outcrops and steep cliffs in a 4x4 driven by an experienced off-road guide to explore local landmarks including the Seven Apache Pools and the Devil’s Kitchen Sinkhole. Those with a taste for bouncing around in the back of an off-road vehicle will want to embark on the two- to three-hour Diamondback Gulch tour, which traverses high-octane tracks and weaves through the hair-raising Boynton Canyon.

Plan your trip today at visitarizona.com/au-nz.

Meandering from Clarkdale to Perkinsville, the historic Verde Canyon Railroad takes you on a leisurely 40-minute journey through time with each passing length of track. Climate-controlled and open-air viewing cars offer a front-row view of towering cottonwoods, the glittering Verde River and the extraordinary Red Rock Cliffs, which rise starkly on either side of the train. From this perspective, eons of Earth’s history are laid bare in brightly hued layers while the conductor shares stories of the region’s past, weaving desert magic into every tale.

Cathedral Rock, one of Sedona’s most popular hikes, is a challenging three-hour scramble up one of the region’s most remarkable landmarks. Rising like an ancient red city, you’ll need to use your hands (and your determination) to reach the saddle near the top, but it’s worth the climb when you see the vista open up in front of you. From this vantage point, Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte jut upwards in the distance, while the green belt of Oak Creek twinkles far below. For a more casual hike, the gentle 3.4-kilometre out-and-back Baldwin Trail meanders through Pinyon Pines and Arizona Cyprus into a lush oasis nestled inside a box canyon in West Sedona.

Ready for your Arizona adventure? Plan your trip at visitarizona.com/au-nz/