Sedona, Arizona · Airport Mesa Overlook · Part 2 of a Sedona Series
While we were in Sedona, my wife and I kept hearing the same thing from locals and other visitors: if you want a good sunset, go to Airport Mesa. It’s also one of Sedona’s better-known energy vortex sites. The town has four main ones, and Airport Mesa is considered an up-flow vortex, where the energy is said to move upward.
Whether people believe in that or not, the overlook draws a mix of photographers, hikers, and plenty of folks who just come to sit and watch the light change. We ended up going back a few times during the week.
The overlook sits high above the valley with wide views in almost every direction. A lot of people point their cameras south toward the more famous formations, but some of my favorite photos ended up looking north toward Coffeepot Rock, Sugarloaf Mountain, and the quieter basin spread out below.
Sunset definitely brings a crowd, though visiting in late February helped keep it reasonable. The overlook is big enough that people naturally spread out along the ridge and find their own spot.
One evening we had scattered clouds hanging around as the sun dropped. They caught the last bit of light while the formations below shifted from red to a deeper orange. Long shadows stretched across the basin as the light faded.
Before heading down that night we walked over to the nearby Sedona Airport and took a couple of photos along the runway. It felt surprisingly quiet there, especially compared to the overlook just a short walk away.
Afterward we wandered back to the viewpoint and stayed for a while longer, watching as darkness settled in and the lights of Sedona slowly started appearing across the valley.
Next in the series: Boynton Canyon & Subway Cave — Into the Canyon
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