Top 10 Instagrammable Spots in Sedona, Arizona

Last Updated on June 17, 2022

Sedona is an incredibly special place to connect with nature, connect with yourself, and a great destination to travel to if you’re looking for some fantastic Instagrammable spots in Sedona. The red rocks that surround the small city are breathtaking anytime of the day, but Sedona is particularly charming at sunrise or sunset when the sun makes the red rocks glow a bright orange. If you’re planning to travel to Sedona, you’re not far from Phoenix and Scottsdale, which also have some great Instagram photo locations.

We put together the top 10 Most Instagrammable Spots in Sedona which you can’t miss on your trip to this beautiful area. Whether you are a professional instagrammer or just love to take your vacation photos to the next level, this guide includes everything you need to know about each of these Sedona photography locations. If you only have 2 days to explore Sedona, you can use our 2 day itinerary of Sedona as a base to plan your adventure!

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Table of Contents

Map of the Best Sedona Instagram Spots

Sedona is a relatively compact small city, and is surrounded by beautiful red rock hills in all directions. If you haven’t been to Sedona before, prepare to have your breath taken away as this place is seriously stunning. The 10 most instagrammable spots in Sedona are spread about the city area as well as a few key hiking locations that are not far away. It should be possible to hit all of these Sedona instagrammable spots over a weekend, however that depends on how willing you are to get up at sunrise, and how quickly you hike.

Sedona Instagrammable Spots Airport Mesa

This map includes all the most instagrammable places in Sedona and the surrounding area. Make sure to use it to plan your trip to visit all the Sedona Instagram spots.

10 Most Instagrammable Spots in Sedona

We’ve compiled the 10 best Instagram spots in Sedona for every instagrammer and photography lover. These spots will help you capture the beautiful red rocks and unique rock formations of this incredible area of the southwestern USA.

Devil’s Bridge

This is probably what comes to mind when thinking about the most Instagrammable spots in Sedona. Devil’s Bridge is one of the most popular and iconic Instagrammable spots in Sedona. To reach the Devil’s Bridge you have to go on a bit of a moderate hike for 3.9 miles (6.3 km) roundtrip, with a short steeper section at the end near the bridge. As Devil’s Bridge is such a popular Sedona photo location, expect to be here along with everyone else visiting Sedona. It really does pay to go early for this hike, as the line-up to take a photo at this Sedona Instagram location can easily stretch to more than an hour.

Luckily, everyone is respectful and you can expect an orderly line of friendly hikers, patiently waiting their turn to take a photo, and everyone helping out everyone else to get that perfect shot.

The Devil’s Bridge trailhead parking lot fills up quite early, generally before 7:00 AM each day, and earlier on weekends and during peak season. From the parking lot, it is a simple but dusty walk along a Jeep trail to the official start of the trail. You can drive down this road to shave off a mile in each direction, but this road really is 4×4 high-clearance only, it’s probably wise not to attempt driving it.

You won’t regret making this the first stop on your tour of the best Instagrammable places in Sedona.

Location: Devil’s Bridge Parking Lot

Hours: This Sedona Instagrammable spot is open all day. We recommend hiking right at or just before sunrise.

Best Time for Photos: This is a location where it definitely pays to get there early. Lighting-wise, it is okay for late-morning photography, but in order to minimize the amount of time you are waiting in line, it is really best to begin this hike at sunrise.

Tips: Make friends with the people standing in line behind you once you reach Devil’s Bridge as they will most likely be the ones taking the photos of you! Of course, if you’re here to take photos of one of the best Sedona Instagram Spots, make sure you give a few instructions to the photographer so that you get that perfect snap!

Birthing Cave

Arguably just as popular as Devil’s Bridge as one of the most Instagrammable spots in Sedona, the Birthing Cave offers a different type of photography location, with an incredibly unique perspective.

The trailhead parking lot is quite small, so if there is no room keep driving along the road as there are lots of places to pull off on the side of the road where parking is still allowed. The trail is easy to follow and is primarily all flat until the final incline up to the Birthing Cave.

This cave is really cool as you can take pictures featuring the full cave opening with a wide-angle lens for a very unique perspective. It is incredibly photogenic, so don’t be afraid to find a new angle that works for you!

Location: Birthing Cave Trailhead

Hours: Open all-day, however it’s best to arrive here either early or late in the day.

Best Time for Photos: The best time to take photos here is during the early morning for less crowds, however late in the day at sunset also sees fewer crowds.

Tips: To get the most awe-inspiring photos here it helps to have a camera with a wide-angle lens or phone with wide-angle functionality. The slick rock of the birthing cave can be quite steep and difficult to get around so it is helpful to have some shoes with good grip for getting to your favorite Sedona photo spot.

Cathedral Rock

Cathedral Rock is the place to be if you’re looking for Instagrammable spots in Sedona for sunset. The viewing area of Cathedral Rock looks over the valley and directly towards the setting sun, which is perfect for great photographs. Once you reach the top of Cathedral Rock, head to the right-hand side where you will see a ledge sticking out. This is a fantastic location to take some Instagram photos against the setting sun. If you’re afraid of heights, this area is quite wide and completely safe, but looks dramatic in photos.

The hike does feature some more technical areas where you need climb up the slickrock. It’s not overly difficult, especially if you take your time, but you should have some shoes with good grip and not be too afraid of heights. There are a few areas of the hike on the slickrock where there are only one or two passageways up, so you may have to wait for others coming down, or for those that are a bit slower in going up.

Location: Cathedral Rock Trailhead

Hours: The park is open all day from sunrise to sunset.

Best Time for Photos: The best time for photos at this Sedona Instagram spot is at sunset. Plan to give yourself sufficient time to make the hike up to Cathedral Rock, and then find a nice spot to view the sunset. It is one of the most popular areas in Sedona to watch the sunset.

Tips: If you plan to take in the full sunset here, plan to bring some headlamps or a flashlight along with you. Once the sun sets it gets dark quickly behind Cathedral Rock and you have the slickrock surface to climb down to get back to the trailhead.

The Subway

The Subway is another Sedona Instagram spot that you have to see to believe, and once you see it you still can’t believe that it is real! The hike to reach The Subway is relatively easy without any serious elevation gain or technical sections other than the short climb up to reach The Subway once you arrive.

This can be a difficult Instagram location to photograph as there is a large and harsh difference in the bright light from outside the cave, and the dark shadows within The Subway.

Hiking View on the Boynton Trail Sedona, Arizona

Location: Boynton Canyon Trailhead

Hours: There are no specific hours for this Sedona photo location.

Entrance Fee: This hike requires a Red Rocks Pass, which can be purchased online or at the trailhead for $5 per day or $15 per week. Alternatively, the America the Beautiful annual National Parks pass is also accepted.

Best Time for Photos: The best time for photos here is during the day when the sun is out to brighten up the dark and narrow Subway area. It’s a great hike to do after some of the more popular morning hikes as it is less well-known and thus less popular.

Tips: Once you reach the Subway be sure to continue along the ledge around the corner where you will find some old ruins, which are also great for photographs.

Bell Rock

Bell Rock is one of the more underrated locations on the list of top 10 Instagrammable spots in Sedona. The trailhead for Bell Rock is quite close to Cathedral Rock, which makes it great to visit before you go to Cathedral Rock for sunset. Bell Rock has a few short hiking trails that go partway up the rock, or around the rock. For Instagram photos at this location feel free to explore different angles with Bell Rock in the background. It’s easy to snap a few great photos quite close to the parking area, or to follow the short trail to the Bell Rock vortex.

Location: Bell Rock Trailhead

Hours: The Bell Rock trail is open all day.

Best Time for Photos: Taking an Instagram photo in Sedona at Bell Rock is quite flexible. Due to having much lower crowds than some of the more popular areas, you can easily take Instagram photos at this location anytime of day.

Tips: This a great location to really get creative a there’s no one definitive viewpoint of Bell Rock. It’s a great Sedona Instagram location to showcase some creativity while having the beautiful Bell Rock in the background.

Chapel Rock

Chapel Rock is really the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a Roman Catholic Church. The Chapel is architecturally beautiful and perfectly blends in with the surrounding red rocks. To get a great Sedona Instagram photo here you don’t necessarily even need to go inside as the Chapel is most impressive when viewed from the outside. Of course, as this is a place of worship please be respectful when taking photos here.

Location: Chapel Rock

Hours: The Chapel is open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM every day. If you’re only looking to take photos from the outside, you can take photos outside of these hours, however the closest parking lot may not be open.

Best Time for Photos: The best time to take photos here is in the morning either at opening, or just before. This is one of the popular sights in Sedona that is not a hike, and so that makes it popular for many people visiting Sedona.

Tips: There’s so many different angles to shoot this famous Chapel Rock, so don’t be afraid to experiment!

McDonald’s Sedona

When thinking of the top 10 Instagrammable spots in Sedona, you likely don’t think of going to McDonald’s, however the McDonald’s restaurant in Sedona is actually surprisingly unique! This is the only McDonald’s in the world that does not have the famous yellow Golden Arches. Yes, the only location in the entire world, and there are over 39,000 McDonald’s restaurants. It was thought that the typical yellow Golden Arches would clash with the red rock of Sedona, and so the city of Sedona forbid it. McDonald’s opted for a softer blue which helps preserve the aesthetic of the Sedona area.

Unfortunately there’s nothing special to Sedona on the menu at this McDonald’s to try, however grabbing your favorite snack can be a great prop for you Instagram shot at this very popular Sedona photography location.

Location: McDonald’s Sedona

Hours: This Sedona Instagram location is open from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM every day.

Best Time for Photos: There’s no particular best time to take a photo here, just whenever that hunger for some McDonald’s fries strikes!

Tips: There are two pale blue ‘Golden Arches’ with one being on top of the restaurant and the other at ground level near the entrance. Depending on how busy it is when you visit, you can try some fun new angles at this popular Instagrammable spot in Sedona.

Tlaquepaque

Tlaquepaque Arts and Shopping Village claims to be the “Art and Soul” of Sedona, which it does quite well. The mall is designed to look similar to the Tlaquepaque area of Guadalajara, Mexico, which it accomplishes with beautiful cobble-stone walkways, arches, and buildings.

The mall is not overly large, so it is easy to explore in less than an hour on foot. Popular Instagram photo locations are in the squares with the fountains, below the beautiful archways, or in front of some of the colorful tiles. Of course, have fun exploring and find a photo location that is unique to you!

Entrance to Tlaquepaque in Sedona, Arizona

Location: Tlaquepaque Arts and Shopping Village

Hours: Open daily from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday to Thursday, and to 6:00 PM Friday to Sunday

Best Time for Photos: The best time to take photos here is before the mall opens so that you don’t have too many others in your photos. However, if you are visiting Sedona during low season you shouldn’t have any issues taking photos here any time of day.

Tips: While you’re here at Tlaquepaque, grab some breakfast or lunch at the popular Pump House Station Urban Eatery on the north side of the mall. They have a popular breakfast which is served daily until 1:00 PM.

Airport Mesa

If you are looking to take photos for fashion or just have some fun, this is a great Instagrammable spot in Sedona that provides a lot of flexibility. There is plenty of open rock area to take pictures from, and you have many angles to shoot with the stunning Sedona red rocks in the background.

The ‘hike’ from the small parking lot up to the first photo location takes a few minutes, but has well-defined steps so it is easy to traverse without hiking shoes, or if you are packing lots of camera gear or changes of outfits.

Location: Airport Mesa

Hours: This photoshoot location is open all day.

Best Time for Photos: The best time to take photos here is early in the morning, which seems to be the case for nearly every location! However, this location is also just fine during the day as crowds are kept to a minimum due to the small parking lot.

Tips: The parking lot here is very small and only has room for a handful of cars. Luckily, most people don’t stay here too long and so you should be able to get a parking spot by waiting a few minutes. Alternatively, there is a very large parking lot at the top of the hill at the Sedona Airport Scenic Lookout. You will definitely find a parking spot here, it costs $3 per car, but you will have to hike back down to one of the best Instagrammable spots in Sedona.

Secret Spot: Cathedral Rock Offshoot

And finally, the final location in the top 10 Instagrammable spots in Sedona! This Sedona photography location is actually super close to spot number three, however it is not nearly as well known. Once you complete the hike up to Cathedral Rock, you will be presented with a beautiful vista out over the red rocks, with the setting sun in front of you. This is where most people sit to watch the setting sun.

However, if you look to the left-hand side you will see that it is possible to continue walking along a more narrow area around a corner. This trail is on the same side as the setting sun, and not the side of Cathedral Rock that you hiked up. Continue along here so that you get a glimpse around the corner and you will see a steep area of slick rock that you can climb up to reach a platform between the two towering rock formations on either side. The route is a bit steep, but is not any worse than the hike already encountered up Cathedral Rock to get this far.

From here you have a similar view of the setting sun from a different perspective, but also a view in the opposite direction with a sharply pointed rock in the middle of the frame. For being so close to the ever popular Cathedral Rock, this little location gets surprisingly few visitors. Enjoy!

Location: Cathedral Rock Trailhead

Hours: The park is open all day from sunrise to sunset.

Best Time for Photos: The best time for photos at this secret Instagram spot in Sedona is about an hour before sunset. As the sun gets closer to setting, the shadows and light will change dramatically in this narrow area.

Tips: The platform at the top of this narrow area is not overly large. It can easily hold a few small groups, but is not as large as the typical Cathedral Rock sunset viewing area. Given the smaller size it can be hard to capture the full rock formations without a wide-angle lens, so be sure to pack one for your hike up to the top of Cathedral Mountain.