# Vacation areas similar to Sedona, AZ ???



## Jersey (Sep 14, 2005)

so here's the deal. the fam and i are planning our next "not so relaxing vacation, vacation". Our last trip was to Sedona in April and everyone had a blast. now we are trying to find another vacation place (anywhere in the lower 48) that would be similar to Sedona. the town offered so much diversity that we are having a hard time finding another location that can compete. the criteria is this.
-Must be scenic, nat'l parks are a plus and famous landmarks and touristy spots are good too
-Must offer a certain level of accomodation. any place with only a howard johnsons and Bob's motel wont work. i would sleep in the car if i could, but my mom is used to a more "refined" level of vacationing. condo/timeshares are ideal.
-Must offer good food/nighlife. we are big eaters and look forward to fancy dinners after a long day of riding, hiking, touring, one day road trips ect
-Must offer good riding, really good riding... duh
-a "resort" like feel is what we all really liked about Sedona. that feeling like the town wouldnt be there if it wasnt for the vacationers and tourism is definately a good thing.
-more vacationers than locals is not a bad thing
-plenty of CLOSE outdoors things to do - we want to feel like we're actually out of NJ!
-Sedona was great b/c we didnt even have to drive to the trailheads to ride/day hike. even the ones that we did have to drive were literally 5-10 mins away tops.

Some of my friends from work (bike shop) suggested Durango and SantaFe, but id love to hear your feelings too.
Sedona had a certain feel to it that ive never felt at any other vacation spot so if youve been there you can probably be a better help.


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## elder_mtber (Jan 13, 2004)

I've been to Sedona mtb'ing and vacationing with family - twice. It was great.

A vacation spot that might meet your requirements is Winter Park, CO. Excellent riding, full service town and stuff to do when not on the trails. Family has been there several times.

No red rocks, though!

Best wishes,
Terry


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## icegeek (Feb 16, 2004)

Jersey said:


> ...Sedona had a certain feel to it that ive never felt at any other vacation spot ...


must have been the vortices


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## mtbjedi1 (Apr 9, 2007)

When are you planning to travel?

If it's this fall, then Moab could fit the bill. I also second the notion of Santa Fe. That's an undiscovered gem! North Conway, NH, is awesome as well, especially during peak foliage. Bellingham, WA, has got terrific riding, and isn't too far from Seattle.

If it's summer, then look higher up. Colorado ski areas work well, for what you want. Also Park City, Utah.

Have fun!


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## kaboose (Oct 27, 2005)

Moab! :thumbsup:


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

kaboose said:


> Moab! :thumbsup:


Which doesn't match with what he wrote about places to eat, nightlife, and so on?

Even though it's almost next door, Flagstaff has almost everything you are looking for there, and of course world class riding (I like the riding in Flagstaff better than Sedona). If you haven't ridden there ore been there, I would highly suggest it because of all the other things you wrote.

Durango would be decent as well.

I would definitely stay away from Moab given your criteria. I think the riding in Moab is simply on a scale that is far larger than Sedona and that it's simply a class above Sedona, but in all other areas it will fall short.


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## Whafe (May 27, 2004)

Agree with Jayem, Flagstaff has some great riding... I did time in Sedona which was great, but also shot across to Flagstaff for a couple days.. Awesome riding....

I hear from Err, that Park City has soem great riding too... Hell you USA folks are spoilt, there is so so much riding......

Am in Whistler at present, the team here also spoke of Bellingham having great riding.....

Fruiter is great, but not a huge amount of nightlife so to speak....


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## WTB-rider (Jul 25, 2004)

Whafe,

Your daughter is a doll!!! :thumbsup:


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## chuky (Apr 3, 2005)

Moab, not so much, if what you want is food and restaurants, though you could stay at the winery and that would help in the food/accomodation department.

Springdale, Utah is pretty awesome. Several really nice spa-hotels (I have heard a lot of really nice things about the Desert Pearl in particular, but I always camp), tons of B&Bs and some great restaurants. A lot smaller than Sedona, but right outside Zion National Park (if you haven't seen Zion, you are missing out). 

Springdale is close to St. George, Gooseberry Mesa, Little Creek, Hurricane for riding.

C


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## bingemtbr (Apr 1, 2004)

*Sedona-ish places*

Summer to late Summer: Winter Park with a day trip to Keystone

Any later; then my first nod goes to FRUITA then MOAB.


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## Whafe (May 27, 2004)

WTB-rider said:


> Whafe,
> 
> Your daughter is a doll!!! :thumbsup:


Thanks WTB R, I think so too, but guess I am biased.... She is so tall for being 11 months old, helps with a 6 foot mum and a 6 foot 4 dad.... 

She is gonna have the long legs.....

She is very funny, Love her personality...:thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## KRob (Jan 13, 2004)

Surprised no one has mentioned Tahoe or Downieville. Tahoe has a ton of world class mtbing plus a bunch of other stuff to do for the fam. We stayed at Three Peaks Resort near the beach last summer and had a great time jet skiing, parasailing, hiking, exploring the lake and ..... of course riding.

Downieville is quaint and definitely mtb/tourist driven. Not much else to do though I don't think.... kayaking maybe? It would be a nice day trip from Tahoe though about an hour and a half away.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

KRob said:


> Surprised no one has mentioned Downieville.


Probably because it's isolated, with little choice in places to stay or eat, it's not a "resort" type town as listed in the criteria.

Tahoe on the other hand...


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## Jersey (Sep 14, 2005)

wow, thanks for all the responses guys!!!
i DID forget to mention when we're traveling, thanks mtbjedi1
it will probably be around the same time - *mid April to mid May* is the time frame we're shooting for.


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## Jersey (Sep 14, 2005)

i'm bringing this back from the dead.

we're still stumped, although Seattle has been the buzz lately....

:thumbsup:


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## General Havoc (Mar 28, 2007)

Might want to look into Santa Cruz, CA

Lots of really nice riding, the sun, the sand, the ocean, THE BOARDWALK very resort like with lots of hippies and new-agers (like the freaks in Sedona), so very cool B&Bs to stay in if you are into that sort of thing, hiking, sea kayaking, short drive to Monterey Bay, so much to list

Once did a 4th of July thing in Monterey at the Marriot (they have great breakfast buffets) with a whale watching boat trip, sea kayaking with the sea otters, watching fireworks from our balcony and dinners on cannery row, now that is World Class!

I don't know if it's like Sedona (our sedona experiences are different than yours) but If you wanted to drive 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours from either Sedona or Flagstaff you wouldn't get to much, but from Santa Cruz you would get to San Francisco (and all it has to see) so my vote is for Santa Cruz (fly to San Jose, and rent a car from there it's an easy drive over the hill to some great west coast goodness)


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## Evil Patrick (Sep 13, 2004)

I'm so fixated on the riding, that my opinions are all extremely biased.

Tahoe for sure! And by that, I mean "hell yes!"

Downieville is a FABULOUS (stunning and almost religious) experience, but only for the MTB'ers.

Fruita/Grand Junction might be pretty good. For the non-riders, there's National Monument 
and a pretty cool downtown in GJ.

Aspen? I had a great time riding and their "downtown" is loaded with quaint shopping and interesting food.

SLC/Park City is pretty cool too. I did all my riding in that area in Park City, which is really
not *too* far from SLC.

Flagstaff, as mentioned, is also a good choice.

Taos, NM?


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## Rotmilky (Aug 18, 2007)

Hmm...what about the summit county, Co ski areas--Breckenridge, Frisco, etc., or even Vail. There's some great riding up there, loads of restaurants in the area and those places definately wouldn't exist without tourism. 

Santa Fe would have most of what you are looking for, but it won't feel like a touristy ski town. The entire town is pretty much adobe, so you won't think you're in NJ. Heck, you might not even think you're still in the US. Riding is close and lots of good choices. No airport to fly into, though.


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## Evil Patrick (Sep 13, 2004)

If any thread deserved to be jacked over to the "Vacations & Destinations" forum...


(I'm just sayin')


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## FoxOverFence (Apr 7, 2005)

I know you said Lower 48 but Whistler is really worth going to and totally fits the bill on all your points. Plus in the summer the condos are relatively cheap. It's a village unto itself, you will know you're out of NJ, lots to do even if you don't bike. Great places to eat.

Seattle is nice but it's a big city so you deal with traffic...(btw, it's where I live.) Moab as people pointed out has good riding but the town is a bit of a dump after coming from Sedona where you don't see many billboards and no huge semis rolling through town contributing to the horrible noise when you try to eat outside.... 

Park City is very fun and scenic, lots of hiking and riding right from town. Excellent restaurants. Not sure but probably similar to Whistler with condos for rent in the summer that are cheap or B&B type places. It has that very western, Victorian vibe.


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## Bikinfoolferlife (Feb 3, 2004)

I don't think for the most part that any of the upper elevations are much good in April and May for riding. Moab might not please mom, but if you go over to Grand Junction there's a bit more to do and great riding, and Fruita and Moab are within a reasonable drive. The St.George area isn't too bad at that time of year. San Francisco bay area isn't too bad either, especially in the non-biking department, and not so bad in the biking department.


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