Aug 9, 2026

What a Dog Costs in Sedona: 10 Line Items Including the Red Rock Pass

On a four-night trip the same large dog costs about $38 at one Sedona hotel and about $443 at another. Every other line item is under $20, which makes the pet fee the entire decision.

Luis ZamoraCo-founder of PetCompass; Dog Dad to Banzo and Tuck

Sedona, Arizona11 min readWhere to StayThings to Do

Here is the number that decides everything else: on a four-night Sedona trip, the same large dog costs about $38 at one hotel and about $443 at another.

Every other line item on this list is under $20. The pet fee is the whole game, it ranges from nothing to $100 per pet per night among properties that all state no weight limit, and almost nobody compares it before booking.

Ten line items below, with the ones that actually move the total marked.

1. Hotel pet fees, $0 to $100 per pet per night

This is roughly 90 percent of what a dog costs in Sedona.

Verified against each property's own website:

Property	Pet fee	Size limit
Hotel El Portal	$0	None stated
Sky Ranch Lodge	$25 per pet, per night, plus tax	None stated
Arabella Sedona	$27 per night per room, up to 2 pets	None stated
Matterhorn Inn	$29 per dog, per night, max 2	None stated
Sedona Village Lodge	$40 per pet, per night, over 10 lbs	None stated
Amara Resort and Spa	$50 per dog, per night, max 2	None stated
L'Auberge de Sedona	$100 per pet, per day	None stated

Two structural points worth more than the headline numbers.

Arabella charges per room, not per pet. For two dogs over four nights that is $108 against $232 at Matterhorn or $400 at Amara. If you travel with two dogs, this single distinction is worth more than everything else in this article combined.

Third-party listings are frequently wrong. One aggregator prices L'Auberge at $75 per night when the hotel's own page says $100. Another caps Amara at 30 pounds when Amara's own FAQ states no limit. Always price from the property's own site.

2. The Red Rock Pass, $5 to $20

The line item everyone asks about, and it is small.

A Red Rock Pass is required to park at 19 designated day-use sites on the Red Rock Ranger District. It costs $5 daily, $15 weekly, or $20 annually.

Buy the annual. At $20 it costs the same as four days and removes the decision entirely. An America the Beautiful, Golden Age, or Golden Access pass is accepted instead, so if you already hold one you pay nothing.

A pass is not required for incidental stops of around 15 minutes or less to take a photograph or enjoy a viewpoint.

A separate Coconino Annual Pass at $50 exists and covers a different set of sites, including some the Red Rock Pass does not.

3. The day-use fees your pass does not cover, roughly $11 each

The trap. Several of the best dog destinations near Sedona are run by concessionaires and charge their own fee that a Red Rock Pass does not include.

Crescent Moon Ranch at Red Rock Crossing, around $11 per vehicle, collected at the entrance. Leashed dogs welcome, and this is the Cathedral Rock reflection view with water your dog can wade in. Worth every cent.

Call of the Canyon, the West Fork of Oak Creek trailhead, charges its own per-vehicle concessionaire fee. West Fork is the most shaded dog-legal trail in the area, so this is the other one you should simply pay.

Budget around $25 for the two of them across a trip and stop thinking about it.

4. Pet deposits and undisclosed-pet penalties, $75 to $500

Not a cost if you behave, and expensive if you do not declare the dog.

Best Western Plus Arroyo Roble is listed as taking a $75 pet deposit on top of its $40 per day fee.

Matterhorn Inn charges $250 for an undisclosed dog in a room and $500 in suites and homes.

Sedona Village Lodge applies a penalty of up to $150 per booking for a pet that was not disclosed, or for damage or excessive cleaning.

Declare the dog at booking. Every time.

5. State park entry you might pay and not be able to use

Two Sedona state parks charge admission and both restrict dogs, which makes them a real budget trap if someone in the party wants to go.

Slide Rock State Park: $30 per vehicle from May to September, $20 from October to April. No pets are permitted 1 May to 30 September, and pets are restricted from the creek area year round. As of the current notice, the Oak Creek swim area is closed through 1 October 2026 following the Pocket Fire.

Red Rock State Park: $10 for adults, $5 for youth. No pets anywhere in the park.

If half your group wants to go, that is an admission fee plus dog care for the afternoon. Plan it as a separate line rather than a surprise.

6. Water and cooling gear, $20 to $40 one-off

Not optional in Sedona, where most trails have no water at all.

A collapsible bowl, a dedicated dog water bottle, and enough carrying capacity for drinking water plus extra for pouring over the dog. Wetting the paws, groin, and belly cools a dog faster than drinking does in dry desert air.

7. Paw protection, $0 to $80

Paw wax, around $10 to $20, helps with abrasion on coarse sandstone, which injures dogs in Sedona year round including in winter.

Boots, $30 to $80, work against heat but only if the dog has been conditioned to them over several weeks at home. Bought on the morning of a hike they are wasted money.

Neither replaces timing. The reasoning is in Sedona paw safety.

8. A muzzle, if you want Cathedral Rock or Soldier Pass

An odd line item unique to Sedona.

The free Sedona Shuttle runs Thursday through Sunday, roughly 7am to 5pm, and while it operates the trailhead parking at Cathedral Rock and Soldier Pass is closed to private vehicles. Its pet policy requires a non-service dog to be in a carrier or wearing a properly fitted muzzle, plus a leash.

A basket muzzle costs around $20 to $30, and like boots it needs conditioning at home first. The free alternative is to hike outside shuttle hours, visit Monday to Wednesday, or pick a shadier trail, which the trail shade ranking suggests you should anyway.

9. Pet care for the days your dog cannot come

Several of the best things near Sedona exclude dogs entirely: Red Rock State Park, Slide Rock in summer, and the Palatki, Honanki, and V Bar V heritage sites, all covered in where dogs are banned in Sedona. Grand Canyon and the Verde Valley national monuments restrict pets to developed areas.

Leaving a dog in a parked car is not an option in Sedona for most of the year, so these are days that need either a sitter or a split party. Amara offers pet sitting and dog walking through its concierge with advance notice, L'Auberge's concierge recommends local sitting services, and El Portal recommends local sitters while noting it does not offer boarding itself.

Budget for it in advance rather than trying to arrange it the night before.

10. The emergency you hope not to have

The line item nobody budgets and everyone should acknowledge.

Sedona's specific risks are unusual: foxtail awns that migrate under the skin and often need sedated removal, cholla spines, paw pad burns from surfaces reaching 143 degrees, rattlesnake bites, and valley fever that can show up weeks after you get home. The full picture is in desert hazards that catch Sedona dog owners off guard.

Save a veterinary number before you arrive, from emergency vet, what to know, and check whether your insurance covers you out of state.

A worked four-night trip, one large dog

Line item	Cheapest	Mid	Most expensive
Hotel pet fee, 4 nights	$0, El Portal	$108, Arabella	$400, L'Auberge
Red Rock Pass	$15 weekly	$20 annual	$20 annual
Crescent Moon Ranch	$11	$11	$11
Call of the Canyon, West Fork	~$12	~$12	~$12
Trip total	~$38	~$151	~$443

Everything except the hotel fee comes to under $50 across the whole trip. The hotel choice swings it by roughly $400.

That is the entire finding. Spend twenty minutes comparing pet fees on the properties' own sites and you will save more than every other decision in this article put together.

Where the money is well spent

The annual Red Rock Pass at $20. Same price as four daily passes, valid for a year, removes a daily decision.

Crescent Moon Ranch at $11. Dogs welcome, water they can get into, and the best view in Sedona. The best value on this list.

West Fork's concessionaire fee. The most continuously shaded dog-legal trail near Sedona, in a place where shade is the scarce resource.

Paw wax at $15. Cheap insurance against an injury that is common here in every season.

A weekend that is not July. Costs nothing and changes everything, which is the argument in Sedona month by month.

If you have not booked yet, search verified pet-friendly hotels and price them against the big dog guide.

Conclusion

A dog in Sedona is cheap to entertain and potentially expensive to house. Trail access is free apart from a $20 annual parking pass. The dog park is free. The shuttle is free. The two concession fees worth paying come to about $25 across a whole trip.

Then the hotel adds anywhere between nothing and $400 for the same four nights, for the same dog, at properties that all state no weight limit.

Compare pet fees on the properties' own websites before anything else, declare the dog at booking so you never meet the penalty clauses, buy the annual Red Rock Pass, and pay the two concession fees without arguing.

Fees, pass prices, park admissions, and pet policies all change, and aggregator sites lag behind. Confirm every figure directly before you book or drive. Then find the trail your pet will wag "yes" to.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the Red Rock Pass cost? $5 daily, $15 weekly, or $20 annually. It is required to park at 19 designated day-use sites on the Red Rock Ranger District. An America the Beautiful, Golden Age, or Golden Access pass is accepted instead, and no pass is needed for stops of around 15 minutes or less.

How much are pet fees at Sedona hotels? Anywhere from nothing to $100 per pet per night. Hotel El Portal charges no pet fee. Sky Ranch Lodge is $25 per pet per night plus tax, Arabella is $27 per night per room for up to two pets, Matterhorn Inn is $29 per dog, Sedona Village Lodge is $40, Amara is $50, and L'Auberge de Sedona is $100 per pet per day.

Does the Red Rock Pass cover everything near Sedona? No. Crescent Moon Ranch at Red Rock Crossing charges its own day-use fee of around $11, and the Call of the Canyon trailhead for West Fork of Oak Creek is concessionaire-run with a separate fee. State parks charge their own admission and mostly do not allow dogs.

What is the cheapest way to visit Sedona with a dog? Stay somewhere with no pet fee or a low one, buy the $20 annual Red Rock Pass rather than daily passes, and use the free trails, the free Sedona Dog Park, and the free shuttle. On a four-night trip that can bring the dog-specific total to under $40.

Are there hidden charges for dogs at Sedona hotels? Deposits and undisclosed-pet penalties. Best Western Plus Arroyo Roble is listed with a $75 pet deposit, Matterhorn Inn charges $250 for an undisclosed dog in a room and $500 in suites, and Sedona Village Lodge applies up to $150 per booking. Declare the dog when you reserve.

Do I have to pay to get into Slide Rock or Red Rock State Park with a dog? You would pay and not be able to bring the dog. Red Rock State Park allows no pets at all and charges $10 for adults. Slide Rock charges $20 to $30 per vehicle and allows no pets from 1 May to 30 September, with the creek area off limits to pets year round.

Sources

Fees, pass prices, park admissions, deposits, and pet policies change, and third-party listings lag behind. Confirm every figure directly with the property or agency before you book.