A car is essential in Sedona. The town is spread out along two main corridors — Highway 89A (Uptown and Oak Creek Canyon to the north) and Highway 179 (Tlaquepaque and the Village of Oak Creek to the south) — and the trailheads are scattered across the canyon landscape.
Parking at popular trailheads requires a Red Rock Pass ($5 for a daily vehicle pass), available from vending machines at most trailheads or from the Sedona Visitor Center. The pass is also available as an annual pass and is well worth it for stays of more than a couple of days.
The Sedona Trolley offers two scenic narrated routes through town and is useful for orientation. Rideshare services (Uber, Lyft) operate in Sedona but can have limited availability, especially at trailheads. Several outfitters offer guided Jeep tours of the backcountry — these are a genuinely fun way to reach otherwise inaccessible terrain if you do not have a high-clearance 4WD vehicle.