Somewhere between love, legalities, and liabilities, the love lock trend has taken a few turns. The idea itself is undeniably romantic. Write your names on a padlock, click it onto a fence or railing, toss away the key, and leave behind a little metal promise that your love is there to stay. But whether the lock itself gets to stay is another matter.
In some places, love locks have become part of the experience, with designated fences where couples are invited to add their own. In others, that romantic gesture crosses into littering, graffiti, or vandalism. And when thousands of those little symbols of forever start adding up, all that extra weight can become a very real structural problem for the bridges and railings holding them.
All that said, we’ve found two places in Arizona where you can lock in your love without the London Bridge of Lake Havasu being at risk of falling down. One of them is just a few miles from the Lantern Light Inn.
Key Takeaways
- The love lock trend symbolizes commitment but poses structural issues in some locations.
- Arizona offers two special spots for love locks: Sedona’s designated LoveLocks gate and Prescott’s Courthouse Plaza.
- Avoid doing it at the Grand Canyon, as love locks are considered littering there and an endangered bird likes to eat the keys (or any shiny object).
- Couples can also lock in their love by getting married at the Lantern Light Inn & Wedding Gardens in Sedona.
✅Sedona Love Locks
If you’re looking for a place to lock in your love in Sedona, this one comes with an invitation. Outside Just Us Girls in Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, a designated LoveLocks gate has become covered with messages from couples and visitors.
You can bring your own lock or head inside the boutique, where they sell LoveLocks you can engrave before adding yours to the collection. Unlike a random railing, this is one place where your lock is actually welcome.
✅Prescott Love Locks
Less than 90 minutes from Lantern Light Inn, Prescott has its own collection of love locks hiding in plain sight. Walk north on Montezuma Street from historic Whiskey Row, and you’ll spot hundreds of padlocks covering a chain-link fence, each left behind as a little declaration of love.
Bring a lock to add your own, then make a date of exploring downtown Prescott and the nearby Courthouse Plaza for Yavapai County.
Need an excuse to go beyond locking in your love? This is also one of the courthouses where you can get your Arizona marriage license for your Sedona wedding or elopement.
🚫No Grand Canyon Love Locks
While visiting Grand Canyon National Park makes a great day trip from Sedona, don’t try to get away with love-locking mischief there. Park rangers have made it clear that trying to add a lock to a fence is littering. As for throwing away the key? Don’t toss it off the canyon rim, which seems like such an obvious thing to say considering hikers and all. But there’s another risk — condors. The curious birds explore with their mouths and could swallow anything they find.
However, those heading to the Grand Canyon can celebrate their love with a look at Matrimony Rock along the Rim Trail. Look for the heart-shaped rock between the El Tovar and Kachina Lodge.
Lock In Your Love at the Wedding Gardens of Sedona
Of course, there’s another way to lock in your love: get married in Sedona. Lantern Light Inn & Wedding Gardens brings together an intimate boutique inn, garden wedding venue, and the option to buy out the property for a celebration that feels entirely your own. It’s an unexpected oasis of greenery in Sedona’s red rock landscape, built for romantic getaways and small weddings where staying together is part of the experience.
Want to add a love lock to the itinerary? Exec Rides AZ is based right here at the inn, making it easy to plan a ride to Tlaquepaque, Prescott, or another Northern Arizona adventure without arguing over who has to drive.
