Sedona Arizona is one of the most beautiful areas of the country. Its magnificent scenery makes this one of our favorite spots in the world for hiking. Here are 8 fabulous Sedona hikes.

Beautiful Sedona Hiking Trails

West Fork Trail at Oak Creek Canyon

The trailhead is about 10.5 miles north of Sedona along Oak Creek Canyon. The sandy 6-mile (in-and-out) walk is fairly flat (a total of 400 feet elevation gain) and easy. However, it requires several shallow creek crossings over rocks. Those who are unsteady will want a hiking pole or stick to aid their balance.

The twelve-mile long by one-mile wide canyon was formed by a fault that left the eastern side 1,000 feet below the western side. Millions of years of torrential monsoon water surging along and through the fault created a deep canyon whose red, yellow, and white-hued walls have been eroded into spectacular shapes. You are surrounded by steep canyon walls the entire trip, including some particularly lovely wavy patterns and large overhangs where the creek eroded the cliff from below.

If you want to experience the size and broader perspective on the canyon and the rapidly changing foliage as you progress upward from Desert Grassland to Riparian, Cypress Woodland, Pinon-Juniper Woodland, and Ponderosa pine-fir Chaparral, take the 5 mile drive up from the trailhead to the Oak Creek Vista Point. A short distance into the trail you will find the burned-out ruins of stone and log Mayhew Lodge. This was the hunting and fishing lodge for the rich and famous of Hollywood and Washington royalty from its 1926 opening through 1968.

Although the trail is, by no means strenuous, and provides views from below, rather than above, it was, overall, one of our favorite hikes of the trip.

Brin’s Mesa and Soldier Pass Loop

This beautiful, roughly six-mile/800-foot elevation gain hike requires navigation among four trails: Cibola Pass and Jordan Pond trails briefly, and more extensive but moderate hikes up to Brin’s Mesa and down Soldiers Pass. You see beautiful red rock vistas in different directions from virtually all directions: scenes including Steamboat Rock, Wilson Mountain, Soldier Pass, and Mormon Canyon. Like many of the Sedona area trails, it is poorly marked. But it has plenty of people to help you find your way. Some of the notable stops along the way include:

• Devil’s Kitchen sinkhole with a huge rock that was jarred loose during a 1989 California earthquake;
• Seven Sacred Pools, a series of seven indentations created by swirling water. While the pools all had some water when we visited in late March, they overflow and flow into each other in a series of waterfalls during the rainy season;
• A cavern on an unmarked detour trail which we unfortunately missed.

Doe Mesa Trail

This short (0.6 miles each way) trail climbs more than 500 feet in a series of switchbacks, some of which (particularly in the upper quarter of the hike) are quite steep and difficult—going both up and down. The reward is beautiful views along the entire trail, not least of which is the view of Doe itself, both as you approach it and climb up one side while looking at the other. The flat mesa at the summit offers lovely viewpoints in all directions.

Cathedral Rock Trail

Cathedral Rock Trail is a short (0.75 mile) but very steep, 600-foot scramble up to the saddle between two of the monument’s largest spires. Most people stop here to enjoy the rewards of their very crowded (at least when we were there) climb. But if you are looking for a little more exercise, and some solitude atop the popular climb, turn to the left, around the back of one of the spires, and scramble up another few hundred feet and you will be rewarded by a solitary, close-up view of one of Cathedral Rock’s dramatic smaller spires.

Devil’s Bridge

Devil’s Bridge is the largest natural sandstone arch in Sedona. Although the hike itself is only 1.8 round trip, it is quite steep. Moreover, if you don’t have a high-clearance vehicle (which we did not), you have to park in a more distant parking lot and walk 2.5 miles down a level, but the very rough road to the trail parking lot. (Even this additional walk, however, is beautiful.) Once you reach the formal trail parking lot, you have to climb reasonably steep steps to reach the bridge–a dramatic natural arch on which you can walk. Be prepared for a large number of people and a wait to get on the bridge if you go at prime times. On the way back, be sure to take the brief detour that offers a view from beneath the arch. The spectacle, however, is not limited to the arch. The entire hike is surrounded by beautiful red rock views.

Bell Rock

Bell Rock is a 2.5-3.0 mile round-trip walk that goes past a large, multi-colored butte to the north side of the rock. We followed cairns up to a large plateau, as far as we felt comfortable going, before taking a very steep ascent to a very fragile red rock summit. We were rewarded by pretty (albeit not spectacular) views of neighboring red rock formations.

Boynton Canyon Trail

We were forced to cut our last hike of the trip short due to time. However, we did hike to and explore the different views from the 0.4 round-trip mile detour to the trail’s vista point and then went about 2 miles along the 3.75-mile trail. It was very pretty, and if this had been among our first hikes, we would have certainly loved it. But after some really extraordinary hikes, our limited exposure to this trail left us a bit underwhelmed.

Palatki Heritage Site

One of the most beautiful areas is not a formal hike, but a protected area that contains ancient cliff dwelling ruin, pictographs, and petroglyphs. Entry and tours require advance reservations. But you are rewarded by a beautiful drive (for which you do not require a reservation) and two short hikes (for which you do) through some of the most beautiful scenery in the area. Even better than the views of nature is the ability to get close to and get semi-personal tours of some fascinating, 1,000-year-old artifacts. While the artifacts are discussed and shown in our article on Sedona Historical sites, the views themselves merit special note here.

Hints For Before You Hike

• For many hikes, you will either need a Red Rock Pass. Other interagency passes such as a National Park Service pass will also work.
• Trailhead parking lots for popular hikes fill up quickly. Get there very early (when it is also cooler) or later in the day after the early hikers have finished. Otherwise, you either may be turned away from a hike you wanted to take or have to park a great distance from the trailhead.
• Many of the trails are poorly marked and cell phone signals are not available. Download/print your maps in advance.
• Make sure you carry enough water. And of course, wear a hat and sunscreen.

Other Red Rock Views

Although we would have loved to do more hikes in this beautiful area, we did not have the time to do all we would have liked. We partially made up for this deprivation by driving (or in some cases, attempting to drive) some of the area’s prettiest roads. These included:

Oak Creek Canyon

This beautiful drive from Sedona towards Flagstaff is surrounded by dramatic cliffs lined with scenic viewing, picnic, hiking, and even swimming (in the form of Slide Rock Park) sites. We only drove 10.5 miles into the canyon, before reaching our destination of the West Fork trailhead (see above);

Red Rock Loop

A pretty drive that is just minutes from Lower Sedona takes you through beautiful red rock country, homes with incredible views, and to Red Rocks State Park.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

A lovely chapel built into a red rock mountain. While the small chapel is certainly pretty in its own right, its seamless integration into the rocks, and the views it provides are inspirational. And on a more materialistic note, it overlooks one of the most incredible estates in the area.

Schembly Canyon Road

It is supposed to be beautiful. Although we were told that we could drive it with a regular car, despite the warning, it didn’t take us long before we considered it to be too difficult without a high-clearance vehicle. So, we partially made up for this disappointment by cruising through uptown, viewing many of the same rocks—including the appropriately named Snoopy Rock, from the other side.

West Sedona

Dry Creek Road leads to some great trails, the Palatki Heritage Site, the wonderful Enchantment Resort, and some of the best views in the area.

Red Rocks at Sunset

While the color and the formations of the rocks are beautiful at virtually any time, the colors really pop at sunset.

Cactus and Wildlife

Cactus is everywhere in Arizona. The area around Phoenix is dominated primarily by the huge, majestic Saguaro Cactus. But as you get closer to the Sedona, the giants disappear and you find many other types of smaller, but equally beautiful varieties of cactus, other succulents, and southwestern flowers, such as bluebonnets and columbines. 

Palatki Heritage Site

One of the most beautiful areas is not a formal hike, but a protected area that contains ancient cliff dwelling ruin, pictographs, and petroglyphs. Entry and tours require advance reservations. But you are rewarded by a beautiful drive (for which you do not require a reservation) and two short hikes (for which you do) through some of the most beautiful scenery in the area. Even better than the views of nature is the ability to get close to and get semi-personal tours of some fascinating, 1,000-year-old artifacts. While the artifacts are discussed and shown in our article on Sedona Historical sites, the views themselves merit special note here.