A Bucket List Hiking Destination: Sedona

Sedona, what can I say? It blew me away! Honestly, everyone should have this place on their bucket list, hiker or none hiker. It’s absolutely stunning! Just driving the scenic drive alone, will blow you away. And if you are a hiker, the trails will lead you speechless!

A lot of people think Sedona is a National Park, including myself. It’s not, it’s actually a city that contains two state parks: Red Rock State Park and Slide Rock State Park. We only had the chance to visit Red Rock State Park, but what an incredible park it was!

We only had a day in Sedona, which is not enough time! We visited on our Route 66 trip, detouring off at Flagstaff to visit Sedona. If you are planning on doing Route 66, definitely get this detour added to your route. You will not regret it! But also add a few days off the route to spend in Sedona. I feel like we only had a tiny taster of what the place has to offer. They recommend at least 3 days when you visit.

Park Fees

Sedona itself doesn’t cost to visit as it is a city and not a park. However, if you want to do some of the walking trails, you will have to buy either a Red Rock State Park pass or the Slide Rock State Park pass, depending on which area of Sedona you are in.

For the Red Rock State Park pass, they sell these in the car parks at the trailhead for $5, at the time we visited. If you have the ‘America the Beautiful Pass’, you can use it instead, giving you free access. Just make sure it’s on show in your vehicle.

The Slide Rock State Park pass costs a little more to visit. At the time of writing this blog, entry is between $20 and $30 per vehicle, depending on the time of year to visit.

Best Time To Visit

The winter months are the cooler months, which makes it better for hiking. If you are lucky, you might even catch a dusting of snow too. But if you prefer when it’s a little warmer, between March and May are the most popular times to visit. We visited in May and it was hot! I personally would avoid the hot summer months.

When You Only Have A Day

If you only have one day to explore Sedona, here are three things you must do:

Drive The Red Rock Canyon Scenic Byway

This road, HWY 179 takes your breathe away! I think spent the whole drive saying ‘wow’ on repeat! Along the drive, you can stop off at all the different viewpoints, showing off all the different red rock formations. It’s a busy road to drive, so if you can I recommend driving it at dawn or dusk. We drove it at dusk, and the lighting on the rocks was magical.

Sunset at Cathedral Rock

If you are lucky enough to be around at sunset, I recommend going to the Secret Slock Rock trailhead. Here you will get a great view of the famous Cathedral Rock, Sedona’s most photographed rock formation. We arrived a little later than planned. Luckily, we managed to capture the last bit of light on the rock, before the sun completely went down.

Hike The Seven Sacred Pools vis Soldier Pass

This hike was incredible from start to finish! Some people argue this is their favourite hike in the park. I can’t comment, as I haven’t done any other hikes in Sedona. however, I did feel like this hike gives you one great taster of what Sedona has to offer!

The hike is just over 6 miles long. It’s not a particularly difficult hike, but the heat definitely made it feel 10 times harder! A good amount of fitness is definitely required.

The hike combines three famous trails together: The Seven Sacred Pools, Soldier Pass, and Brins Mesa Loop.

To hike this trail you will need a Red Rock State Park Pass, which you can purchase in the car park, or you can use your America the Beautiful Pass if you have one.

Parking

Park in the Brins Mesa Trailhead car park. It’s only a small car park. I recommend getting there early. Often by 8 am it’s full!

SatNav directions: Brins Mesa Trail, Sedona, AZ 86336

The Route

Follow this map, as you walk the route anticlockwise. Make sure your location is turned on and you should be able to see exactly where you are, on this map. Or if you prefer, download the GPX file and use it on your choice of route tracker.

Downloadable GPX Files

1.

Starting at the Brins Mesa Trailhead car park, head west onto the Cibola Pass Trail and follow it towards Soldier’s Pass Trail.

2.

Just before you reach Soldier’s Pass car park, take the path going off to your right-hand side, leading you onto Soldier’s Pass Trail. Follow it towards the seven sacred pools.

3.

From the seven sacred pools, continue to follow the Soldier’s Pass Trail, until you reach a path going off to your right-hand side. Here you can take a detour off to the caves. I personally didn’t think it was worth the steep climb up to the caves. However, if you do want to see the caves, take the path and follow up to the caves. Return back down to the Solider’s Pass Trail the same way.

4.

Continue walking uphill, along Solder’s Pass Trail. Just after reaching the top, you will come to a path junction. Take the path going off to your right-hand side, the Brins Mesa trail.