My Favorite Sedona Hikes
Yeah, yeah, I know I'm in Costa Rica so why am I writing about hiking in Sedona? With all the bouncing around visiting friends and finishing up a big work project, I got behind on travel journaling and I couldn't just skip over Sedona and the fantastic time we had hiking there. Our neighbors were friendly and welcoming, the views fantastic, and the weather hot—just the way Jim likes it!
So many hiking trails! We spent five weeks and there are still trails on my list that we didn't get to. This is the list of trails we did, in order of favorites:
Hangover Trail: nine-ish mile lollipop loop
Doe Mountain (sunrise and sunset)
Dry Creek: North Fork Trail
Chimney Rock loop
Cathedral Rock (sunset)
Airport Mesa Loop (sunrise and sunset)
Bell Rock/Courthouse Butte Loop
Soldier Pass Trail
Mount Kendrick
Bear Mountain
Devil's Bridge
As you can see, we got a good number of hikes in. I even did the Airport Loop and Doe Mountain three times each! We also visited the Crescent Moon Day Use area to hang at the creek a few times. There’s just a ton of short easy hikes in the area, which is nice because you can get out and hike without it having to be a full day activity.
I won't go crazy with the logistics and details of the hikes—there are a million places you can get info on the trails—but I'll photojournal them for you!
Hangover Loop
By far, this was my favorite. We saw two other people and a mountain biker on this trail. I have no idea how anyone could mountain bike this trail with the slickrock and sheer cliffs, but wow! This trail didn’t just have amazing views, it was also an interesting trail with changes in vegetation and cool geology. Plus, my childhood friend Kelly joined us for the fun!
Doe Mountain
This hike was wonderful at dusk and dawn: sunrise for the hot air balloons and sounds of coyotes; sunset for the opportunity to watch the colors of the rocks change or the actual sun set. And… I met an adorable dog @thegreatadventuresofhj on a solo sunrise hike. It was deserted, and at just under three miles round trip and only around 500 feet in elevation gain, it was a perfect hike for waking up or ending the day.
Dry Creek, North Fork Trail
Shady both in and out of a creek, this was such an interesting trail. Almost completely flat as a seven mile out-and-back trail, but by the time we were coming back it was getting so busy, there was a line of cars waiting to get in to the park. They limit the number of people and the parking lot isn’t all that big, so you have to go early and early is not Jim’s favorite!
Chimney Rock Loop
Random Photos
A selection of other beautiful photos from around the area.