We were lucky enough to get to travel to Sedona, Arizona for a family vacation in March. We had seen so many beautiful photos of it’s vast landscape filled with towering red rocks that make you feel like your on mars, prickly cacti, and warm sunsets. We were definitely ready to get out of the moody pacific northwest and immerse ourselves in some red and orange tones and soak in some vitamin d if ya know what I mean. While visiting Sedona, we filled our schedule to the brim with all the hikes to fill our stay and here is what we did and what we are ranking the top 5 hikes in Sedona, AZ. Are you ready? Ok let’s boogie!
Pro tip: (oh I guess we’re pro’s now huh)..
Get to the trails early! Seriously, the earlier the better. You’ll beat the crowds and won’t have to hike too long in the afternoon sun. You might want to throw your alarm clock out the window, but you’ll thank us later! (winky face)
This was the first trail we did, and it definitely got us warmed up for what we had in store for hiking in Arizona. We had only hiked in the Pacific Northwest climate so we knew it was going to be different (dry, arid, and hot)! This was a very easy trail that loops around beautiful bell rock (a rock formation that looks kinda like a bell). We were so lucky to witness wildflowers abloom in the meadows surrounding (which apparently is very rare)! Beautiful scenic trail that I would definitely recommend for beginners. (I mean I even wore sandals to hike this one).
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/arizona/big-park-to-bell-rock-pathway-loop
Looking to get those amazing scenic views of Sedona without having to hike your legs off? The Pink Jeep Tours are definitely for you! This was one of the highlights of our trip to Sedona, and we would definitely do it again. Basically you have a guide take you in a hot pink Jeep and you get to go off roading on the steep, jagged, red rocks of Sedona up to some incredible and breathtaking trail viewpoints around the area. We did the broken arrow trail which is a very popular one but there is a whole list of different adventures on their website! Not only is it a fun amusement park ride but it’s also folded together with elements of hiking and nature! Hold on for a bumpy and fun ride with killer views where you also might not stop giggling the whole time (eh em…me). We actually got to do this for free since my uncle works as a manager at the pink jeep tours in Sedona. But 100% would pay the fee to do it again. It was that awesome.
https://www.pinkadventuretours.com/sedona-tours/broken-arrow/
After seeing all the photos from our research of this place we knew we had to do this one. The hike in the beginning is very flat and rocky without too much elevation for a long while since you’re hiking down a long road to get to the trail. The road is mainly used for the pink Jeep tours so be sure to stay to the side of the road so they can pass you safely! Once you get to the trailhead, get ready for a booty burn because it only goes up from there. In elevation and in views (ha)! But once you get to the top it’s beyond stunning. A magical bridge in the sky that overlooks beautiful Sedona. Again, be sure to get there early. Apparently in reviews I’ve read, people had to wait 30+ minutes just to get a photo on the bridge. But we luckily got there early and there was only a handful of people at the top!
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/arizona/devils-bridge-trail
How….hooooow were younger kiddos sprinting up this one? The world may never know. The more moderate trails of Sedona truly shocked me in comparison to the ones we’ve done in the PNW. There are many more moments of “rock climbing” (using that term kinda loosely guys…don’t worry) and scrambling (ok now I’m worrying you). I think mainly because on these trails you gotta kill some elevation in a pretty short amount of mileage so in a sense the only way to go is up! Just be ready to climb and get some red rock dust in your hands! My mama and step dad did this one, and ALL of these with us so I think you should be ok. They are over 50 and amazing. Oh and you’ll also have to climb up a saddle (huh, what Lauren? we aren’t riding horses here)! A saddle.. it’s basically a crevice you have to scramble up and crab crawl your way down. Once you get up to the top though, man was that climbing worth it. Out of all the hikes we did in Sedona, this one gets awarded with best view! And the hardest climb. It’s always the hard ones that reward us with the best views, huh? And it truly is a must-do even though it is hard. Even when you get up to the top, there’s still a little more to do if you look at your Alltrails map. Once you reach the sign that says end of trail at the top, take a left and keep going. You’ll see an even more killer view and it’s more private because people don’t really know that the trail continues a little more to this little view point. This one was definitely hard in my opinion because you’re basically rock climbing instead of hiking, but we saw people of all ages doing it just fine. Yes, even kids running up it (face palm). So just take your time, enjoy the views, and saddle up partner! Hahah oh god.
After researching the best hikes in Sedona, I came across this secret cave that you can find on Soldiers Pass trail (where you also get to see The Devil’s Kitchen and The Seven Sacred Pools) and I knew this one was a must do! To get to The Devil’s Kitchen and The Seven Sacred Pools was a pretty darn easy, not much elevation at all and it was nice and cool outside since we got there earlier in the morning. After you finish seeing the sites of the kitchen and the pools you are more than welcome to turn around and head back. But if you’re feeling adventurous you can hike the rest of Soldier’s Pass or you can take Soldier’s Pass to go find a secret cave. SO we ended up doing both accidentally (doing all the elevation and miles for Soldier’s Pass AND rock climbing up to the cave. We were so exhausted and recommend choosing one (eh em the secret cave). But, if you want to go find this secret cave and avoid doing both trails in 1 day and kinda getting lost like we did and follow these simple directions. So while you are on Soldier’s Pass trail once you hike past the Sacred Pools you will come across a fork in the trail where the fork to the right is covered by branches and leaves by other people. Alltrails will tell you to avoid that and keep following the rest of Soldier’s Pass trail. But do not listen to AllTrails like we did. Because if you do listen to it, you will not find the secret cave. We always refer to this app for everything, but it does not have the directions on there on how to get to this secret cave. Go that way and you can hike up to an incredible cave. Go towards the gathered branches and leaves and you will be headed up to the cave. It is pretty darn vertical and VERY rocky to get up to hit so be very careful. Once you hike up to the top you’ll see some strange cave crevices. Go to the second one on the right and then you’re right below it. We were so confused because you literally have to hoist yourself up into the cave. Like no joke. See the photo below. And once you rock climb your way up into the cave it is the most amazing sight to see. Definitely worth the climb, I promise.
Pro tip: Get you an Airbnb with a hot tub so you can soak away your sore muscles from hiking your legs off!
