Sedona Trails Rise Above the Rest

Sedona, Arizona has once again shown its stuff as one of the world’s hiking treasures. There are enough trails and variety to keep you busy for weeks. During our fifth visit, we returned to the Hiline, our favorite path for the panoramic views and challenging terrain.

We started from the Yavapai parking lot just outside the Village of Oak Creek and we linked the Hiline to the Hermit, Templeton, and Baldwin trails to make a 7.3-mile loop around Cathedral Rock. It offers short spurts of non-technical rock-scrambling and enough elevation gain to provide the views Sue captured.

The crowds have grown during the years we have visited, but we are early risers anyway, so getting to the trailhead lots by 8:30 has almost always led us to plenty of parking spaces. Sedona has also begun a shuttle service to several trailheads.

While I am on the topic of great trails in this state, the Arizona Trail runs the length of the state for 800 miles and you can see it now on a YouTube channel hosted by favorites of ours, the Wander Women. They recently began their adventure at the Mexican border. These are no ordinary senior citizens; they have conquered the Triple Crown of the Appalachian Trial, the Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail. Check out their channel.

Go, Wander Women!

The Bell Trail: Avoid the Sedona Crowds

The red-rock trails of the Sedona, Arizona area are spectacular, but you need to secure parking at trailhead lots early, even before 8 a.m. in some cases. Thanks to a tip from a Montana couple we met on a hike, we explored a red-rock canyon near Camp Verde, without the crowds. The Bell Trail is an out-and-back 6.9 miles with 587 feet of elevation gain. “Don’t miss the Crack,” we were advised. The Crack is a fissure that features pools where Wet Beaver Creek passes. A couple of young guys were tempted, but resisted jumping into the cloudy water.