Sedona is a mecca for the outdoor wanderer. And hiking is one of the best things to do in Sedona. But with so many magical hikes to choose from, each with their own amazing view, how do you choose? We’ve put together all of the stats on the best Sedona hikes to choose from. Now you’ll be able to pick and choose which hikes you want to take, knowing their difficulty, length and time.
Whatever Sedona hike you choose, know that each one will give you views of those amazing red rocks that the American Southwest is famous for. You’ll have plenty of Sedona hikes to choose from ranging from easy to difficult and from family friendly to adventurous. You really can’t go wrong with any one that you choose. However, we will give you a spoiler and tell you that Devils Bridge is our favorite hike in Sedona.
The Birthing Cave
- Distance: 2 miles out-and-back
- Time: 1.5 hours
- Elevation change: 300 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Fee: $5 Red Rocks Pass or an America the Beautiful Parks Pass
This Sedona hike is an easy hike that gives you big views for little walk. You’ll walk along mostly flat landscape until you get to the cave. The most popular thing to do here is scramble into the cave and take pictures of the beautiful Sedona landscape. You will need to do a little rock scrambling to get into the cave but the views here are great.
Fay Canyon Trail
- Distance: 2.6 miles out-and-back
- Time: 1 hour
- Elevation Change: 270 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Fee: $5 Red Rocks Pass or an America the Beautiful Parks Pass
This easy trail is a great intro to hiking in Sedona. Hikers of any skill level will be able to complete this hike. This hike will give you great views of the famous Sedona red rocks. You’ll also pass a cool sandstone arch on this hike.
Red Rock Crossing
- Distance: ~.5 miles out-and-back
- Time: 30 minutes
- Elevation Change: minimal
- Difficulty: Easy
- Fee: $10 Crescent Moon Park Entrance
While this park is one of the few that charge an extra fee to visit (besides the Red Rocks Pass or the American the Beautiful Pass), the hikes here are easy, accessible and family friendly. This is a great spot at sunset as well with wide open views of Cathedral Rock. While we’re super cheap and it irked us to no end to have to pay for entrance here (I mean they don’t even have nice toilets in the park… sheesh), we’re happy we hiked here. The hiking was easy and it involved playing around in Oak Creek which was fun and refreshing.
Bell Rock Vista
- Distance: 1 mile out-and-back
- Time: 1 hour
- Elevation change: 400 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Fee: $5 Red Rocks Pass or an America the Beautiful Parks Pass
Scrambling up the Bell Rock is a fun and quick hiking stop. This trail is marked with rock baskets that you follow to get you onto the rock. Once there, it’s more of a free for all exploration hike. So you really can make this hike whatever you want.
Cathedral Rock Trail
- Distance: 1.2 miles out-and-back
- Time: 1 hour
- Elevation change: 700 feet
- Difficulty: Difficult
- Fee: $5 Red Rocks Pass or an America the Beautiful Parks Pass
This hike is one of the most popular Sedona hikes. Which means the parking here is a nightmare, much like other hikes on this list. The beginning of this hike is well marked with rocks. The beginning is easy to complete except for the moderate elevation gain. We actually think the beginning of the hike has the best views of Cathedral Rock. At one point, you’ll have to make your way up a steep crevice. This will involve more rock climbing than hiking. Once up this scramble section, the hike continues to be much the same as you get closer and closer to the pinnacle. We definitely recommend doing this hike. However, we’d recommend only doing part of it as the farther along you walk, the worse your views get.
Devils Bridge Trail
- Distance: 1.8 miles out-and-back
- Time: 1-2 hours
- Elevation change: 400 feet
- Difficulty: easy to moderate
- Fee: $5 Red Rocks Pass or an America the Beautiful Parks Pass
This is our favorite hike that we did in Sedona. It is a great hike that is fun and has great views. Ending at a natural sandstone bridge is a great reward for a pretty easy hike. However, this is also a favorite Sedona hike with lots of other people. So for planning purposes, we suggest you read our post to plan where you’ll park and the route you’ll take to this popular hiking destination.
Soldier Pass
- Distance: 4.5 miles
- Time: 2-3 hours
- Elevation Change: 650 feet
- Difficulty: moderate
- Fee: None
The Soldier Pass hike is one of the best Sedona hikes because of the many things to see along this trail. Along the trail there will be a few different spur trails to take you to Devils Kitchen sinkhole and the Seven Sacred Pools. You’ll also get some great views of the Sedona wilderness. This busy trail is also one you’ll be sharing with Jeep tours in the area. So while the things to see on this trail are great, the actual hiking here is crowded and not very peaceful.
We hope this list of Sedona hikes will help you to choose which hikes to take on your upcoming Sedona vacation. We think this is one amazing destination for hiking and we hope you’ll have fun on the trails. Leave a note in the comments below if you have a favorite Sedona hike.
