By I am always ready for an adventure and was looking for a quick getaway for New Years this year when a friend suggested Sedona. As soon as she mentioned it, I was in! This is a place that is always on the “list” and what a great time of year to go.
I used all my typical research tools like AllTrails.com and GAIA GPS to plan out the right trails to hike while there. There are a lot to choose from and after a warm up hike the first day, we asked a couple at the hotel that had been there for a week already. They definitely helped us narrow it down to the ones we had to do.
Herkenham and Skywalker Trails The “warm-up” hike was actually right outside our hotel and was a perfect way to acclimate to the scenery. There is so much to see and the desert mountains and peaks are breathtaking! The Herkenham trail was a simple 2 mile hike that doesn’t have a lot of elevation. (Here is the link https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/arizona/herkenham-trail) We wanted a bit more, so we took the old post road up and added the Skywalker trail to this same hike (link https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/arizona/skywalker-trail) This made it a total 3.6 miles with 522 ft of elevation. It was a great first hike and I’m glad we did it first because the next two hikes were absolutely amazing!
Devils Bridge Trail This was a great destination hike. (Link https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/arizona/devils-bridge-trail) A majority of the trail is a full-use access road with a steady stream of hikers, Jeeps, and Dune Buggies coming from both directions. The scenery is amazing, but this part of the trail is a muddy, red clay road that wasn’t too exciting. Once you turn on to the actual hiking trail, its game on! You start climbing immediately and you can definitely feel the temperature change as you climb. The muddy ground soon turned to frozen foot tracks with snow and ice. This trail gets really steep, and is pretty exposed as you head up the face. There is a great rock scramble to get up to the ridge trail that leads you to Devil’s Bridge. This trail is a must see and I will definitely do it again! It was a total of 4.6 mile out and back with 591 ft of elevation.
Soldiers Pass Trail This was the all-around best hike we did while in Sedona. (Link https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/arizona/soldier-pass-trail) There is so much to see on this trail! Make sure you take in all the features of the mountains and skyline as you head up the hill. The Devil’s Kitchen Sinkhole was really large and is the first feature you come to on the trail. It is a unique geological site and is very cool to see. As you work your way further down the trail, you arrive at the Seven Sacred Pools. This is an important religious site for the indigenous people of Sedona. The pools were carved out of sandstone by a seasonal stream and have water in them most of the year. The trail has a steady climb and the scenery is really amazing, not a trail you want to hike with your head down. It was a total of 4.1 miles out and back and the elevation gain was 620 ft.
I will be heading back to Sedona as there are several more trails, caves and rock scrambles to do!
You can see the trip photos on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_SlR1kFg1J/
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