Sedona Day Hiking- February 2023

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 I recognize this isn't a National Park, but it's my blog. So. 

This town has everything I care about, honestly- Good hiking, good food. That's it, that's the whole list. Sedona has such a peaceful vibe and it just feels good to be there. There are so many hikes to pick from, and there is a shuttle that goes to the main ones so you don't have to worry about parking. But, that shuttle runs on Thursday through Sunday, and I was there on a Tuesday. I only got into one minor parking lot yelling incident at a result, but we'll get to that. 

All of the trails were equally gorgeous, and the contrast of the greenery with the orange rocks and the blue sky was so overly-saturated with color that every photo looked like it had a filter on it. 

Devil's Bridge via the Dry Creek Trail Head 

If you were to pick a photo from a trail most people would recognize as Sedona, it would be this one. I started this hike at dawn (7am), since it's VERY popular and I wanted to get out before a lot of others. A few other groups had the same idea. This trail can also be accessed from the Mescal trail head, which according to AllTrails, is the same distance (4 miles). If I was starting this at any time other than before the sun came up, that would have been my recommendation. The first mile or so was down a dirt road used for ATVs and was not the most scenic, but it was early and I hadn't had coffee yet and I didn't care all that much. I'd seen a blog that said this was the best sunrise hike, and I politely disagree for the main point that the sun comes up behind the rocks there, and doesn't really have sunrise vibes since the bridge is kinda just in the shade. But, that's okay, the earlier the better still to avoid the crowds. 

After the flat mile that wakes you up a little, the path goes pretty steeply up the side of a mesa and involves using your arms and legs to get up the rocks at some points. Then the bridge itself is down to the side and kind of sneaks up on you, but it's very pretty surrounding it in all directions. It was icy at the top when I went, and COLD. So I sat huddled up and ate my breakfast sandwich and exchanged some pictures with a couple of groups, and then headed back down. When I got back, the trailhead was completely full and cars were already circling for a space. This hike took about 2 hours, but I spent a decent amount of time at the top. 

The Birthing Cave 

The next hike I set off on was the Birthing Cave. It can also be accessed from the Mescal parking lot, which gives you two-for-one top trail access if you park there. My GPS didn't know where the parking lot was, and I didn't either, so I parked there and hoped for the best. AllTrails has this as a 1.8 mile hike from the Long Canyon trail head, and from the Mescal trail head, it adds about a mile total. But, it's a really pretty mile and there are a few other hikes from that point, so parking here has its perks. I was an easy 3 miles, taking about an hour total with time at the cave. There is a bit of incline leading up to the cave, but the rest was good and flat. The cave is not enclosed but more of a concave rock formation. I made it into the cave at the same time as another family with kids in their 20s, and the dad was pondering out loud why it was called the Birthing Cave... I didn't have it in me to mention out loud it kind of sort of looks like a woman's... birthing area. Definitely worth the short hike out there. There are enough phallic-like rock formations, about time we ladies have our own cave.   

Soldier Pass Trial 

AKA The Great Parking Lot War of 2023. This is a 4.5 mile hike that has SO MUCH to see. It's in the middle of a residential area and there is no street parking allowed, and not really a good way to access this trail other than this trail head. The small parking lot that holds 14 cars is sacred ground for eager hikers, and a couple of us were politely waiting at the start of the lot in our cars in a nice line for the next spot to open up, as there was not room to wait anywhere else. Someone decided to ignore the line of cars, fly into the lot, get really lucky with hikers going back to their car at that exact moment, and sat behind them to get their spot. I stuck my head out my car window and said, "Hi, we've all been waiting for that spot." To which the other driver muttered some not nice things and then drove off very mad. Be ready to be a nice, patient human who might have to stand up for yourself in order to get a parking spot. But the hike is very worth the drama.

This hike is an out an back with a little branch off to Soldier Pass Cave that is more cave-like than the birthing cave. You can go up in this cave and look through a hole in the side. It's a very cool experience. And the hike up there itself is beautiful. You pass the Seven Sacred Pools, a large sink hole in front of a butte, and the end of the out and back intersects with another trail (and that's how you know it's over, no big event at the end with this one). But I did see some wild Javelina pigs on the trail and they were CUTE. There are a lot of spanning views over the horizon of Sedona and it was an awesome hike. The 4.5 miles took me a little over 2 hours. There wasn't a lot of elevation gain, but I took a ton of pictures. 

Chimney Rock Trail

There are a few ways to access this trail, one of which being the Amitabha Stupa and Peace Park, which it where I met with an Earth Healer named Elizabeth Silk. This was an amazing, very spiritually enlightening experience, and if you have an open mind to the ways in which our souls communicate through us with the world around us, I would absolutely recommend a session. This park was also a really meaningful setting, and the land around it was just as calming. The hike around Chimney rock was about 2 miles and took an hour. It was relatively easy in most areas, but I did refer to AllTrails a few times as I found myself off course onto another little trail by accident. I also took this picture of this little tree, which I absolutely adore for some reason. This is a very pleasant hike, not the most exciting in terms of things to see, but I'm happy with any time outside, so I was more than content. 

Bell Rock 

I'd been planning on hiking Cathedral Rock around sunset, but after double checking AllTrails, it was closed at the top. I headed down that direction to catch the sunset anyway, and ended up having a seat at the base of Bell Rock. There is a whole hike you can do onto the rock, and I saved that for another trip since the sun was setting and I wasn't looking to fall off a rock formation in the dark on my last day. The sunset from that location was absolutely beautiful. The rocks were literally glowing and my phone camera could barely process the colors. It was a perfect end to a full day of gorgeous hiking. 

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