Filled with towering red rock buttes, stunning sunsets, and glimpses deep into the stars, it is easy to see how Sedona earned its reputation as a place of unique natural energy. A great way to experience Sedona is to get outdoors, but because there are so many hiking options available, it can be hard to choose the best ones.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the hiking options in Sedona, look no further. In this article, I’ve outlined my four favorite easy hikes in Sedona, Arizona.
4 Easy Hikes in Sedona
Below are four of my favorite easy hikes in Sedona:
- Airport Mesa: 0.5 miles
- Cathedral Rock: 1.3 miles, 775 feet elevation gain
- Soldier’s Pass Cave: 3.1 miles, 650 feet
- Devil’s Bridge: 4.5 miles, 560 feet
Map of easy Sedona hikes
The map shows the location of the trailhead and summit for each hike.
- To view more details about each location, click on the marker on the map.
- To save this map for future use, click the star next to the title. From your phone, open the Google Maps app and click the “saved” tab, followed by the “Maps” icon. From your Gmail account, navigate to Maps –> “Saved” –> “My Maps” –> “Maps” tab.
- To email this map to yourself, click the three dots in the upper right corner.
1. Airport Mesa
- Hiking distance | .5 mile
- Elevation gain | 100 feet
- Estimated time | 1-2 hours
- Difficulty | Easy
- Crowd levels | Medium
- Fees | None
- Why you’ll love it | Short hike to en epic viewpoint; perfect for sunrise or sunset
- Trailhead | There is a small parking lot at the base of the trail about half a mile up Airport Road on the left side of the road.
- When to go | Possible year-round; for best weather conditions, go from March to May or September to early November.
You can hardly consider this easy half mile journey a hike, but even though it is short, it is packed with some of the most epic views in Sedona. Airport Mesa is one of the best places to watch the sunrise or sunset, as it provides unimpeded 360 degree views of Sedona’s stunning red rocks.
I visited Airport Mesa at sunrise and it was magical, with few people around. If the thought of waking up before the sun makes you queasy, the sunset is equally as stunning. The only downside: expect more crowds at sunset. The small parking lot at the trailhead will likely be full. You can park at the Scenic Overlook about half a mile up Airport Road and walk down.
2. Cathedral Rock
- Hiking distance | 1.3 miles
- Elevation gain | 650 feet
- Estimated time | 2 hours
- Difficulty | Easy-Moderate; this hike is very steep in parts and requires some minor rock scrambling
- Crowd levels | Medium
- Fees | Red Rock Pass required ($5 per day or $15 per week); America the Beautiful Pass also accepted
- Why you’ll love it | One of the most prominent rock formations in Sedona with unmatched views of surrounding red rocks and desert.
- Trailhead | Park in the lot off Back O’Beyond road. This lot fills up quickly so plan to start your day early.
- When to go | Possible year-round; for best weather conditions, go from March to May or September to early November.
Cathedral Rock is one of the most prominent rock formations in Sedona, and hiking to the top is, in our opinion, the best easy hike in Sedona. While the hike is steep, the short 1.3 mile distance makes for a fairly easy hike up to experience Sedona’s famous red rocks up close.
We recommend starting early. This is a very popular hike and gets crowded the later you go. I got to the trailhead around 8:00 AM and had the trail nearly to myself. I was able to enjoy the incredible views at the top in peace for a short time before its started filling up.
Since most of the hike is over red rock, there isn’t exactly a trail to follow, but the path is well marked with piles of small red rocks (see the left side of the foreground in the picture above). Keep an eye out for these small structures, and you’ll be sure to stay on the trail.
When you reach the top, there are a couple places to explore. If you’re feeling brave, you can walk out on a narrow ridge, located to your right when you reach the summit, for an even more complete view of the valley below. Note that when we left, there was a line of people waiting to do this (we walked right out at 9:00 AM).
If you take a left from the top, you can explore the iconic narrow pillar of Cathedral Rock up close. It was really cool to be able to look back at the pictures we’d taken from below on Red Rock Road and say “I was there!”
3. Soldier’s Pass Cave
- Hiking distance | 3.1 miles
- Elevation gain | 630 feet
- Estimated time | 2-3 hours
- Difficulty | Moderate
- Crowd levels | Medium
- Fees | None, Red Rock Pass is not required at the Soldier’s Pass Trailhead
- Why you’ll love it | Moderately challenging hike to a unique cave formation in the red rocks
- Trailhead | Very small parking lot (14 cars allowed) in residential neighborhood; Sedona Hiking Shuttle is your best bet to reach the trailhead
- When to go | Possible year-round; for best weather conditions, go from March to May or September to early November.
The hike to Soldier’s Pass Cave is an easy to moderate, 3 mile hike to a narrow cave where you can do some fun exploring and rock scrambling.
Along the way, you will pass the Devil’s Sinkhole and Seven Sacred Pools. If climbing into a cave intrigues you, this is the hike for you! This was easily Matt’s favorite hike in Sedona.
Read More
How to Hike to Soldier’s Pass Cave: Sedona, Az
Located just minutes from Sedona, Arizona, the hike to Soldier’s Pass Cave is a moderate, 3-mile hike to a narrow cave where you can do some fun exploring and rock…
4. Devil’s Bridge
- Hiking distance | 4.5 miles
- Elevation gain | 560 feet
- Estimated time | 2-3 hours
- Difficulty | Moderate
- Crowd levels | High
- Fees | Red Rock Pass required to park at Dry Creek Trailhead ($5 per day or $15 per week); America the Beautiful Pass also accepted; Can also use Sedona Hiking Shuttle or hike in via Mescal Trailhead
- Why you’ll love it | Unique rock formation and amazing photo opportunities
- Trailhead | Dry Creek Trailhead is most popular and very crowded; Can hike in from Mescal Trailhead or take the Sedona Hiking Shuttle
- When to go | Possible year-round; for best weather conditions, go from March to May or September to early November.
Devil’s bridge is probably the most popular hike in Sedona, but the hike itself was personally not our favorite. Don’t get me wrong, the bridge is really cool, but the majority of the hike is along a dirt road without much to see and the trail is very crowded. That being said, if you’re willing to brave the crowds the bridge is worth seeing!
Most people start the hike by walking directly down Dry Creek Road, which is just a boring gravel road. To spend less time walking on this road, we recommend taking the Mescal Trail which eventually intersects with Dry Creek Road before the turnoff for Devil’s Bridge.
Because the hike to Devil’s Bridge is the most popular hike in Sedona, we also recommend starting your hike as early as possible. Later in the day, not only will the parking lots fill up, but there will also be a line to go out on the bridge to take a picture.
It’s possible to walk right up underneath Devil’s Bridge, making for a cool vantage point to see where you had been standing from below. Note that this is not directly on the trail – you will have to make a short detour off a branch of the trail to get here.
Other useful resources
Planning a trip to Arizona? Check out these resources for more great things to do in northern Arizona near Page and Kanab:
What’s your favorite easy Sedona hike? Let us know in the comments section below.
4 Comments
Go Wander Wild · March 29, 2022 at 8:53 am
This Sedona Hike guide is incredibly helpful. You’ve really thought through everything you need to know before planning a trip. Thank you for this helpful resource. Saving this guide for later!
twooutliers · March 29, 2022 at 10:14 pm
Thanks so much, and glad you found the guide helpful!
Sedona · March 8, 2022 at 8:20 am
Cathedral Rock is not an easy hike if you hike all the way to the saddle. Not everyone can make it up the crack, fear of heights will be an issue. I’ve seen so many people turn back and ask if this hike is truly rated as Easy because of blogs like yours.
twooutliers · March 10, 2022 at 11:31 am
Hi there, thanks for you comment. Because the hike is just over a mile round trip, we feel easy-moderate is a fair rating. However, we’ve provided the stats (elevation+mileage) and notes about how steep the trail is so readers can make their own assessments based on their experience level! “Easy” is obviously a subjective rating. I’m also personally known to have a crippling fear of heights (I get full on panic attacks sometimes!) and this one didn’t bother me. But I know the feeling and appreciate the feedback so I will add a note that it may cause problems if you have a fear of heights 🙂