Best Moderate Difficulty Sedona Day Hikes

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In the two years that I’ve lived in northern Arizona, I’ve managed to cover a good bit of day hiking ground in Sedona. I haven’t marked everything off my list yet (and could you ever?), but this is partially because I love the trails I’ve done so much that I continue to go back to repeat them! I’ve sorted my favorite moderate difficulty Sedona day hikes into categories depending on your priorities, and listed a couple “easy” options as a contingency in case you wear yourself out. Happy hiking!

Best Sedona Day Hikes for Views

Bear Mountain

5 miles

The Bear Mountain out-and-back hike has hands-down the best views of any trail I’ve done in Sedona! Of course, it comes at a price. There are multiple false summits before you reach the very top, and most of the hike is uphill. One section requires a very brief scramble where you need to use your hands to hoist yourself, but there are good footholds. The terrain on some of the flatter sections is comprised of odd, gently sloping slabs of slickrock that require careful steps. There is also no shade on this trail, so it’s not a great one for summertime. When I hiked Bear Mountain I was still having problems with my knees, so the downhill on the return descent was a bit painful. If I did it again now this wouldn’t be a problem, and probably isn’t for most people. 

If you’re looking for a good challenge and incredible sweeping views over the whole landscape of Sedona, Bear Mountain is a winner!

Fee to Park: Yes, $5 day pass. Annual Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Pass accepted.
Payment Machine or Forest Service Employee: Machine
Other parking notes: The area where you park is close to other trailheads, like Doe Mountain. You’ll need to walk across the road to reach the Bear Mountain trailhead. 

Wilson Mountain

11.5 miles

Before I did Bear Mountain, I thought Wilson Mountain had the best views. It is still spectacular and one of my favorite Sedona day hikes overall, though it clocks in at #2 for views now. This is also an out-and-back, though there are two different routes to summit Wilson Mountain – the regular way, and then the North Wilson Mountain trail. I prefer the regular way because it includes a few miles of desert landscape before you get into the forest, whereas the North Wilson route spends most of the time in the forest.

Even though Wilson Mountain is double the mileage of Bear Mountain and is also one of the more challenging hikes on this list, it includes more flat sections and the uphills are more gradual, so I would actually rate it as easier than Bear Mountain. There is a false summit – you arrive at a saddle (right after one of my favorite sections where you cross a wildflower-covered ridgeline) and believe you’re finished, but there’s actually another couple miles of uphill to go. Some people turn around at the saddle, but you’re really missing out if you don’t continue!

At the very end, you will see a sign pointing you towards two different overlooks. There’s the Sedona Overlook to your left, and the North Canyon Overlook to your right. If you only have time for one, the Sedona Overlook is much more spectacular, as you can see over the town of Sedona. All the rock formations that usually look so huge from below look tiny from up above. The North Canyon Overlook is ok, but is mostly a birds-eye view of the forest canyon and Humphreys Peak in Flagstaff in the distance. It also takes what feels like ages to get there (though in actuality it’s only another couple miles) for not as much payoff. But I am glad I have seen both! 

Note: Last time I did this hike, I heard a pack of coyotes howling nearby. On the North Wilson route, I once heard a rattlesnake rattling it’s tail. You are more likely to encounter snakes on the forested North Wilson route; there is even a warning sign about it at the trailhead.

Fee to Park: Yes, $5 day pass. Annual Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Pass accepted.
Payment Machine or Forest Service Employee: Machine
Other parking notes: The parking lot for the regular Wilson Mountain route is right next to Midgley Bridge. It’s a bit small and can fill up fast. The parking lot for North Wilson Mountain is prior to Midgley Bridge if you’re coming from the North (from Flagstaff). It’s not usually as busy.

Best Sedona Day Hikes for Shade

West Fork Trail

7 miles

West Fork Trail is a very popular out-and-back day hike in Oak Creek Canyon, and for good reason. It’s a peaceful, enchanting jaunt through shaded trees and includes 13 creek crossings, ultimately leading to an area some refer to as the “narrows” where you’d need water shoes of some kind to continue on. If you have a permit to camp beyond the narrows, that is the main reason to continue from here, but most people turn around at this point.

West Fork Trail is entirely flat, so it’s a good choice if you’re interested in earning a hefty dose of beauty without strenuous effort. Hikes in Oak Creek Canyon are also just about the only viable choice in the hot summer months because of cool water access and tree cover. This isn’t a great hike when winter snow is melting off, because the creek levels can rise rapidly and render some of the crossings impossible, or precarious at the very least. One time in January I wasn’t able to finish this hike because I met some people a few miles in who were already returning from the endpoint, and they told me that in the time it took them to get there and back to where I currently was, the water had already risen a foot. They predicted that if I pushed on, it could have been difficult for me to cross back again on my return. 

The abandoned homestead you’ll see towards the very beginning of this hike belonged to Jesse Jefferson “Bear” Howard, a local legend.

Fee to Park: Yes, $12 day use. America the Beautiful or regular Red Rock Pass are not valid here. The Grand Annual Red Rock Pass is valid and can be purchased onsite from the manned payment station.
Payment Machine or Forest Service Employee: Employee
Other parking notes: There is a lot of space in a good-sized parking lot. It is such a popular trail that it can still be packed though; arrive early. Be careful exiting back onto the road afterwards as it’s hard to see cars coming around the bend from the right. 

Boynton Canyon Trail

6 miles

The Boynton Canyon out-and-back is another good hike if you’re looking for a mostly flat trail with portions of shade! The first mile or so is all in the open desert sun and follows alongside a resort for a bit. Then you enter the trees, remain in the shade, and feel more secluded for the majority of the route. At the very last second, there is suddenly a steep uphill to climb to an impressive viewpoint. From this view you are looking down the canyon rather than over the entire city like on Bear Mountain or Wilson Mountain. When you’re at the viewpoint, you’re standing on a vast rock surface where most hikers take a seat and break out the snacks. 

Every time I’ve hiked Boynton Canyon, I’ve seen javelina running along the road just before I parked. There’s also always a ton of butterflies along the trail. You’re likely to meet some of the infamous Sedona hippies, because this trail includes a vortex site. When I first did this hike, one guy was balancing atop a tall rock formation playing a flute (I have no idea how he got up there), and another guy gave me a rock shaped like a heart and told me he was passing on the good vibes. 

Fee to Park: Yes, $5 day pass. Annual Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Pass accepted.
Payment Machine or Forest Service Employee: Machine
Other parking notes: The parking lot was full both times I did this hike. I ended up parking on the street, which is allowed along a couple stretches of the road.

Easy but Iconic Sedona Day Hikes

Cibola Pass to Jordan Trail to Soldier Pass Trail to Brins Mesa

8 miles

Cibola/Jordan/Soldier/Brins is a famous Sedona day hike because people have seen the Seven Sacred Pools on Instagram. I didn’t think the potholes were particularly noteworthy; there are other things to admire about this route, like interesting views over the greater Sedona landscape.

There are a few connecting trails in this area, so you can organize your loop a variety of ways to make it shorter or longer, or go clockwise vs counterclockwise. Putting Brins Mesa last will give you a cool endpoint destination; I like to have a rewarding goal to push towards. This isn’t much of a “wilderness” trail, but what I enjoyed about it was the variety. There are some open desert sections, forested sections, grassy meadows, the Devil’s sinkhole, and a large rock plateau you can climb up to for an expansive perspective.

Towards the beginning of the hike, I got confused about whether I was on the right path or not since I was trying to connect Cibola, Jordan, Soldier’s, and Brins correctly. You’ll see comments on AllTrails that other people have had some confusion finding the trail as well. It might be a good idea to download offline maps beforehand if it’s important to you to connect the route in a certain order. 

This is the same part of town as the Chimney Rock and Sugarloaf Summit hikes that @GolsonCharles recommended I try, which I also enjoyed! Both are shorter trails but include a good little workout to get up to a summit viewpoint (I posted videos here and pictures here). Thunder Mountain Trail connects the Chimney Rock loop to the Sugarloaf Summit loop, or you could just do them separately. Their trailheads are a 4 minute drive apart. Technically I think you could connect these two loops to Brins Mesa, Soldier Pass, and Jordan Trail too.

Fee to Park: Jordan/Brins Mesa trailhead requires the $5 day pass. Annual Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Pass accepted. There is now a free park-and-ride shuttle for Soldier Pass trailhead available on Thursdays-Sundays.
Payment Machine or Forest Service Employee: Machine
Other parking notes: If you park at the Jordan/Brins Mesa trailhead, make sure your car can handle the rough road as some reviews of the trail online mention trouble driving (I had no problem in my Toyota Tacoma). The Soldier’s Pass trailhead is smaller and fills up on parking. If one lot is full when you arrive and you have to park at the other, that ultimately might be your deciding factor on how you organize the sequence of your loop.

Doe Mountain Trail

1.5 miles

If you hike Doe Mountain Trail at sunrise you’ll get to watch hot air balloons rise up over the horizon! I didn’t get to the trailhead early enough to catch the balloons during my hike, but I did see them while I was driving over from my campsite. I pulled over to take pictures and then continued on to the trailhead.

The out-and-back Doe Mountain trail isn’t very long or strenuous, but it is uphill with switchbacks. When you get to the top you reach an expansive, flat mesa you can explore further for panoramic views. Each side of the mesa will give you different perspectives.

Fee to Park: Yes, $5 day pass. Annual Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Pass accepted.
Payment Machine or Forest Service Employee: Machine
Other parking notes: It’s the same parking lot as the Bear Mountain lot.

Honorable Mentions

I haven’t done the following trails yet, but they’re on my list:

Mitten Ridge – includes an old wagon trail, more secluded than the trails mentioned above. Trail reports mention some dicey sections and exposed dropoffs. Read also: Hangover Trail

AB Young Trail – someone in my Flagstaff Hiking Club facebook group recommended this one and the views look amazing! It’s a lot of elevation gain over a short period and requires a confusing creek crossing to get to the trailhead.

Vultee Arch Trail – a quiet, secluded choice with a short scramble at the end. The road to get here requires 4-wheel drive. The trailhead is very close to the Devil’s Bridge trailhead so you could actually do both the same day.

Devil’s Bridge – Iconic rock formation, very popular, too much hype on instagram so I’ve been avoiding it – but I’m sure it’s worth it.

Bell Trail – @jwenerd did this trail and posted a cool video jumping off a rock into a swimming hole, so obviously that’s all we need to know to be excited about this one.

Bell Rock – Iconic rock formation, short and popular, not well-marked.

General Sedona Recommendations

Where to eat in Sedona: I love stopping by Local Juicery for a healthy smoothie or Berry Divine for an acai bowl after a long hot hike when I need something refreshing! There is a place called ChocolaTree that I haven’t eaten at yet which always piques my interest based solely on the chocolate reference, though it is an actual restaurant with organic options.

Where to stay in Sedona: All of the little inns down in Oak Creek Canyon look adorable. I’ve yet to stay in one since I live so close, but anything there would be a cozy, secluded choice. Josie (from Adventures with Josie!) recently told me about TinyCamp, a beautiful tiny home retreat that’s nearby most of the hikes listed above. I’m chomping at the bit to try it out! Sedona Camp Tiny House looks like a similar alternative. If you’re into camping, I love using The Dyrt to find free or paid campsites.

Guided Tours in Sedona: If you prefer not to go it alone, there are tour companies that operate in the Sedona area. Pink Jeep Tours does sightseeing tours and Wildland Trekking does private day hikes and group backpacking and lodge-based trips. Hot air balloon rides (here and here) and helicopter tours are also quite popular in Sedona. GetYourGuide features a ton of Sedona-area day tours, including open air van tours, a Vortex yoga hike, a nighttime UFO and stargazing tour, and day trips to the Grand Canyon, Montezuma, and other nearby attractions. I think the “Hopi Lands: Full-Day Archaeology and Culture Tour” sounds particularly interesting.

Winter in Sedona: Sedona can actually be quite snowy in the winter. It’s considered “high desert,” more like Flagstaff than Phoenix. I mentioned that West Fork Trail is not a great option this time of year, but there are plenty of other things to do in Sedona in winter.

✈️ Coming to Arizona from further afield? Use an Airalo eSIM for affordable international cell data and don’t forget to protect your investment with travel insurance.

What are your favorite day hikes in Sedona? Do you think the Insta-famous routes are worth it, or do you prefer to get away from the crowds? Everything in Sedona is gorgeous, so it’s hard to go wrong. Don’t forget that cell service is not great at some of the trailheads, especially the ones down in Oak Creek Canyon, so you’ll want to have your transportation sorted in advance. It would be difficult to call a taxi to pick you up and Uber is not a big thing in Sedona.

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