I recently traveled to Arizona for a wedding and while I was there everyone said that Sedona is a must visit. I have to agree it really is so beautiful and it was only an hour and a half drive from the Phoenix area. After a lot of research we ended up choosing two hikes that seemed like the best in the area: Devil’s bridge and Cathedral rock.

We were able to get both of these hikes done in one day, it definitely was a lot but we didn’t want to miss out on either of them. We arrived in Sedona around 10am for our first hike and this was honestly perfect timing as the parking lot wasn’t too full. There is also a lot of street parking here but we suggest getting here early to make sure you get a spot that isn’t too far of a walk

Devil’s Bridge

• Difficultly: Easy/Medium
• Length: TBD which trail you choose. 3.6/4/5.8 miles round trip
• Time: The 5 miles took us around 3 hours as we stopped a lot
• Parking lot address: put Devil’s bridge paved trailhead into Waze
• Directions: From the “Y” [the intersection of state route 89A and state route 179] drive towards cottonwood for 3 miles. Turn right on to Dry Creek road, after 3 miles turn right on FR152. After 1.1 miles the parking area is on your right. . You can also park at the Mescal trail head for Route 2.
• Cost: $0 to park
• Off roading possible here: Yes

Map of trails

So when we first started this hike we took the trail from the parking lot thinking that this was the 3 miles trail – turns out we were wrong. The 5 mile trail starts in the parking lot while the 3 mile trail starts where thee dirt road “driveway” is. If you rent a vehicle that goes off roading this is also where you would start. We really didn’t see the difficulty between the 3 mile and 5 miles trail other than it was longer. The hardest part is the last mile to mile and a half. This is the part that you can’t drive your off road vehicle on and have to hike. There are rock stairs that can be difficult at time – but don’t let it discourage you as the top is totally worth it. It was a beautiful hike and we got some amazing photos there.

One thing to know is that everyone is extremely nice on the trail. You can hand someone a phone and they will gladly take the photo for you while you walk out on the bridge. They are also so encouraging if you are scared to walk out there and cheer you on- at least when we were there they did.

 

Cathedral rock

• Difficulty: Hard
• Length: 0.7 miles
• Time: It took us 45 minutes but we also ran at some parts
• Parking lot address: put parking- cathedral rock trailhead into waze.
• Directions: From 89A/179.. take 179 south for 3.4 miles and then turn right on Back O’ Beyond road for 0.6 miles and the parking lot is on your left.
• Cost: $5 to park
• Off roading possible here: No, not that we saw

This trail was one of the hardest trail I have ever done [although I am not an extreme hiker either ha]. I think I would consider this trail more rock climbing than hiking. When you first get to the parking lot there are very few spots and some spots on the street. If you are patient the spots will open up as it is a quick trail. we got here around 3pm and had no trouble finding a spot. When you get into the parking lot you will see signs that you have to pay the $5 fee. There is a ticket spot to buy it right there. The hike is actually only 0.7 miles long and only took us 45 minutes.It all depends on how quick you are at climbing rocks.

When you get to the first major point of “rock climbing” seen below you might get to some areas where you don’t think you can go anywhere – look down and in the rocks – they have carved out foot holes for you to put your foot in. If all else fails ask someone to go ahead of you and grab your arm to help you out. I think I was most nervous about going back down but I slide on my butt in some areas and was fine. Just don’t wear light pants/leggings like me as they will turn red [although it does come out]

It honestly was such a fun hike and the top is seriously beautiful. Again people are super kind on the top and will take your photo out on the small lookout point. This spot was a little scary to get to though. When we were hiking there was a bride and groom hiking up as well in their outfit- hey if they can do it in those outfits, anyone can!

Let us know if you have any additional questions