Sedona

Bell Rock loop Trail

This trail according to the All Trails app is 1.9 miles in length from start to finish and as the name implies is a loop, meaning you will start and end at the parking lot. This hike will have an elevation gain of 232 feet. This was a relatively easy hike though you could climb higher on Bell Rock to make it more challenging if you wanted. You will need either a Red Rock Pass or the America the Beautiful Pass (national park pass).

Palatki Heritage site

In order to visit the Palataki Heritage site you need to make a reservation for a tour via the national recreation site, reservations can be made here and it only costs $1. It should be noted that the roads to get to the site are dirt roads so make sure you leave enough time to get there. One route is roughtly 7.5 miles of dirt road whereas if you take the Boynton Pass it cuts this down to about 4 miles.

This site has two different areas you visit but are very close to each other, one is the dwelling and the other area was thought to be a gathering area and has many pictographs/painted symbols.

Devils bridge via mescal trail

This trail is 3.9 miles, out and back with a total elevation gain of 528 feet. Most of this trail is relatively flat with most of the elevation gain happening right at the Devils Bridge. I highly recommend waking up early and getting to the trailhead around sunrise to get parking as well as to avoid crowds/lines at the top. Everyone is very nice about taking turns and helping out with photos/videos.

Birthing cave

This hike is just down the street from the Mescal Trailhead for Devil's Bridge. The GPS did direct me further down the street to what I think was a golf course but the actual trailhead isn't as far down the road. Parking is very limited and you will likely need to park on the roadside.

This trail is 1.9 miles out and back with 242 feet in elevation gain. Again all of the elevation gain is at the very end leading up into the birthing cave. The walls of the birthing cave are very steep and not a ton of room for people at the top.

Pink jeep combo tour

I went on the Pink Jeep Combo Tour - Broken Arrow & Scenic Rim Combo, I had a great tour guide, Sean, who made sure to get photos of everyone, shared some information about the area and made the jeep tour a lot of fun. I highly recommend it. Parking tip - the Hyatt resort has some public parking spots right across the street from the Pink Jeep meeting spot, these don't have a time limit like the other public parking areas.

Horseshoe bend, glen dam & upper antelope canyon

I booked this tour via Viator, this tour included a stop at Horseshoe Bend, Glen Canyon Dam and Upper Antelope Canyon along with lunch and a stop at a Navajo trading post. While you could make the drive yourself it is almost a three hour drive from Sedona to Page, AZ. You will also need to book a tour to do either the Upper or Lower Antelope Canyons as they are on Navajo land. I did the Upper Antelope Canyon and while I wish I would have been able to do Lower as well I am glad I did the organized tour with all three stops due to the long drive. The areas were all beautiful and each were unique.

Hot air balloon ride at sunrise

I booked my hot air balloon ride with Red Rock Balloons, our pilot, Mike, spent many years in Kenya giving hot air balloon tours and said he is on loan to Red Rock Balloons for a few months. We took off at sunrise and were in the air for a little over an hour and the views were spectacular, the experience was amazing, I highly recommend it.

boynton canyon to subway cave & vista

I took the Boynton Canyon Trail about two miles in to the Subway cave (the All Trails app does show the turn off). When you reach the climb up to the subway cave you can go up one of two ways, to the right or the left. I chose to go up the left as it looked easier and it likely was easier to get up but then to get to the subway cave you would need to walk around the ledge to the other side. When facing the back of the cave to the left is some ruins and to the left is the instagram cave you are likely looking for. Going down I chose to go the straight down the subway cave and it honestly wasn't that bad, just go down on your butt and use your feet to stabilize yourself.

On my way back to the parking lot I stopped off to the vista which is much closer to the beginning of the trail.

cathedral rock

This hike was very deceiving to me and I clearly should have read the description better, this trail is 1.2 miles out and back with an elevation gain of 741 feet. When I went there was no parking available at the trailhead so I utilized the Sedona Shuttle which is free and for this trail ran every fifteen minutes, with parking about two miles north on 179.

This trail is essentially straight up with some definite scramble areas but I can proudly say I made it to the top! The views were spectacular!

grand canyon

I left Sedona very early to get up to the Grand Canyon South Rim at around 6 AM, this allowed me to get into the park before the crowds. Please note that you will need to pay to get into the park, no cash, or if you have an America the Beautiful card you can use that for admission. If you plan on visiting multiple days or multiple national parks or sites I suggest you get the annual pass for $80 (lifetime pass for those over 62 years old). I hiked down to Ooh Ahh Point via the South Kaibab trail, you have to take the shuttle to the trailhead as there is no parking but the shuttles run frequently and are free. The hike down to Ooh Ahh Point wasn't too bad, though I'm glad I moved out of the way when the mules came down the trail and the hike back up to the rim was a lot tougher. The hike to Ooh Ahh Point fro the trailhead is 1.8 miles out and back with a total elevation gain of 685 feet.

After that hike I took the shuttle to Yaki Point and walked around that portion of the rim. Then I returned to the visitor center via the shuttle and walked around to Mather Point and then along the south rim for quite a while.

seven sacred pools & soldiers pass caves

Despite waking up early to try to get parking, the trailhead parking was closed and the shuttles weren't yet running so I parked up the road and walked down to the trailhead, while the walk was nice it wasn't expected and making the trek back after hiking wasn't as enjoyable but this shuttle didn't run very often and I had just missed it.

The hike to the Devil's kitchen (the sinkhole) and the Seven Sacred Pools isn't difficult but the coolest part were the caves and the hike up to them is a little more but not bad, a total of 3 miles there and back (from the trailhead not parking) with a total elevation gain of 436 feet.

Montezuma castle & Tuzigoot

Upon leaving Sedona to head back to Phoenix to fly home the next day I decided to stop by Montezuma Castle and then Tuzigoot (then continued on to Jerome, not necessarily on route back to Phoenix but just how it worked for my trip). Both Motezuma Castle and Tuzigoot are relatively quick stops but I found both interesting and worth stopping especially if you have the America the Beautiful pass as that will get you into both locations. Otherwise please look. up the costs for each though there was a sign that said admission into one would get you into the other one as well. Both are places where the Native Americans lived.

Jerome, az

Jerome is an old copper mining town and is now considered to be a ghost mine. I didn't spend a lot of time here but I did wander in some of the shops and checked out the views.