Arizona
Sedona Red Rock Loop
About this adventure route
Sedona packs its best-known formations into a small area, which makes a single-day loop genuinely worthwhile rather than a compromise. Slide Rock in Oak Creek Canyon, Cathedral Rock from the Back O’ Beyond side, and Bell Rock at the Village of Oak Creek are the three anchors. All three are short walks from parking, which is both the appeal and the reason the lots fill by mid-morning.
Sedona icons in a day: Oak Creek at Slide Rock, Cathedral Rock, and Bell Rock.
Highlights
What earns the trip
- Slide Rock is a natural sandstone chute in Oak Creek
- Cathedral Rock is the most photographed formation in Arizona
- Bell Rock has an easy graded path most of the way around it
- Everything is within twenty minutes of the next stop
Stops
- 1
Slide Rock State Park
Natural water chute in Oak Creek Canyon.
- 2
Cathedral Rock
Short, steep scramble to the saddle.
- 3
Bell Rock
Easy loop path with optional scrambling.
When to go
Best time to go
March through May and September through November. July and August are hot and stormy.
Planner estimate for the mapped line: 46 min
Before you go
Know before you go
- A Red Rock Pass is required to park at most trailheads.
- Trailhead lots fill before 9am on weekends. The Sedona shuttle serves the busiest ones.
- Oak Creek floods fast in monsoon season. Do not stay in the creek bed when storms build.
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