Sedona
Arizona
A small town set among red sandstone buttes and spires at the foot of the Mogollon Rim, with Oak Creek Canyon running north toward Flagstaff and the Verde Valley's cliff dwellings to the south. Nearly all of it is national forest you can walk into free, but most trailhead car parks ask for a Red Rock Pass ($5 a day), and a few sites charge admission or need a booking.
5 challenges · 24 stops
STARTERAirport Mesa at Sundown
≈ 1,300 steps0.6 mi · about 2 hoursStarter · 2 stops · 500 credStart where you live.A short climb to the rock knob on Airport Mesa, then a walk up to the scenic overlook below the runway for the sunset over West Sedona. About a mile on foot between the two, two hours with the light going down.
STANDARDThe Buttes Along Route 179
≈ 2,500 steps + 6.0 mi by car1.2 mi on foot · about 4.5 hours · + the walk in to 2 stopsStandard · 4 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.Four stops on the south side of town: the chapel built into the rock, the slickrock at Chicken Point, the vista under Bell Rock and the saddle of Cathedral Rock, which is a steep scramble. Short drives or the free Sedona Shuttle between them, about half a day.
STANDARDUp Oak Creek Canyon
14 mi by carabout 4.5 hoursStandard · 4 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.A drive north on Route 89A through the canyon: the arched bridge at its mouth, the natural water slide and old apple farm at Slide Rock, then the switchbacks to the overlook at the top. About half a day; Slide Rock charges admission by the car.
ADVANCEDCliff Dwellers of the Verde Valley
94 mi by car2 days or more · + the walk in to 2 stopsAdvanced II · 8 stops · 800 credGetting there is not the hard part.Two days by car through a thousand years of the Sinagua: Cathedral Rock in the creek, an arch in Fay Canyon, the dwellings at Palatki and Honanki, Tuzigoot's hilltop pueblo, Montezuma Castle and Well, and the Crane petroglyphs. Palatki needs a booked, guided tour; several sites charge fees.
ADVANCEDSinkholes, Pools and a Stone Bridge
13 mi by cara full day · + the walk in to 3 stopsAdvanced · 6 stops · 800 credGetting there is not the hard part.A full day of short hikes in West Sedona: a sinkhole and rock pools on Soldier Pass, the stupa below Thunder Mountain, the arch at Devil's Bridge, the spire at Boynton Vista and the Birthing Cave in Long Canyon. Short drives or the free shuttle between trailheads.
Counted between stops; you'll walk more at each one.
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