Welcome to Travel Tuesday! We’re gonna be (virtually) in Sedona for a while — today’s gonna be a hike on Soldier Pass Trail! :]
Soldier Pass Trail in Sedona, Arizona
Distance: 4.1 miles
Elevation: 620 ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Duration: ~2.5 hours
Trailhead Address: Soldier Pass Trailhead, Forest Service 9904 Rd, Sedona, AZ 86336 / 34°53’03.4″N 111°47’01.8″W
Parking: Lot available (but only 14 spaces, so go early! Open 8am-6pm!)
The first part of Soldier Pass Trail tends to be more busy, but as you continue hiking, it gets less and less foot traffic. When it first starts out, you’ll cross a wash and you’ll pass by the largest sinkhole in Sedona: “Devils Kitchen sinkhole” (will be on your right!). It’s currently ~150′ wide and 50′ deep and continues to grow larger because of the rain dissolving the limestone!
Depending on the time of year when you go, you may or may not see water in the “Seven Sacred Pools” to the left as you continue to follow the trail. (If it’s been rainy, they actually cascade into each other!) As you keep going, you’ll also see an arch on the right.
There is shade for parts of the trail but you do eventually end up in unshaded territory again. However, the tradeoff for that = beautiful expansive views of the red rocks + trees! The trail eventually levels out to the top of Brins Mesa and if you keep going, you’ll get to the Brins Mesa trail.
There’s a cave here somewhere that we didn’t end up getting to, but I’m definitely planning on going back to Sedona someday, so I’ll be on the lookout for it next time! :P
Please keep in mind that the parking lot closes at 6 pm and the gate gets locked!! If you don’t want your car trapped (e.g. if you were planning to do a sunset hike), you can start at the Jordan Road Trailhead instead and hike the Cibola Pass Trail to get to Soldier Pass.
- What’s the biggest sinkhole you’ve ever seen? (Potholes on the road don’t count. :'( )
- What hikes have you been on lately?
8 comments
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Beautiful photos. I’d love to visit Arizona someday!! I’ve never seen a sinkhole.
-Lauren
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Author
Thank you! I hope you get to go sometime! :D
What a beautiful trail! It looks like such a picturesque route with beautiful scenery! Thanks for the great guide!
Author
It was a super pretty hike! :D Thank you for stopping by! :]
This trail looks really amazing to hike! Especially the landscape looks stunning :)
Author
Thanks! I loved all the variety we got in this single hike!
Wow this landscape looks absolutely magnificent! Great photos looks wonderful to hike there
Author
It was really fun to get to explore there! :]