5 Sunset Hikes in Sedona
We spent an entire month in Sedona, hiking as many of the trails as possible, many of them at sunrise and sunset, to find the best possible lighting for each hike. After hiking over 15 of the most popular trails, these were our favorite sunset hikes.
Bell Rock Climb
Bell Rock Climb is a .8 mile hike to a beautiful vista, where people come to watch the sunset. It is one of the most popular hikes in Sedona, and for good reason. It is a very short walk across the road and to the parking lot for Bell Rock. If you love scrambling, this is the perfect hike for you, as you can continue climbing up the rocks. The higher you climb, the better the views to watch the rocks turn vibrant shades of red and orange.
Tips for Best Experience
The parking lot fills up fast for Bell Rock, and both times we had to park at the parking lot across the street - Yavapai Vista Point. If you want to park in the other lot, come early. There will be a lot of people on this short hike, but we noticed that the farther we climbed up, the fewer the people, and we had our little sunset spot to ourselves.
Cathedral Rock
Cathedral Rock is a 1.2 mile hike might be more popular than Bell Rock for sunset and it is difficult to find parking during the prime times. Although a very short hike, it is a lot of elevation gain in a short amount of time, and is not easy. It is a lot of scrambling/hiking uphill. However, after watching the red rocks glow with the setting sun, it was all worth it.
Tips for Best Experience
We hiked Cathedral Rock for both sunrise and sunset, and the experiences were completely different. We were the first ones up at sunrise, making parking easy and it was serene and peaceful as we sat and watched the sunrise. If you are visiting during Arizona’s spring break in April, the parking lot will most likely be blocked off later in the day, and you might have to take the shuttle for sunset. Even if the parking lot is not blocked off, it is difficult to find a parking spot later in the day. To avoid having to take the shuttle, we parked at the parking lot near the Baldwin Trailhead, and hiked from there, making it a 3.7 mile hike instead. We felt that sunset was more beautiful at this location, but there were a lot of people standing in line for photos and it was pretty crowded on the scramble up.
Merry Go Round
Merry Go Round is a 6.4 mile out and back trail in Sedona, with an elevation gain of 1,299 feet, if you hike from the parking lot (which we did). However, there is another option. You can also drive close to the merry go round rock if you have a 4x4 with high clearance. As you are hiking you will see many Jeep tours that are taking the road there, making the hike much shorter and less strenuous. We considered this option with our truck, but honestly the roads were so rugged, we did not even bother. The hike itself is beautiful and worth the effort. And sunset here was absolutely stunning and our favorite one of the trip. Bonus - only a couple other people were there at sunset.
Tips for Best Experience
We used the All Trails map, which we had downloaded prior. This was particularly helpful on the hike back, which was in the dark. We also brought headlamps, which will be necessary for this hike. This is also a popular wedding photography destination, and we had to come back a second time to get photos. I’m guessing weekdays are less popular for wedding photography than weekends.
Airport Loop Trail
Airport Loop Trail is a 3.2 mile loop near Sedona airport with some amazing views of Sedona. Make sure to take the little detour to the viewpoint, which is a bit of a climb and more difficult than the loop trail. This area is very popular for those wanting to catch sunset. If you want to skip the loop, you can just park right below the viewpoint (on your left while driving up to the airport), and it is a very short hike up. We did the loop and then went to the viewpoint at the end, which adds some extra mileage, but is still fairly easy.
Tips for Best Experience
If you are lucky you can get a spot right by the viewpoint, but there are very few spots. We ended up having to park up the road in the parking lot by the airport, which charges $3 for the day. You then have to hike down to the viewpoint.
Munds Wagon Loop Trail
Munds Wagon Loop Trail is a moderate 8.2 mile trail with an elevation gain of 1,172 feet. This trail starts off as the same trailhead that goes to Merry Go Round. The trail splits off at one point where you can take either way to form a loop, which has excellent views of Sedona, especially at sunset. We did not get to Merry Go Round on this hike, as that is another detour off of this trail.
Tips for Best Experience
We hiked this loop clock-wise, and had views of Sedona for sunset. But that meant hiking the rest of the loop in the dark and not being able to see the Cow Pies in the light. We ended up doing the Merry Go Round Hike later on on our visit, giving us great views from the other side at sunset. We brought head lamps and used the All Trails map (downloaded), in order to find our way back.
