Sedona Landmarks Hike, AZ

This hike begins and ends at the Jim Thompson trailhead (the trailhead is also referred to as the Jordan Road trailhead), and the trail gets up close and personal with some of Sedona's well-known landmarks.


The hike begins by going north on the Brins Mesa trail until a signed junction with the Soldiers Pass Trail. Take a left at the intersection and go south on the Soldiers Pass Trail. Along the way on the Soldiers Pass Trail, there is a short diversion to go to the Soldiers Pass arches and another stop at the Seven Sacred Pools. When you get to the junction with the Teapot Trail, go west on the Teapot trail. You will pass around and under Coffee Pot rock. Continue through the Andante trailhead. Just past the Andante trailhead, take a left and take a clockwise loop around Chimney Rock. On this loop, there is a stop at the interesting and unique Amitabha Stupa and Peace Park.Continue on the Chimney Rock loop and take a side trip up to the summit of Little Sugarloaf Mountain; this is an excellent place to stop for lunch and enjoy the 360-degree views of Doe Mountain, Chimney Rock, Thunder Mountain, Airport Mesa, Capitol Butte. Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, etc. then complete the loop around Chimney Rock, go through the Andante trailhead and follow the Teapot trail back to the Soldiers Pass trail; then go right and stop at Devil's kitchen; then take the Jordan trail and the Cibola Pass trail back to the starting trailhead.

I thought that going inside the Soldiers Pass arches and climbing to the top of Little Sugarloaf Mountain were the hike's highlights, but the red rock views were outstanding throughout the trek.

2017-12-04 DixieFlyer