H.S. Canyon Trail #50, AZ

The H.S. Canyon Trail is a rarely hiked spur trail that branches off from the Secret Canyon Trail #121. If you are doing several short trails in the area, or you don't have time to do Secret Canyon but want to see some of the area, this may be a good option for you. If you can get to the Secret Canyon Trail, you can reach H.S. Canyon with ease. The only obstacle may be high water on the normally dry, Dry Creek. The day I did H.S., the creek was running with snowmelt, but it wasn't hard to get across.


H.S. Canyon Trail is reached by taking the Secret Canyon Trail about 2/3 to 3/4 of a mile from the parking area. The first creek crossing is at the start of the Secret Canyon Trail, and the H.S. Canyon Trail junction is just after the second creek crossing. At the junction of the two trails, there is a small metal sign that marks the entrance to H.S., and it may be easy to miss if not paying attention.

Once on the H.S. Canyon Trail, you might notice that the trail narrows and starts to become overgrown. This trail sees very few hikers, and when I did it on the 13th of February, 2010, the trail had leaves on it which appeared to have never been crushed by foot traffic. Numerous shrub branches were hanging over the trail, and the further I went in, the harder it got to proceed. There were a few spots where I needed to look for cairns as the trail was hard to distinguish from the wash it paralleled and crossed, and the vegetation made it confusing. According to the Forest Service, the trail ends up as a series of switchbacks that take you to a view of a box canyon. I ended up stopping sometime before that to relax at a view of some canyon walls, or at least I think I did. My friend who continued on a little further up trail told me that there appeared to be nothing like that, and in fact, the trail eventually just dwindled to a bushwhack. I had to ascend a couple of switchbacks to reach the spot I relaxed at, and I did have a view of a canyon, but I don't know if I was actually at the official end of the trail or not. I suspect that unless there is maintenance done to the H.S. Canyon Trail, few people will ever know. I had to get through a short stretch of trail that was a bushwhack, so it may be that the trail opened up shortly after my friend turned back. Maybe YOU! can penetrate this mystery!

I don't want to paint a picture that this is a horrible trail. I enjoyed my hike for the most part, and I can see this being a nice, quiet place to view and listen to neo-tropical migrants in spring. While relaxing at my turnaround point I had the pleasure of viewing and listening to a Western Scrub-Jay calling in its territory. It is very pretty back there, and if you find crowds irritating, it can be an isolated canyon to visit. It is worth a trip once, and autumn is probably a nice time of year as maples are numerous the further you go. As with all Sedona canyons, the late-day sun on the canyon walls is always a nice thing to see.

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2010-02-14 Jim_H