Newbies in the Sedona area

[Case23]

Hi, were Hanz and Henriette from the Netherlands, Europe. This is our first post on this forum. We have visited the USA several times (seven, to be exact). We have made a website with our travelogues and lots of USA-information in our own language: http://www.case23.com
We will be flying to Phoenix for our eight trip in april 2008. We will be staying in the Sedona area for two or three days, because of the great hiking opportunities. On this great site, we have found lots of possibilities, for instance: Red Rock Crossing, Cathedral Rock Trail, Devils Bridge Trail, West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon, Pumphouse Wash, Boynton Canyon and Long Canyon Trail.
We will be renting a high clearance vehicle, so it won't be a problem if we have to drive a few dirtroads to reach a trailhead. We are mainly looking for 6 miles roundtrips or less (but if it's a really great hike, we might make an exception ) We do like a bit of rock scrambling and we don't mind elevation gain, but unfortunately we won't be able to do really difficult climbing.
We hope to find a good mix: the popular hikes like the Cathedral Rock Trail and the West Fork of Oak Canyon Trail combined with a few hikes where we can experience some solitude, where we can enjoy the environment on our own.
We sure can use some advice from experienced Sedona hikers. Which trails would you include, which ones would you skip? And are there some trails I haven't mentioned yet, but which we should not miss?

Thanks!
Hanz and Henriette

[JoelHazelton]

Well you named off some of the essential hikes in the area. My personal opinion is that you couldn't stay in the area without hiking the West Fork of Oak Creek. I've also recently hiked Boynton, Loy canyon, Huckaby and Allens Bend, of which Boynton definitely takes the cake. At a five mile round trip with plenty of exploration opportunities and great payoff at the end, I'd say it's worth checking out. Red Rock Crossing is also beautiful, but it's also like a waterpark with all of the people.

[Nan]

Wilson Mountain used to be a great hike, especially in the winter when you'd start out in nice temperate red rock country and wind up wading through snow at the top. I say "used to" because I haven't tried it since the fire and for all I know the trail is still closed. It might be open again, though, by April next year.

[renshiwo]

I would agree that West Fork and Pumphouse are fantastic hikes. Be advised that Boynton Canyon spends about a mile passing next to an upscale resort complete with golf course. It drives me crazy, so I don't hike it anymore, but the canyon really is lovely once you get past the mess at the beginning. I like Secret Canyon quite a bit, and it's usually not as crowded as some other areas.

[JoelHazelton]

Yeah, the resort next to the boynton canyon trail is really really horrible. The helicopters that fly by every couple minutes are annoyoing, too. In spite of those factors, I still thoroughly enjoyed the hike. I think that says something about the canyon itself...