Kara
- Jun 21, 2022
- 5 min read

Sedona, AZ

THE ITINERARY:

4.5 DAYS

Lake Havasu, AZ > Las Vegas, NV > Kanab, UT > Page, AZ > Flagstaff, AZ > Sedona, AZ

Thursday night: Went to Vegas in the evening, 2.5 hour drive, stayed the night at the Cosmopolitan.

Friday: Got up EARLY and drove to Kanab, UT, 3.7 hour drive. Tour booked with Coral Cliffs Tours at 3pm-7pm. Ate in Kanab and drove to Lake Powell Resort, 1 hour drive from Kanab, UT.

Saturday: Tour with Kayak Lake Powell at 9:30am – 12pm. Ate lunch in Page, AZ and then drove to Horseshoe Bend. After this, drove to Flagstaff, AZ, 2 hours and 13 minutes.

Sunday: Drove to Sedona (shuttle service was running so no parking at the trailheads). Hiked Soldiers Pass (5 miles) and Cathedral Rock (1.2 miles). Stayed the night at Los Abrigados Resort & Spa by Diamond Resorts (was a cheap place close to town).

Monday: Drove to Mescal Trailhead to hike to Devil’s Bridge (4 miles). Then parked near the trailhead for Birthing Cave (2.0 miles) which is just down the road from the Mescal Trailhead. Drove back to Lake Havasu City, 3 hours and 44 minutes.

After leaving our hotel in Flagstaff, AZ, we headed down to Sedona which was only a 45 minute drive.

During the time we visited Sedona there was a shuttle service to the popular hikes in the area. This ended up being amazing! It helped so much knowing that we did not have to worry about getting to hikes early to find a parking spot! Our first hike was Soldier Pass so we parked at the Posse Grounds Park & Ride to catch the shuttle. While we were waiting, there were people using the skate park.

Soldier Pass is a 5 mile loop and I would rate is as easy to moderate. There is not much of an elevation change on this hike and a beginner could definitely do this!

One of our first stops was the 7 Sacred Pools.

The hike had lots of gorgeous views and it was during the time of desert flowers blooming!

Once we got to Brins Mesa Trailhead, another hiker pointed at another trail that she heard was pretty so we decided to take it… don’t. It is not worth it and I thought Aaron and Kellen were going to kill me for adding another mile to the hike. Take the Soldier Pass Trail to Brins Mesa Trail and when you get to the Brins Mesa Trailhead, take the Cibola Pass Trail to Jordan Trail which will finish the loop back to Soldier Pass Trailhead where the shuttle will pick you back up. There were other people waiting for the shuttle as well and they had a family member coming to get them. They were kind enough to drive me back to the truck so I could come back and pick up the boys. I returned the favor by picking up hikers headed to the trailhead so they didn’t have to walk!

Then we headed to North SR-179 Park & Ride where we sat in the bed of the truck and enjoyed PB&J sandwiches, clementines, and chips. When we were finished we hopped on the shuttle to hike Cathedral Rock. Cathedral rock is 1.2 and I would definitely say moderate to hard because of the climbing at certain points. Definitely recommend proper hiking shoes for this hike as you are scaling rock faces and can easily slip.

We could also see the Chapel of the Holy Cross from the trail.

At the end, you are rewarded with amazing views of the valley.

Aaron was nervous to hike out to the photo spot, so Kellen and I headed out.

Shockingly… Aaron snuck out there all on his own…

It was so fun getting to the top of this as Aaron and Kellen really had no idea what we were hiking to. They both never looked anything up that I had planned so everything was a surprise. They both said this was their favorite hike and I highly recommend it to anyone that visits Sedona to do it! It took us less than an hour including all the time we spent at the top. The descend down is a little scary, but we took our time.

We booked a room at Los Abrigados Resort and Spa by Diamond Resorts for the night and we all were ready for a shower after all that hiking. Kellen ended up meeting up with Meghan’s mom, aunt, and Meghan for dinner. Aaron and I walked from our hotel to The Hudson for dinner. This was another place I saved at some point on my google maps as a place to go! We were able to get a table quicker than either of us were expecting since it seemed like reservations are preferred, especially for a Sunday night. The bartender was not very friendly when we ordered drinks, but once we were seated at our table our waitress was very sweet and fun! We both ordered steaks and would highly recommend this place to anyone going to Sedona! We loved everything and even ordered desert.

When we got back to our hotel, Kellen and Meghan were there and we all sat and talked about what we did that day.

The next morning we woke up and ate some yogurt and oatmeal for breakfast while enjoying our balcony.

Our first hike was Devils Bridge. This is one of the most popular hikes in Sedona and getting there early is important. There was a shuttle to the trailhead, but we opted not to take it. Devils Bridge trailhead starts in the woods, so if you go to the trailhead, you either have to hike down the 4-wheel drive access road, hike it, or do what we did. We probably could’ve taken my truck down this dirt road, but I found the Mescal Trailhead which is a 1 mile hike scenic hike to the trailhead and we had no problem parking at 9am!

Once we got to the Devils Bridge trail, it became much more crowded and there were moments where you had to stop and wait for people to pass by. The views were beautiful!

You will know when you are getting close to the top as there will be a line of people waiting to get their photos taken on the bridge. Everyone is nice and will take pictures for you while you are on the bridge.

Please be courteous and aware of your surroundings as everyone is waiting so taking more than 2 minutes on the bridge is unnecessary. There was a family of 10 people who decided to take group photos along with single photos and more… everyone was very frustrated.

On the way down, we found a snake! The highlight for Aaron.

We then drove down the road to the Birthing Cave Trailhead where there is plenty of parking.

This is an easy 2 mile hike that many families with kids were hiking as well.

Our last stop was the Chapel of the Holy Cross. The parking here is kind of crazy and if you have to park far away there is a steep hill to get up to the top. There are no restrooms inside the chapel, but there are blue boys on the way up for people to use.