Little weekend away in Sedona Arizona

In June my husband and I went on a little weekend trip to Sedona Arizona. My husband had a work conference in Scottsdale so we made the most of him being out there by stopping in Sedona for a long weekend in the middle of June. This was a great little trip, definitely would go back again!

We stayed in a little airbnb just minutes from shops in Sedona and Cathedral Rock. The place had our own little kitchen which was perfect for making an early morning breakfast before we hit the trails each day. We tried to be out of the house by 7:30am at the latest which allowed us to be able to beat the afternoon heat and get a parking spot at the trailheads.

Day One

• Sights: Cathedral Rock
• Miles Hiked: 1.2 miles

We flew into Phoenix in the early afternoon, rented a car then we made the 2 hour drive north to Sedona. It was a pretty quick drive and really pretty once you get closer to Sedona. After dropping our bags at the airbnb we headed out to explore. We didn't have a ton of time before sunset so we went to do Cathedral Rock hike. This hike was a bit steep to get up but short, only 1.2 miles round trip. After a day of traveling, it felt very nice to be outside getting some exercise. The views at the top were amazing!

Day Two

• Sights: : Bonyton Canyon, Subway Cave, Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village, & Chapel of Holy Cross
• Miles Hiked: 7 miles

We hiked Bonyton Canyon including the Subway Cave. Round trip was just over 7 miles.

You start off on the Bonyton trail and head toward the canyon. The next bit was a little tricky finding the trail to Subway Cave, it is about 2 miles in from the trailhead. We passed by it the first time but after seeing pine trees all around we knew we had gone too far (when researching the hike a few sites had mentioned this so that's how we knew to turn back and retrace our steps). We found the trail pretty quickly once we turned around and were on our way to the Subway Cave. Once at the base of the cave you had to scramble up sandstone, this was definitely the most difficult part of the hike. At the top you are at the back of the cave so you just need to turn around to see it all. Not too many people were there when we arrived so we took a few pictures then continued to do a bit more exploring.

Around the right side of the cave, as you are facing it, you can walk around the ledge and see Sinagua ruins. The views up here were amazing! Definitely worth the steep scramble. After a bit more exploring, we headed to the entrance of the cave and waited our turn to go down. It was much more crowded and took a bit of time waiting while people climbed up and down the steep standstone.

Once we got back on the main trail we turned right to continue to the end of the Bonyton Canyon. The final half mile is pretty strenuous but once you get to the top there is a perfect spot to have a snack and enjoy the view.

After a long morning of hiking, we headed back to the airbnb to shower and rest before heading out for a late lunch/early dinner. We wandered around the Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village. Then the last stop of the day was the Chapel of Holy Cross. It was carved into the rocks and really just blended with the environment. It was definitely one of the more interesting churches I've seen.

Day Three

• Sights: Devil's Bridge & Birthing Cave
• Miles Hiked: 8 miles

Our last day in Sedona we woke up early again and headed out to do Devil's Bridge hike. To avoid the walk down a long dirt road we parked at the Mescal trailhead and hiked the Mescal trail over to Devil's Bridge. The full hike was 4.2 miles round trip. Overall, it wasn't too difficult of a hike. We were there early enough that only 5 other people were at Devil's Bridge, so we only had a short wait to get our picture on the bridge. Then we headed back towards where we parked at the Mescal trailhead.

Once back at the parking lot we started on our next hike out to the Birthing Cave. It was about 4 miles round trip out to the cave. In the parking lot we found the Long Canyon trail and started on our next journey. On the trail once you reach a wood fence, take a left towards the red cliffs. Follow this smaller trail until you arrive at the base of the cliffs, scramble up some sandstone to get into the Birthing Cave. We again lucked out and only 4 other people were in the cave so we had plenty of space to wander around. We got back on the trail and headed to the car to finish up our time in Sedona.