Posts Tagged With: Things to do near Sedona Arizona

Chasing the Hogs

We enjoyed clear blue skies as we set off on the last big hike of our Sedona stay.

Early Saturday morning was the perfect time to search for Sedona Hogs we’d read about…a group of trails, linked together (called the Hogs) that would lead us up and over the backside of one of the large red rock outcroppings.

The Hog Heaven view was pretty spectacular, but we still had more climbing to do.

After winding our way up along the forested Hogwash trail, we reached an intersection that had us scrambling up a section of rocks to join the Hog Heaven section of our hike.

Reg steps out…High on the Hog.

The high point of the trail, aptly named High on the Hog, opened onto a expanse of massive dome-shaped rocks offering a never ending view of the valley below. As we continued on, looping our way back to the parking lot, our peaceful morning was interrupted by a string of people and convoy of jeeps parading toward us from the opposite direction. Time to leave the Hogs behind us!

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A View From The Top

The Brins Mesa Trail led us on a 500 foot climb.
A chiseled red rock stairway appeared.
After 1.5 miles of climbing, we reached Brins Mesa and a 360 degree view. First, we looked back at where we’d come from. That’s the town of Sedona in the distance.
Then we turned around to view the landscape well beyond our trail.

We followed the Soldiers Pass trail, dropping down to connect with the Jordan trail and then Cibola Pass, leading us back to the parking lot. Above are some of the spectacular sites we saw. Although we got an early start, the trail down was crowded enough to be just a little frustrating in spots. Our advice: Set your alarm if you have to…the earlier start, the better!

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Boynton Canyon Vistas

A short path off the main trail led to a vista point.

We normally prefer circular hikes that allow us to avoid retracing our steps, but there was only one way out of Boynton Canyon…at least only one safe way out. We followed the dusty red trail in until it dropped us down into the forest, beneath a cover of evergreens. Climbing began toward the end of the trail where we scrambled up a narrow channel of boulders, emerging onto a large, smooth rock outcropping, scattered with handful of other determined hikers enjoying the view.

A lunch spot with a gorgeous view greeted us at the trails end.

I try to remember to stop and look up every so often when hiking rather than carefully watching where I put my every footstep. The views were on our return trip were incredibly rewarding.

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Sedona Circular Hike

Bell Rock is one of the iconic must-see formations.

To secure a parking spot, an early start is mandatory for any of the Sedona area trailheads. The Big Loop Trail, Courthouse Loop Trail and part of the Llama trail led us around 8 miles of spectacular scenery.

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Backroads Across America: Driving with confidence

As I paid our entrance fee at Jerome State Historic Park in southern Arizona I heard the couple behind me asking Reg if we were driving the truck and trailer they saw winding along up the road in front of them.  They just may have thought we were nuts!


The old copper mining town of Jerome is literally perched on a mountainside high above the Verde River Canyon and accessed via a steep, narrow two-lane road.  However, the State Park, with its rich history of the local mining industry and the family who owned it all, was well worth the white knuckle drive.

In 1914, the Little Daisy Mine in Jerome produced $10 million dollars in copper, silver and gold. Owner James S. Douglas built his mansion (pictured above) in 1916.  It has been refurbished and now serves as a museum for the park, featuring photos, artifacts and more.

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