Top 10 Destination: Sedona, Arizona, Part 2

Click here to read Part 1. Having covered the main routes on Sedona’s east side, it’s now time to wander across Highway 179 to the west side.  However, I need to point out that it’s a good bet not all of you will be coming.  While the east side has everything from first-timer friendly paths …

Click here to read Part 1.

Having covered the main routes on Sedona’s east side, it’s now time to wander across Highway 179 to the west side.  However, I need to point out that it’s a good bet not all of you will be coming.  While the east side has everything from first-timer friendly paths to extreme gnar that will have your insurance agent scrambling to cancel your policy, the west side leans more toward the latter.  Sure, there are stretches of trail which are no cause for concern, but any of the great loops will require advanced skills, confident riding, or at least a significant amount of hike-a-bike.

The main complex, which is easily accessible from the northwest side of the Village of Oak Creek, is made famous by the Highline, Templeton, and Baldwin trails. The best bang-for-your-buck route is a lollipop which takes in all three of these trails while eschewing the many distractors.  Of course, these tangents can be most welcome if you’re looking to really rack up the mileage.

The ultimate west side loop starts by heading north on the singletrack just to the west of the highway, which can be accessed either from west side streets or by crossing the highway from the parking lot for the Bell Rock Pathway.  After a very brief bit of singletrack, you reach your first decision point: continue straight on the intermediate Slim Shady trail, or bear left onto the more challenging Made in the Shade trail for a quick sample of the more gnarly trails to come.

In scarcely a mile, they rejoin, and it’s time to gear up for the real fun.  A left turn puts you on the Highline Trail and before long, you’re in the thick of some serious Sedona challenge.  As you reach the crux of the climb, which will force most to hike-a-bike, you’ll be thinking, “this loop must be better in the opposite direction!”  Fear not, you’re on the right track, and you’ll soon see why.

As you complete the toughest part of the climb, you are treated to scenery that is beyond stunning, even by Sedona standards.  You are also treated to serious exposure, so make sure you stop if you want to gawk; in some places the trail is scarcely a foot wide, going almost straight up on your left and straight down on your right.  There are places where a fall will definitely mean the end of your bike vacation.

After a couple miles of riding high on the butte, you’ll see the madness behind the method.  There is a steep, switchbacky, and sometimes screamingly-fun descent onto a lower part of the butte, now with world-famous Cathedral Rock centering your view.  Once down to the intermediate level, there is a broad, flat area where you can crank up the mach factor while still hundreds of feet above the valley.

As you run out of flats, the trail descends further through a series of rock rollers and grooves down from level to level.  Plunge over the edge, roll it, level out, and repeat—this section is an absolute hoot, although one or two of the rollers will be mandatory dismounts for most riders.

As you near the bottom, it’s time to join the Baldwin trail for some more intermediate touring en route to the Templeton trail.  Before the addition of the Highline Trail, Templeton was a famous destination ride in its own right.  This is spectacular singletrack, starting with some smooth tread before a very technical drop to “Buddah Beach,” a great stopping point along Oak Creek.  It then climbs sharply up narrow, exposed rock before dropping down again over well-known and often-photographed switchbacks–again, a dismount for most riders.

After a brief climb back up from the switchbacks, the trail hits its stride as a scenic cruise as it traverses red rock ledges, cross-country style, now with the ever-present Cathedral Rock on the right.  This is classic Sedona right here, and less experienced riders can make the trek to Cathedral Rock from the east (the opposite direction of the loop I’m describing) by starting  on the Bell Rock Pathway until it merges with the Templeton Trail. Be advised that Cathedral Rock is also a popular hiking destination, so this section, no matter what direction you go, will give you opportunities to employ your excellent multi-user trail etiquette.

When completing the loop described, Templeton will bring you back around to Slim Shady and Made in the Shade.  Pick your poison to wrap up the most epic 12-miler you will ever ride.  If you’re looking for more miles, these trails can be connected to the Bell Rock Pathway and beyond by the remainder of Templeton or the Eazy Breezy or HT trails, which also cross under Highway 179.

Further north on the west side, just west of Sedona proper, is the wonderfully unique, and potentially painful, Airport Loop.  This unusual trail circumnavigates a mesa, the perfectly flat top of which serves as the Sedona Airport.  The flanks on which you ride, however, are anything but flat… or smooth.  This is slow-moving, often trials-like trail.  Do not go here if you don’t love a constant series of rocks of all sizes and shapes.

Of course, this narrow, rocky tread is lined by deadly plummets rimmed with all manner of vicious cactus and other deadly desert fauna.  But then again, there are the views!  Since the trailhead on the mesa also serves as the entrance to a shorter trail leading to a very popular lookout, parking can be a challenge, and the first quarter mile of the trail (best ridden clockwise) is thick with hikers.  After the cutoff to the lookout, however, you’ve got the place to yourself.

If you’re looking for more miles, it’s possible to cross Oak Creek to the Templeton Trail and, on the northwest corner of the Airport Mesa loop, the Bandit trail leads down to another network of trails, this one much more user-friendly.  This network is anchored by the Old Post and Herkenham trails.   Parking at the bottom is also less of a problem, so if you’re looking for an easier quickie close to town, this may be your ticket.  I just don’t recommend them if you’ve got the time to hit any of Sedona’s more interesting intermediate trails, which abound on the East and North Sides, which I’ll cover in the next installment.

Click here to read Part 3!