Cliffhanger-Lime Kiln Trail

CLIFFHANGER-LIME KILN TRAIL

Yucca bloom on Cliffhanger Trail

In a nutshell, the Cliffhanger Trail does what it says. The edge-hugging multi-use trail in west Sedona lives up to its name with a thrilling and scenic trip through a creek-scoured corner of Coconino National Forest where the courses of Oak, Dry and Turkey Creek collide.

A high point vista on Cliffhanger Trail

While Cliffhanger is billed as an OHV trail, it’s more of a hybrid. Part of its forked route shares space with the 15-mile Lime Kiln Trail that runs between Red Rock and Dead Horse Ranch State Parks with one fork leading to a non-motorized footpath that lands at a secluded floodplain on Oak Creek.

Basket cairns mark the Lime Kiln section of the route

The hike starts at the OHV trailhead with a short walk on Forest Road 9845A. At the bottom of a rise at a green gate, the road bends left and joins the Lime Kiln Trail that’s marked by basket cairns (rock piles wired into pillars).

Meadow and cliffs near trail's end.

Edible skunk bush fruits favored by birds and mammals

The route is also indicated with orange Cliffhanger trail posts.  The road continues downhill on a moderate grade through classic high desert vegetation.

Cat Claw bloom May - August

Yucca, red barberry, prickly pear cactus, catclaw, and gray thorn line the russet, rocky trail.  At the 1.5-mile point, the road crosses Dry Creek. 

Edible red barberry fruits are browsed by wildlife

Lime Kiln Trail crosses Dry Creek

A cliff hanging section of Cliffhanger Trail

Strewn with colorful boulders, there’s rarely any surface water, but a leafy fringe of cottonwoods, sycamores, desert willows and cypress trees springing from the sandy soils soak up subterranean moisture. Beyond the creek, the route swings back uphill on one of a continual string of ups-and-downs that add up to over 1,100 feet of total elevation change for the hike.

Stone foundations at trail's end at Oak Creek

With the serpentine course of Dry Creek below and views of Sedona rock formations all around, the road is hacked from red sandstone cliffs with steep drop-offs.  Except for the occasional juniper or pinyon pine, there’s little shade.

Willows and cypress trees line Dry Creek

That’s why is important to choose a cool day and take plenty of water on this hike. At the 2-mile point, the road splits. Lime Kiln Trail veers left following the north fork of Cliffhanger and Forest Road 9845N, the south fork of the Cliffhanger Trail, heads right.

Western patch-nosed snake crosses Cliffhanger Trail

Dry Creek winds below Cliffhanger Trail

For this trip, follow FR9845N as it rounds a knoll before starting its dive down to Oak Creek. This leg vacillates between canyon-bound grasslands and highpoints with views of the Bradshaw Mountains topping out at a sharp right bend where the route makes a severe dive on a rough, tiered track. Below, a brilliant band of green belies the Oak Creek corridor.

Engelmann's prickly pear cactus bloom May - June

Banana yucca fruits

 The short steep section lands in a pocket of juniper woodland where the road suddenly changes from rusty red to powdery gray. Up ahead at 3.3 miles, a green gate bars motorized access to the remainder of FR9845N. Hikers, bikers and equestrians are welcome to trudge the last 0.4-mile.  Tracing Oak Creek, the deeply rutted narrow road progresses to the hike’s lowest point, a grassy meadow hemmed in by the creek and vertical cliffs. 

The last half-mile of Cliffhanger non-motorized use

A native stone foundation and low walls that might have been a cabin or corral stand on the creek’s west bank.

Trees clutter around Oak Creek

View from Lime Kiln Trail

The stone ruins make for a good turnaround point, however FR9845N continues a short distance through the meadow and another faded dirt track, FR9845R offers a weedy walk through a quiet high desert creek corridor.

Banana yucca bloom April - July

LENGTH: 7.4 miles roundtrip

RATING: moderate

ELEVATION:  4,085 – 3,708 feet (1,100 feet of accumulated elevation change)

GETTING THERE:

From the State Route 179/89A traffic circle in uptown Sedona, go  8 miles west (toward Cottonwood) on SR89A to the Cliffhanger OVH trailhead (Forest Road 9845A) on the left.  This is directly across from the Sedona Wetlands Preserve near milepost 366.

INFO & MAPS:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recarea/?recid=83430