Dawa Loop

DAWA LOOP

“Where’s Fay Canyon,” the bewildered couple asked of me on the Cockscomb Trail.  “Across the road from the trailhead,” I replied.

Conifers shade a crossing of Dry Creek

With the faint aroma of marijuana drifting from their air space, they added, “Thanks, that’s the trail we want. This one stinks.”

Stinks?  Being one who picks her fights, I let the offhanded dis roll, bid them a good day and continued hiking on one of the best “stinky” trails in Sedona.

View of Doe Mountain from Cockscomb Trail

 

While Fay Canyon and the many other classic trails like Doe and Bear Mountains located along Boynton Pass Road in northwest Sedona are terrific, so are the dozens of routes that mill around the canyon-riddled landscape below the iconic big-name draws. 

Barberry shrubs bloom Apr-Jul

Offering quieter, less congested tours of Sedona’s spectacular scenery, the trails that explore the woody terrain around Dry Creek serve up myriad high-desert hike options. 

New Mexico locust bloom May-July

Like many Red Rock Country trails, the cluster south of Doe Mountain are short, interlaced and designed for easy customization. 

The route crosses Dry Creek several times

The Ok Trail traces a ledge above Dry Creek

Excellent map signs posted at trailheads and along the trails make it easy to plan a hike to suit individual preferences.  There are no bad choices.  None stink.  One circuit to try uses the Cockscomb, Dawa, Ok and Arizona Cypress trails for an interesting lollipop loop.  From the Fay Canyon trailhead, head out on the Cockscomb Trail. 

Tufted evening primrose bloom Apr-Nov

This 0.9-mile tether trail passes through sunny meadows and rolling hills with great views of Doe Mountain to the west and Mescal Mountain on the northeast horizon. where At the signed Dawa Trail junction, veer left to begin the first leg of the hike’s loop segment. 

Cockscomb formation seen from Dawa Trail

Here, mountain views begin to recede as vegetation thickens with pinon pines, cypress and New Mexico locust towering over prickly barberry shrubs. The first of several crossings of Dry Creek, which usually lives up to its name, comes just before the 1.7-mile point, where the route turns right onto the Ok Trail.  Over its shady, 0.2-mile length, the Ok Trail traces the ledges above the creek before it meets the Arizona Cypress Trail. 

A late-blooming Strawberry hedgehog cactus

At the junction sign, continue straight ahead, past a huge Arizona Walnut tree to where the trail makes another crossing of the creek.  Strewn with colorful river rocks and tumbled pebbles, the creek channel here includes a ragged wall of scoured red earth.

Desert four o'clock bloom Apr-Sept

 

Engelmann's prickly pear cacti bloom Apr-Jun

Living up to its name, the Arizona Cypress Trail is lined with hundreds of the eponymous shaggy-bark conifers, including a massive, decaying specimen just past the creek cross. 

Mescal Mountain (center) seen from Dawa Trail

It takes at three-person chain to hug the trunk of the not-quite-totally-dead tree.  Look closely and you’ll see a few living branches sprouting from the last viable sapwood of the ancient tree.  

Narrowleaf penstemon bloom Jun-Aug

This mostly viewless leg of the route parallels the creek for a half-mile, then reconnects with the south arm of the Dawa Trail.  As the path climbs out of the creek channel, it unpacks a fresh set of vistas.  

The Arizona Cypress Trail lives up to its name

To the southeast, the familiar forms of Courthouse Butte, Capitol Butte and Chimney Rock stand out above green canopies.  Gradually, the close-knit creekside greenery gives way to exposed ridges where cacti, wildflowers and blooming shrubs thrive in red-tinged soils.  

Teeny-weeny Miniature wool star bloom Mar-Jun

In just under a mile, the route returns to the first Dawa Trail junction, where you’ll retrace your steps on the Cockscomb Trail back to the trailhead or use the map signs to add more miles.

Map signs make navigation easy

LENGTH: 4.2-miles

RATING: easy

ELEVATION: 4,334 – 4,569 feet

GETTING THERE:

Fay Canyon Trailhead.

From the State Route 179/89A traffic circle in Sedona, veer left and go 3.2 miles on SR 89A to Dry Creek Road. Turn right and continue 4.5 miles on Dry Creek Road to the Boynton Canyon Road intersection, turn left onto Boynton Pass Road and go 0.5-mile to the trailhead on the left. There’s a restroom at the trailhead. A Red Rock Pass is not required.

INFO:https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recarea/?recid=54974

Dawa-OK-Arizona Cypress Loop

The Freedom Tree: An Alternative Instagram Moment

The Freedom Tree

Take a drive up Sedona’s Dry Creek Road on any weekend between October and April and you’ll encounter hordes of pedestrians and a quagmire of vehicles packed in a haphazard, bumper-to-bumper mass that’s strung out for miles. This is the overflow parking from the Dry Creek Vista Trailhead located on adjacent Forest Road 152.

View from the Dawa Trail

Most of the vehicle occupants are going to Devils Bridge. 

Devils Bridge is one of hundreds of awesome natural wonders in Sedona’s red rock country.

Doe Mountain seen from the Ok Trail

The russet sandstone arch can be reached via the convenient (and notoriously crowded) trailhead and a moderate trek, making it one of the most heavily-visited destinations in the high-desert forests northwest of downtown.

Blue grama grass in a meadow near Dry Creek

For me-- a hiker who generally shuns crowds-- the Devils Bridge Trail has a claustrophobic feel. It’s just a scenic vista removed from the essence of a carnival ride where customers are herded through a turnstile for their shot at a three-minute thrill and a requisite yoga-pose Instagram moment.  No, thanks.

Why put up with this craziness when there’s another cool sight about a mile beyond the commotion where you won’t have to jockey for a parking spot to get a fantastic look-at-me photo. May I recommend a hike to the Freedom Tree. The tree is dead, and I made up the name, but the massive skeleton of what appears to have been a coniferous species, is a noteworthy feature in the Cockscomb Trail System.  Located in a quiet pocket of Coconino National Forest between the famous bridge and Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness, the system has dozens of miles of trails that wander along Dry Creek and its feeder washes. To get to the tree, begin at the tiny Dawa trailhead--really just a dirt turnout--on Boynton Pass Road. Hike a few yards and hang a left on the Ok Trail.

The red ridge of Mescal Mtn seen from the Dawa Trail.

This short passage features wonderful views of Doe Mountain to the west and Mescal Mountain to the north. In less than a half mile, head right at the Arizona Cypress junction. After and easy crossing of the usually dry creek bed, thick stands of cypress, junipers, yuccas and sycamore trees wrap the trail in greenery and shaggy bark textures. Soon, a gigantic, twisted snag appears where the trail makes another sandy creek crossing.  Soaring to perhaps 30 feet, the woody frame sprawls skyward.

The Freedom Tree stands at the edge of Dry Creek.

Its gnarled branches and dominating presence reminded me of the scene in the movie Braveheart where Scottish rebel William Wallace famously hurls his sword and arms toward the heavens while yelling, “freedom”.  The divergent narratives of Wallace and the tree both represent a departure from sacred norms and known places. 

The route crosses Dry Creek and feeder washes.

Although the tree appears well-grounded and able to remain standing for many years to come, both it and Devils Bridge will eventually succumb to the forces of nature.  Whether that happens in the next years or not for centuries, the demise of the bridge (hopefully when there are no hikers on board) will be headline news.

A sandy wash crosses the Dawa Trail.

The deceased conifer, though, will likely just fall over and join disintegrating log jams in Dry Creek, barely causing a ripple in the Instagram universe.

Arizona cypress trees sport shaggy bark.

To complete your visit to the photogenic tree, hike south to the Dawa Trail where you can hang a right and follow it back to the trailhead for an easy 2.7-mile circuit or create your own trip using any of the connecting trails that offer freedom from the masses.

A shady section of the Arizona Cypress Trail

Stay on trails to protect sensitive soils and emerging plants.

LENGTH: 2.7-mile loop

RATING: easy

ELEVATION: 4339 – 4485 feet

GETTING THERE:

From the State Route 179/89A traffic circle in Sedona, go 3.2 miles west (left) on SR 89A to Dry Creek Road. Go 2.8 miles north on Dry Creek Road, veer left at the Long Canyon Road junction and continue 0.5-mile on Boynton Pass Road to the parking turnout on the left. A Red Rock Pass is not required at this trailhead.

INFO & MAPS:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recarea/?recid=71954&actid=50