Posts
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| Mescal Mountain seen from Dawa Trail |
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| Bear Mountain from OK Trail |
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| Arizona Cypress Trail |
OK-DAWA-ARIZONA CYPRESS TRAIL LOOP
Best tip for hiking in Sedona—learn to appreciate the little trails. Many of Red Rock Country’s lesser-used routes offer easy access, no fees and surprisingly available parking. The Upper Dry Creek Area Trails are a great place to start exploring the joys of under-the-radar hiking. Easy to access off Dry Creek Road and Boynton Pass Road in West Sedona, the maze of short, interconnected trails winds through classic high desert ecozones, mingling with the jumbled corridor of Dry Creek and scoured drainages. Excellent map signs placed at all trail junctions make finding you way around so easy. One scenic loop to try uses the OK, Dawa and Arizona Cypress trails. The simple-to-follow singletracks are neither secret nor hidden. They’ve been around for decades, existing in relative quiet not far from the famously popular Bear Mountain, Fay Canyon and Devils Bridge trails. Starting from the blink-and-you’ll miss-it OK Trailhead, a short access path dives into juniper-cypress forests with glimpses of Doe Mountain on the western skyline. At the first junction, pick up the Dawa Trail (Dawa is Hopi for moon) heading west. Evidence of this trail’s former life as a dirt road pops up intermittently as it jogs between sunny meadows and deep woods. Sometimes wide, sometimes a narrow footpath. The trail makes a gradual climb to a scenic high point where views of Bear Mountain, Mescal Mountain, and the Cockscomb formation stand out in an arc of rusty stone. At the 0.8-mile point, veer left at a junction to stay on the Dawa trail as it twists down to meet the leafy corridor of Dry Creek. Lush with manzanita and flowering shrubs, yucca and mesquite, there’s plenty of shade between breaks in the tree cover that frame mountain and wide valley views. Just past a crossing of the creek, pick up the Arizona Cypress Trail (go left again), which parallels the creek. True to its name, the route is flush with the eponymous shaggy barked conifer with distinctive geometric seed pods. For the final leg, follow the OK Trail back to the first junction and backtrack to the trailhead where a kiosk shows an overview of the many hike options available to hikers who love solitude, options and a good leg stretch.
LENGTH: 2.7-mile loop
RATING: easy
ELEVATION: 3,339 – 4,539 feet
GETTING THERE:
OK TRAILHEAD: From the State Route 179/89A traffic circle in uptown Sedona, go 3.2 miles west (go left) on SR 89A to Dry Creek Road. Follow Dry Creek Road 2.8 miles to Boynton Pass Road, turn left and continue 0.5-mile to a small parking area on the left. There’s room for 3-4 cars. A Red Rock Pass in not required at this trailhead.
NOTE: The Sedona Shuttle does not serve this trailhead. For info on how to use the FREE shuttle to access popular trailheads Thursday – Sunday, visit https://sedonashuttle.com
