This favorite Sedona hike has shady trees and red-rock views. Here's how to try it
Hitting a never-hiked trail for the first time is always a thrill. New views, unfamiliar terrain and the fun of navigating an untested route are big draws for those who crave fresh outdoor experiences.
And then there are the familiar “go-to” routes.
Like polar opposites, one serves up a rush of adventure while the other is like the comfort food of hiking. While untried adventures will always woo us, many of us hikers spend more time in the comfort zone.
Whether hiked to train for a big trek or for long-term conditioning, comfort trails combine convenience, familiarity and reliable experience.
Most hikers have a favorite — the one they return to time and again, with or without a salient explanation.
The Arizona Cypress Trail in Sedona checks all the boxes for a no-hassle go-to trail.
Why the Arizona Cypress Trail in Sedona is a favorite
The trail can be accessed by way of a large parking area with emptiness probably perpetrated by the adjacent target shooting area. The repellent trailhead noise is a tolerant hiker’s gain leading to light traffic and easy parking — a rare treat in Sedona.
The route immediately ducks into the forest where canyon walls absorb the intermittent pop-pop of gunfire.
This trail’s sticking power is a magical elixir of solitude (unusual for a trail down the road from Devil's Bridge) and sweet scenery wrapped around a desert waterway in the Upper Dry Creek Area Trails of Coconino National Forest.
It’s a friendly 3.8-mile out-and-back hike on the Arizona Cypress Trail. But there are plenty of ways to extend the trek. The trail links up with a looped maze of eight routes that use the old standard Girdner Trail as a backbone that runs south to connect with the Western Gateway trails.
Several crossings of Dry Creek traipses through wildflower meadows, manzanita thickets, and highpoint vistas showcasing familiar landmarks like Cockscomb, Capitol Butte, Doe Mountain and Bear Mountain keep things interesting, but the eponymous cypress trees alone are enough to keep this trail on auto-rewind.
Arizona cypress tree facts
Cupressus arizonica can grow up to 90 feet tall, but most are around 40-60 feet and it’s the only cypress native to the Southwest. The deep emerald conical-shaped trees thrive at elevations between 3,000 and 6,000 feet, with a preference to drop roots along intermittent streams.
The attractive evergreen has a distinctive shedding of shaggy bark and scaly blue-green leaves that emit a pleasant piney fragrance. The tree’s most distinctive feature is the woody, walnut-sized scaled cones that look as if they might encapsulate some alien life form.
Even when spent, the cones can cling to branches in eerie black clumps. It’s not just the seeds that are tenacious — scientists studying pollen trapped in ancient packrat middens say the species has been around since prehistoric times, at least since the icy Pleistocene Epoch, a testament to its namesake trail’s steadfastness.
Sedona hike: Arizona Cypress Trail
Length: 3.8 miles round trip.
Rating: Moderate.
Elevation: 4,309-4,416 feet.
Getting there: Use the Arizona Cypress Trailhead. From the State Route 179/89A traffic circle in Uptown Sedona, go 3.2 miles west (toward Cottonwood) on SR 89A to Dry Creek Road. Turn right and Follow Dry Creek Road 2.7 miles to the turnoff for Forest Road 9589 (not signed) on the left. This easy-to-miss turnoff is a few yards south of the Boynton Pass Road/Long Canyon Road "T” intersection. Continue 0.2 mile on FR 9589 (good dirt with a few potholes) to the end and the parking circle at the Arizona Cypress trailhead. There are no fees or facilities. There is a target shooting pit near the trailhead, which might frighten dogs and horses.
Details: Coconino National Forest, www.fs.usda.gov/coconino.
Read more of Mare Czinar's hikes at arizonahiking.blogspot.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Favorite Sedona hike: Arizona Cypress Trail
