Solider Pass via Jordan Road Trailhead
Sedona, Arizona
The Quick Stats
Distance: 3 miles out & back
Elevation change: 564 ft
Type: Maintained trail that is well marked
Restrooms at the Trailhead: yes
Water at the trailhead: no
Dogs allowed: yes
Parking lot: yes, medium size
Hiker’s ledger: no
Fee: $5 Sedona Red Rock Pass per day
Getting here
Located in uptown Sedona west of the 89A, the road to the Jordan Road Trailhead is accessed via W Park Ridge Dr, starting in a neighborhood.
Jordan Road Trail Head is easy to search on Google Maps and is the shares the same trailhead parking as Jim Thompson Trailhead and Brins Mesa Trailhead. (34.8881636, -111.7684168) Check out the Brins Mesa Trail below.
The hike
Solider Pass is a very popular trailhead in Sedona that only has 14 parking spots. It is EXTREMELY difficult to get a spot in the parking lot and is really just all about luck and good timing. The trailhead sits in a development that doesn’t allow street parking. You are able to park on the side of Soldier Pass Rd, but when there is snow you aren’t able to park on this street. We had been to Soldiers Pass, but when we went this past January, we weren’t able to park on the street due to signage. Instead we decided to park at Jordan Road Trailhead and hiked to Solider Pass Trail. We took Cibola Pass Trail for ~0.7 miles to Jordan Trail for ~0.3 miles to Solider Pass Trail. From there we passed Devil’s Kitchen Sinkhole and headed ~0.4 miles to Seven Sacred Pools. Our goal was to see Seven Sacred Pools because there was recent snow and rain so the pools were filled with water!
Overall, our route was a little less than 3 miles out and back to the Seven Sacred Pools.
Sugarloaf Summit via Teacup Trailhead
The Quick Stats
Distance: 1.5 miles out & back
Elevation change: 382 ft
Type: Maintained trail that is well marked
Restrooms at the Trailhead: no
Water at the trailhead: no
Dogs allowed: yes
Parking lot: yes, small – 14 spots, 1 handicap
Hiker’s ledger: no
Fee: none
Getting here
Located in West Sedona near the 89A, this trailhead is accessible through a neighborhood on Buena Vista Drive. Directions to the trailhead are easy to find using Google Maps or Apple Maps. You can also search for Sugarloaf Trailhead. Parking is limited! In the times we’ve been to the trailhead, we’ve found a spot, but the lot can fill up. Please follow street signs for legal parking.
The hike
Sugarloaf Trail shares Teacup trail for the start. After a short distance you’ll see the signage for the Sugarloaf Loop Trail pointing to the right and continuation for Teacup Trail pointing forward. Take Sugarloaf Loop Trail for a very short distance and you’ll come to a sign pointing to Sugarloaf Summit Trail. From here, the trail starts its short and steady incline to the summit. The trail is easy to follow. The view at the top is beautiful with a great view of Coffee Pot Rock to the north, Capitol Butte to the northwest, and Chimney Rock to the West
Teacup Trail can get you to Soldier Pass Trail. The trail takes you to Coffee Pot Rock and after 4.1 miles, you’ll be at the Seven Sacred Pools. AllTrails hike
Brins Mesa via Jordan Trailhead
The Quick Stats
Distance: 5.9 miles out & back
Elevation change: 1,194 ft
Type: Maintained trail that is well marked
Restrooms at the Trailhead: yes
Water at the trailhead: no
Dogs allowed: yes
Parking lot: yes, small parking lot with an even smaller second “lot”
Hiker’s ledger: no
Fee: $5 Sedona Red Rock Pass per day
Getting here
Like we stated above, this trailhead is located in uptown Sedona west of the 89A, the road to the Jordan Road Trailhead is accessed via W Park Ridge Dr, starting in a neighborhood.
You can search any of the three trailheads here for directions. To keep it simple we’ll continue with Jordan Road Trail Head as the primary search on Google Maps and is the shares the same trailhead parking as Jim Thompson Trailhead and Brins Mesa Trailhead. (34.8881636, -111.7684168)
The hike
Brins Mesa Trail starts just slightly north of Cibola Pass Trail with a slight incline headed towards The Mitten. Like many of the National Forest maintained trails in Sedona, this one is quite easy to follow. Soon you’ll see a sign letting you know that you’re entering Red Rock Secret Wilderness. The beginning of the trail brings you to the base of the mesa (Spanish for table). It’s not too challenging and is surrounded by beautiful Sedona red rock. Make sure to stop and turn around every now and then! Soon you’ll start your ascent of the trail up to the top of the mesa. It definitely has some incline but is more gradual than you’d expect, making it not too difficult. There are a few offshoots on the trail where you can get some beautiful views of uptown Sedona, including Steamboat Rock.
Once at the top of the mesa, you can continue west behind the sphinx rock and the top of the arches at Soldier Sass. From here there are a couple options, you can connect with Soldier Pass Trail and loop back to the parking lot via Jordan Trail and Cibola Pass Trail. Or… you can continue on Brins Mesa Trail all the way to Dry Creek Road, the same road you can get to Devil’s Bridge on… and a little secret, Dry Creek Road leads to the trailhead for Secret Canyon and Vultee Arch. We took an unidentified trail north along the northeast edge of the mesa. According to Google Maps, the road looks like it used to be a Forest Road. However, there are now logs and rocks laid down in a manner meant to block vehicles from crossing. After stopping at an east facing viewpoint for some lunch we continued along the path until we literally could not go any further. We arrived at this amazing endpoint with a sweet view of Sedona. It was slightly elevated above the mesa, almost like a helipad.
