Bell Rock Pathway
The best first hike in Sedona. Bell Rock Pathway is rated easy, family-friendly by the Forest Service — 185 feet of elevation gain across a wide, hard-surfaced trail with three trailheads along SR 179. You can walk 10 minutes or the full 3.5 miles and turn around whenever.
No shuttle restriction, so drive up and display a Red Rock Pass. Restrooms at the northern and southern lots. Leashed dogs welcome. Open and outside the fire closure area.
Climbing onto Bell Rock itself is a completely different, much harder thing — there's no maintained route up.
The facts
- Open right now?
- Open (not in the current closure order)
- Forest Service trail
- Bell Rock Pathway No. 96
- Distance
- 3.5 miles one-way — walk any portion as an out-and-back
- Elevation gain
- 185 ft
- Difficulty (USFS)
- Easy, family-friendly (USFS)
- Time needed
- Entirely up to you — it's a turn-back-anytime trail
- Trailhead elevation
- 4,192 ft
- Pass required
- Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful, at all three lots
- Sedona Shuttle
- No direct stop. Route 15 serves nearby Little Horse, which connects on foot.
- Parking
- Three lots on SR 179. Capacity not published by USFS.
- Dogs
- Yes, leashed. Horses are prohibited on the pathway.
- Restrooms
- Yes — at the northern and southern trailheads
- Shade
- Minimal, but the trail is flat and easy to cut short
Getting there
Get directions →Three trailheads
Northern (Courthouse Vista) — 34.8243, -111.7758. Best views of Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte, and the busiest lot.
Midway — 34.8055, -111.7668. About 1.1 miles south of the northern lot. Usually quieter for the same scenery.
Southern — 34.7915, -111.7619. In the Village of Oak Creek; 8.3 miles west of I-17 exit 298.
Restrooms at the northern and southern lots. There's designated horse-trailer parking, although horses aren't permitted on the pathway itself. Mountain bikes share the trail, so expect to step aside occasionally. The Forest Service publishes no space count for any of the three lots.
Who this trail is for
Sedona's famous hikes have a common problem: they're short, which makes them sound accessible, and then they turn out to involve scrambling on exposed rock. Bell Rock Pathway is the exception, and that makes it disproportionately useful.
It works for kids, for grandparents, for a leashed and possibly nervous dog, for anyone recovering from injury, and for mixed groups where the strong hikers can scramble higher while everyone else keeps walking the flat. The Forest Service notes it's heavily used partly as an access route to the wider trail network — so it's rarely lonely, but its width and length spread people out far better than a single-destination trail like Devil's Bridge.
One caution: minimal shade. That matters less here than elsewhere because you can turn back at any point, but bring water anyway.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bell Rock Pathway suitable for kids?
Yes — it's the Forest Service's own 'easy, family-friendly' rating, on a wide hard surface with 185 feet of gain, and you can turn around at any point.
Can I bring my dog?
Yes, on a leash of 6 feet or less. The flat, wide surface makes it one of Sedona's better dog trails. Horses aren't allowed on the pathway.
Do I need the shuttle?
No. There's no shuttle stop at Bell Rock's own lots and no private-vehicle restriction. Drive up with a Red Rock Pass.
Are there restrooms?
Yes, at the northern and southern trailhead lots — genuinely unusual for Sedona.
Can I hike to the top of Bell Rock?
There's no maintained trail to the summit and the true top requires technical climbing. Scrambling onto the lower tiers is common, unmaintained, steep, and exposed.
Facts on this page last verified July 28, 2026. Fees, hours, and access rules change seasonally — confirm with the official source before a long drive.