The Four Sedona Vortexes: Where They Are and How to Reach Them (2026)
Find Airport Mesa, Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock and Boynton Canyon on the map below. Numbered pins mark access trailheads, not exact vortex locations. Choose a pin or use the list for trail details and directions. Check current access notices before travel.
Use the links below even if the map does not load. Pins show access points; they do not mark parking availability or an accessible walking route.
-
1 Airport Mesa Vortex
Airport Road turnout for the Airport Loop approach. This pin is not the paid airport overlook; check the guide before driving.
-
2 Cathedral Rock Vortex
Back O’ Beyond trailhead. The lot closes to private vehicles whenever the shuttle runs; check its schedule before using driving directions.
-
3 Bell Rock Vortex
Northern Bell Rock Pathway access point. This is one of several approaches, not a pin on the summit.
-
4 Boynton Canyon Vortex
Boynton Canyon trailhead near the resort entrance. Use the public trailhead; the pin does not grant access to resort parking.
These are the trailhead coordinates used in our guides. Read what “vortex” means and check the shuttle schedule before choosing where to drive.
Which vortex should you actually pick?
Considering Airport Mesa: distinguish the Airport Loop trailhead from the paid airport overlook. Check the approach and terrain in the guide before choosing it for your group.
Willing to work for it: Cathedral Rock — the highest payoff per mile in Sedona, but the Forest Service rates it strenuous and it involves hand-over-hand scrambling. Note the parking rule: whenever shuttle service operates, including extra service dates, the trailhead lot closes to private vehicles. Check the current schedule for the free Sedona Shuttle.
With kids, or with a dog: Bell Rock. The pathway around its base is rated easy and family-friendly, 185 feet of gain, wide and flat, and you can turn around whenever you like.
Boynton Canyon is the fourth. It reopened when the broad Pocket Fire order was superseded July 31; see what's still closed in Sedona.
A note on how we map these
There is no official register of vortex locations — the Forest Service doesn't designate them, and published "vortex coordinates" vary between sources by a few hundred feet. So rather than invent precision we don't have, every pin on this map is the official USFS trailhead coordinate for the access trail, taken from the Forest Service's own page for that trail. That's the spot you actually drive to. Where the vortex site sits relative to the trailhead is described in words on each page.