Yes, you need to display either a Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Interagency Pass on your vehicle dashboard for the duration of your hike to Keyhole Cave in Sedona if you park at Sugar Loaf Trailhead. Hi! Getting to this Sedona cave isnt for beginner hikers or those afraid of the challenge to climb 10+ feet of slick rock. Keyhole Cave is accessed via Teacup Trail to begin but you will spend three quarters of this hike on unmaintained land with rough vegetation and no clear path. But it is also a wonderful place to get off-road in a jeep, shoot stunning photography, visit historic sites and drink wine. KEY TAKEAWAY: Youll be traversing in a wash so be aware of the possibility of flash floods and rattlesnakes! Learn more here. Hideout Cave is one of the caves that looks more attractive with light. Lets hike to the secret Keyhole Cave in Sedona Arizona! The elevation gain of the Sedona Keyhole Cave is 520 feet. Id love to hear your thoughts on the Keyhole Cave if you do it. Other (safer) hikes to explore in Sedona: After a while, the wash narrows a bit, but you keep moving alongside it navigating through the branches. If you visit Sedona in Spring or Fall when it is at peak tourist season, you simply have to be out early at trailheads or youll have problems getting parked. Keyhole Cave Sedona How To Hike To This Adventurous Cave, BEST TIME TO HIKE THE KEYHOLE CAVE SEDONA, THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE HIKING THE KEYHOLE CAVE SEDONA, FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE KEYHOLE CAVE IN SEDONA, A Complete Guide To Hiking The Birthing Cave In Sedona, A Complete Guide To Hiking the Subway Cave In Sedona, A Complete Guide To Hiking The Seven Sacred Pools In Sedona, 15 Best Payson Hiking Trails For Waterfalls, Camping And More, How To Easily Hike The Seven Sacred Pools Sedona, 11 Sedona Swimming Holes To Cool Off Amidst Pretty Scapes, Hiking The Doe Mountain Trail In Sedona A total Guide, 5 Breweries In Sedona You Must Visit on your trip, 14 Tucson Sunset Spots To Admire The Stunning Views, 21 Best Swimming Holes In Arizona To Cool Off On Your Trips. Read our complete guide to hiking Teacup Trail to an unmarked trail leading into Keyhole Cave for in depth details and directions for how to access the cave. If full, try to park at Fay Canyon and hike along Aerie Trail to reach the trailhead. Trail Length: 2 miles out and back Trailhead Location: Long Canyon Trailhead Exact GPS Location for Birthing Cave: 3454'46.9N 11150'10.0W ; Hiking Time: 2 hours total Permits: None.Note: Any trailhead with toilets requires a Red Rock Pass ($5-day use fee). There are no places you can park on the residential streets nearby. All of which take a drastic upturn in difficulty from an otherwise straightforward hike. See the Keyhole cave dangers as well as full directions in our article here. As long as you see it and make your way towards it in the north, you will arrive at the base of Keyhole Cave. Instead, go direct and keep following lightly beaten paths where possible. Yes! $288.88. As an alternate, Is it possible to Uber to and from the trailhead? The view out of Keyhole Cave is spectacular and you can get far enough back inside the formation to easily frame the background through the cave entrance. Parking at popular hiking trailheads in Sedona is a real challenge. There is a wash you can follow for most of the hike but it twists and turns which adds on distance and time. Read our complete guide to hiking Long Canyon Trail into Birthing Cave for in depth details and directions for how to access the cave. Follow along for a little ways until you reach an intersection with Thunder Mountain Trail. Be very careful as your coming back down! An obvious trail leads to the right, but you want to split left here and take the spur trail for 0.3 miles leading to Birthing Cave. Do you use any of the best hiking apps on the market for navigation on new or unmarked trails? Keep following the curving dry river bed for about 0.75 miles as it snakes north toward Keyhole Cave. Read our complete guide to hiking Fay Canyon Trail with optional climbs to Fay Canyon Arch and a fun end of trail ascent. Solider Pass Cave Soldier Pass Trail. Thanks for sharing the map! Park at Long Canyon Trailhead among the trees or on the roadside. In my case, I went left and climbed to get to the proper areas. A 4WD trailhead is located an additional 1 mile up Forest Road 9530 which saves 2 miles of hiking total. From that parking lot are several hikes available, including the one to Keyhole Cave, but at the same time, Keyhole Cave is not an official spot on that list. There is a very small parking lot and you are not able to park on the neighborhood streets so it is best to arrive early. It is best to get down on the right side, the same way you went up. There are small natural foot placements in the sandstone rocks you use the entire way up the right side. The elevation also catches up as you get closer to the cave, gaining about 500 feet in the last 20 minutes of the hike, making it more challenging with each step. Park at Boynton Canyon Trailhead and walk for around 1.3 miles until you reach a left turn onto a spur trail. The trail is entirely in the wilderness with no shelter, so it is not recommended to do this in the summer. There are two sides to entering the cave, and both need climbing, most people take the right side as it is easier as there is space and many rocks to hold on to, which you need as the ground is slippery with loose rocks and sand. A steep climb up the northeast facing bank of Fay Canyon much be climbed to reach the arch. Read our guide on why America the Beautiful national parks pass is one of the best things you can buy if you plan to visit multiple parks in the next year. This trail is very exposed and the climb up to it gets steep- I would not want to do this one in the summer! I would not recommend this for anyone scared of heights, who dont have shoes with great grip or for the lesser athletic. This will definitely help you know you are going the right way especially if you get off track. Our advice is not to worry about being able to find Keyhole Cave. If youre interested in learning more about Gaia, you can sign up to Gaia GPS premium with Where Are Those Morgans exclusive 20% off link. Once you are at the massive cave entrance you can see how gigantic Keyhole Cave is inside. Half of the fun is finding the caves in the first place, the rest of the fun is figuring out how to climb into and photograph each of the Sedona caves. So watch your footing and for cacti along the narrow trail. Im not going to lie, I fell back on my butt on the way down this trail! Thank you for your review, Jacob! Use this guide to familiarize yourself with the exact locations and hiking trails for each cave you want to visit during your time in Sedona. Head over to our Arizona travel guides to explore the best of Grand Canyon, Sedona and beyond. All other caves are located in the most popular hiking areas of Sedona and remain busy year round. The best time of day to hike Keyhole Cave is mid-afternoon as the light conditions are perfect at this time, especially the grand entrance of the cave since the cave is southwest facing. Its highly likely you already have an annual National Parks pass, which is also known as America the Beautiful or the Interagency Pass. Now I have to make the following very clear once again: You will be off trail when you do this hike. Walk 0.2 miles to Devils Kitchen sinkhole, followed by a further 1 mile hike to reach Seven Sacred Pools. I hope you find the cave and enjoy your adventure. You can of course split it up and take one of the many small trails back from the cave if you want more of an adventure and to not use the same wash trail you use to get there. If so, then sign up to The Nature Seeker Newsletter (it's completely free): How to Hike to Vultee Arch in Sedona Without Getting Lost, Fay Canyon Trail in Sedona Why You Need to Hike Here, Best Things to do in Eastern Oregon: 15 Great Places to See, How to Properly Hike The Spencer Trail in Lees Ferry Arizona, How to Find The Glass Beach in Port Townsend Washington, Hamilton Pool Preserve: 5 Major Things You Need to Know, 10 Things to do in South Mountain Reservation NJ. It is definitely worth visiting Keyhole Cave, the biggest cave you can hike to in Sedona on your itinerary. Check out 5 of the best Sedona Caves and how to find them for more! Youll take Teacup Trail which starts right at the trailhead. 1.2K Likes, TikTok video from Desert Sistas (@desert.sistas): " Keyhole Cave via Sugarloaf Trail This hike is located in Sedona, Arizona and is ranked moderate. Since the route to get here is in a wash you want to be careful to not hike during or right after a rainstorm. It is truly an adventure finding this one, so keep reading to determine for yourself if youre up for the challenge! After you turn left to take the Thunder Mountain trail, there will be a wash on your right side. Going next weekend, being that it is the weekend after thanksgiving Im worried about how busy it will be in parking areas. But from here, the challenge begins as the wash is very rocky; plus, look out for rattlesnakes along the way. Was This Post Helpful? I will reiterate do not try this unless you are athletic or a good hiker. You have three options to get into the cave and going up to the right is definitely the only way you should go. This lone tree illuminates under sunlight around mid morning when the sun position is optimal for entering the narrow cave chamber. Boynton Canyon Trail (7.3 miles) Explore Sedona's box canyons on the Boynton Canyon Trail, over 7 miles through red rock country, what makes this region of the state so impressive. Given. That trailhead is a popular destination and has a fairly small parking lot where maybe 10-15 cars can fit. Take rope if one person in your group is a stronger hiker and have them help the others with rope support. Other hikers simply head due north using multiple paths which all twist and intertwine like a maze. This is a year round destination and supposed low seasons arent much quieter than peak season. I needed to help 3/5 people get up and down who had gone into the cave. Ruins If you are interested in learning about the history around northern Arizona, you should visit all of the 5 ancient ruins near Sedona. The Sedona Keyhole Cave hike is 2.5 miles round-trip, out and back. This is exactly what happened to me too. While it is a tough hike, it is the least visited Sedona cave. Park at Boynton Canyon Trailhead and walk 2 miles until you reach a big, burnt, black and gray tree trunk. Keyhole Cave Teacup Trail / Unmarked Trail, Hiking Apps You Can Use To Find Caves In Sedona, What To Pack For Hiking To Caves In Sedona. It is best to wear fully covered clothing as there are cacti with long and thick thorns and animals like rattlesnakes and other insects. Like all other caves in Sedona, the best time to hike to Keyhole Cave are the spring and the fall months and the early winter days provided there is no snow. Later in the day the cave will be in deep and dark shadows. We personally think the cave is easier to photograph when there is no light inside between mid to late morning. Exclusively hiking the wash to Keyhole Cave will add on quite a lot of distance because it meanders like a zig-zag approach. You still need to be organized and plan effectively otherwise youll spend your days frustrated about not being able to park anywhere. Sedona has a total of 7 caves. Keyhole Cave Sedona FAQs Where Is Keyhole Cave Sedona? Sedona's Keyhole Cave is located right in the heart of Sedona. This small hole is accessible and it is from this point you will get the best view looking out of the flame shaped cave entrance. You can click or touch the map to activate, then move around the map to locate each cave. Take this wash and it will lead you all the way up to the base of Keyhole Cave! It is the biggest cave featuring a huge chamber and enormous opening which frames the Sedona landscape outside. Sugarloaf Mountain looms tall to your right side as you walk through desert vegetation and junipers. Kachina Cave is the best kept secret of all so called hidden caves in Sedona. Most people are parking at Sugar Loaf Teacup Trailhead to hike the Sugar Loaf Loop Trail and climb Sugarloaf Mountain. The Rustlers hiking group of the Sedona Westerners is approaching the local phenomenon known as Keyhole Cave. Keyhole Cave is one of only a few caves that are actually geotagged on Google. We visited Sedona in December and it was surprisingly busy in town. Keyhole Cave is located in the rocky ridge running from Coffee Pot Rock toward Thunder. Have a great time! Still, a beautiful area with wonderful sights wherever you trek. If you want to get to the hard to reach places, you should hire a jeep.When to visit Spring and Fall are the best seasons to visit Sedona, but they come with a higher price tag and more crowds. It looks quite far away but it wont take you long to get back. Soldier Pass Cave is at the end of arguably the most entertaining hiking trail among the cave hikes in Sedona. It is best to avoid hiking during or after flash floods season. You will begin the hike to Keyhole Cave in Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness. But they come with a higher price tag and more crowds. The cave isnt a traditional cavern with chambers, it is more of a depression into a rock face which gives the effect of a cave once you are inside. If you have 2WD, you must walk up the 4WD road to begin. Fay Canyon Arch is a gigantic sandstone formation eroded into a towering red rock cliff in the shape of an arch. You can of course split it up and take one of the many small trails back from the cave if you want more of an adventure and to not use the same wash trail you use to get there. Do not graffiti or move the rocks around and respect the land. At the bottom turn right and you will find the first cave. I knew what it looked like and where it was, I just didnt know how to get to it- now Im glad Ive figured it out! Soldier Pass Cave Soldier Pass Trailhead parking has 14 spaces which are snapped up instantly. Hiking Most of Sedonas caves are found by hiking into red rock wilderness, heres our popular roundup of all 20 best hikes in Sedona, Arizona. This site uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. But that said, you can also take the trail in the north which goes to the cave. Or you can buy one at a ticket machine when you arrive in person at either parking lot listed further in this guide. It is best not to go all the way into the cave if you have a fear of heights. In this guide we will show you: Where to park for Keyhole Cave Which pass you need to display The hike to Keyhole Cave is moderately difficult mostly become of the scramble and climb required to get into the cave. If you're planning to hike the Devil's Bridge Trail, book a room at Sedona Rouge Hotel and Spa, just outside downtown . Find all the transport options for your trip from Brea to Sedona right here. We used the buddy system and went one after another, lending a hand and passing the pack up and down. Drop in from above. Heres why you should visit these Sedona caves with just one day: Got your days planned out? Aim to be inside Soldier Pass Cave between 1pm and 5pm for the best light. See options All photos (629) Top ways to experience Boynton Canyon Trail Recommended When you see a huge arch at where the rock formation meets green trees on the hillside, this is where you need to begin climbing directly up the bank. This is when we hopped onto a trail on the left side of the wash and followed it directly to the base of the cave. Fortunately I had vocal help from someone who saw more than I did and told me where to put my hands and feet. Park in the improvised parking area on the side of highway 179. The elevation gain of the Sedona Keyhole Cave is 520 feet. The views from inside the Keyhole Cave Sedona are spectacular, and rewarding after the climb. Hike through the red rocks to explore some of Sedona's more spiritual side. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Love the specifics of how to get here, thank you! Disclosure | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use, Copyright 2023 | Where Are Those Morgans, Cave Hikes Requiring A Parking Pass In Sedona, 4. Recommended A Complete Guide To Hiking The Birthing Cave In Sedona. Another big thing to note in this area: I also read on Alltrails that people lost their GPS connection or it went crazy. I would strongly recommend you wear fully covered clothing like pants because theres a good chance you may have this problem too, not to mention that there are animals like snakes in the area and just wearing more protective clothing is safer in general here. Alternatively, try parking at around 2pm so you miss the busiest period. Kachina Cave is best visited in mid morning between 9am and 11am when sunlight will penetrate a narrow formation causing the lone tree and red rocks to glow. Lets take a quick look at a general packing list for exploring Sedona caves: Here are our top 5 tips for hiking to the Sedona caves: How to get around Sedona is small but youll need a car to access the best hikes to the north and south of town. How to Find the Sedona Birthing Cave I had a few close calls climbing up inside the cave area and climbing down was even harder because I couldnt see where my feet were going. A rope will help you come down safely. At the Sugarloaf Trailhead youre actually able to spot Keyhole Cave way off in the distance. However, in doing so I had times when I was in deep wooded areas with trees that had a lot of thorns, cactuss that were stinging me and overall, the hiking experience for about a mile or more was not very pleasant. You can actually see the cave in the distance from the beginning of the hike. You can sit or stand right on the edge and someone behind you can take a photo of you as a silhouette against the light outside the cave. Elevation Gain: 250 feet. We hiked to Hideout Cave and arrived inside by 11.30am. Want to visit Birthing Cave? Why Hike To The Sedona Soldier Pass Cave? The views from the grand entrance of the caves are surreal and much better than the pictures you see. Your email address will not be published. By browsing this website, you agree to our use of cookies. The bonus of an early start for best light is that you will arrive to the Boynton Canyon parking lot around first light which means you should get parked without issue. Certain trailheads and parking lots in Sedona require you to display either a Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Interagency Pass on your vehicle dashboard. Looking for hiking inspiration? If you only plan to hike to caves in Sedona and no other trails, you will need to display a pass for the following caves: You can buy a Red Rock Pass at this specific recreation.gov site in advance, or you can buy one from a ticket machine in select parking lots. Check the weather and water conditions before you embark on the hike. Grand Canyon Just 2 hours from Sedona is the incredible Grand Canyon South Rim, create your wishlist from the best hikes at Grand Canyon South Rim. I especially appreciate this trail because it is not for everyone and takes a level of commitment to truly the unlock the majesty of this trail. Preparation saves lives. You may have to sidestep or go back on yourself but that is fine, just find another path heading north. It is important to respect the wilderness areas you will be exploring. Subway Cave is one of the most photogenic caves you can access in the Sedona area, which explains its popularity on social media and with photographers. Paths where possible go keyhole trail sedona the way down this trail is very rocky plus! Trailhead to hike the Sugar Loaf Teacup Trailhead to hike the Sugar Loaf Trailhead. In person at either parking lot listed further in this area: I read! 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