HS Canyon Trail #50

Or maybe that should be SSSH Canyon – it sits among some of the most popular trails in Sedona, But look at the footprints and you’d think not a sole knows it

The web of trails that snake through the red rock canyons off Dry Creek Rd. include some of Sedona’s most heavily trafficked hiking routes, but you wouldn’t know it based on the lack of footprints we saw on the HS Canyon trail. On our four-mile round-trip hike into the canyon one cold winter morning we had the trail all to ourselves, silent except for the crunching of frozen leaves under our feet, our breaths hanging like little clouds in the air. If you’re looking for a little solitude, a hike into HS Canyon is a step in the right direction.

Begin your hike at the Secret Canyon trailhead on FR 152. For the first 0.6 mile you’ll walk along the more popular Secret Canyon Trail, crossing rocky Dry Creek and plodding through some sandy sections. Look for a small metal sign on your left indicating the turn-off for HS Canyon (stay alert or you might miss it – during our hike bushes had grown up around the sign). The trail leads west into a box canyon but your view of the surrounding red rocks is limited due to the alligator junipers, pines, manzanita, agaves, and other plants that grow dense and tall in this area. Every now and then you’ll find a clearing where you can marvel at the canyon walls which narrow and grow grander as you go further into HS Canyon, culminating in white cliffs soaring 1,000 feet above you.

The trail gradually climbs about 800 feet and is generally very narrow – you won’t be walking side-by-side with your hiking partner during this jaunt. About two miles from the trailhead, a large bear-grass yucca grows in the middle of trail – take it as your sign to turn back. Beyond this point, the trail becomes little more than a game trail (plenty of deer and javalina footprints are in evidence) and eventually ends at the back of the box canyon. For those interested in backpacking, there is a nice campsite near our recommended turn-around point. Camping is allowed in the area unless forest service fire restrictions exist. •

DIRECTIONS: From Hwy 89A, turn north on Dry Creek Rd. and left on FR 152 (Vultee Arch Rd.). This is a rocky dirt road, so we recommend a high clearance vehicle, especially after rain storms. Follow the road for three miles. Look for the Secret Canyon Trailhead sign and park in the area on your left. A Red Rock Pass is required for parking and passes can be purchased at the
junction of Dry Creek Rd. and FR 152.

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