Hiking Robbers Roost

If you're not freaked out by heights, you can (literally) drop into the robbers roost ruins and steal a glance through Sedona's most unlikely 'picture window.'

Zane Grey, a frequent visitor to northern Arizona, published a novel called Robbers' Roost in 1932. The first movie version of the book was filmed that same year in the Sedona area -- though, oddly enough, not at the local spot we know as Robbers Roost, about 19 miles northwest of Sedona. Then again, the Robbers' Roost that Grey described as "a perfect hideout...a box canyon in no-man's-land" was actually in Utah. The place where Sedona's robbers would have roosted is not a box canyon, and it's unclear whether any bad guys ever actually hid there, although local lore says a cave at the site was once a moonshiner's base. Clearly, someone was up there, as evidenced by the impressive ruin that awaits hikers with an adventurous spirit.

The Robbers Roost trail begins at the end of a long drive on rough, dusty backroads best handled by an SUV. You can head all the way to a small parking area at the trail's start about a half mile from the ruins, or park at an area a mile away and walk along the road to the trail's start. However you get there, the trail will lead you around a butte and directly to the ruins; you'll likely see remnants of vortex circles, telltale signs of its use as a ritual area, along the way.

There are two distinct sets of ruins within this rock formation; the one we've photographed here lines the outside edge. To get there, you need to climb over the edge and drop down into the ruins. If heights make you jittery, this is not going to make you happy.

The ruins contain a large room, approximately 20 feet long, 40 feet wide and 15 feet high, and open on one side; inside, there's a near-perfect, six-foot-wide circular window cut out of the thick rock that neatly frames the amazing view. Enjoy the sights, don't disturb the ruins and revel in the view Zane Grey missed by setting his sights on Utah.

DIRECTIONS: Take 89A south of the "Y," approximately 9.5 miles and turn right on Red Canyon Rd. (FR 525). Continue ahead, then turn left onto FR 525C; drive until you see an unpaved road marked FR 9530. Continue on FR 9530 to the parking area at the top of the hill. From there, continue by foot approximately one mile to Robbers' Roost. A Red Rock Pass is required for parking.

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