A family hike in Sedona is chosen by the youngest person on it, and the question is never “is this trail easy?” but “what happens when it stops being fun?” The trails that work are the ones with an obvious thing to reach, a way to turn around without a fight, shade or water somewhere in the plan, and nothing that makes a parent hover. This guide sorts Sedona’s family options by the age bracket they suit, using the Forest Service’s figures for each trail and our own field judgment for who it fits — and it says plainly where that judgment runs out.
In This Guide
10 min read
The short version of our guidance: younger children, Fay Canyon. The broad family default that suits mixed ages, the Bell Rock Pathway. A short outing with built-in destinations, Soldier Pass as far as the Seven Sacred Pools. Older children, preteens and teens who like scrambling, Devil's Bridge and the Subway Cave route from Boynton Canyon. Bear Mountain is not a child's hike. Toddler-specific trail ratings are something we do not publish, because we have not tested enough of them to say.
The decision, by age bracket
| Who is coming | Start here | Why it fits | Skip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toddlers and children in carriers | Red Rock Crossing; the smoother stretches of the Bell Rock Pathway near the lots | Water and shade without a trail; a wide, nearly level path with the car never far | Anything with a scramble, a rim or a slot. We do not rate trails for toddlers beyond this. |
| Younger children walking on their own | Fay Canyon | Our younger-children recommendation: easy, 2.1 miles round trip, 144 ft of gain, an hour, and a canyon that ends at a cliff wall — a destination a child can see the point of | Summer middays: the Forest Service's own warning for Fay Canyon is "hot and dry in summer" |
| Mixed ages, first morning in Sedona | Bell Rock Pathway | The broad family option: flat, as short as you want, with the rock itself as the destination and restrooms at both lots | The climb above the first shelf, for children; the base of the rock is enough |
| School-age children who want "stops" | Soldier Pass to Devils Kitchen and the Seven Sacred Pools | A sinkhole at a quarter mile, rock pools at half a mile, and the walk back is flat; the pools are the finish, not a compromise | The cave spur with small children, and the whole trail unless you have solved the parking (16-space gated lot; shuttle Thursday–Sunday) |
| Older children, preteens and teens | Devil's Bridge; the Subway Cave route from Boynton Canyon | Real objectives with a scramble at the end, in our judgment the right bracket for both | Cathedral Rock's slot for anyone tentative; Bear Mountain for any child who is not unusually capable and closely assisted |
| Any age, when it is hot | Red Rock Crossing; West Fork when it reopens | Creek water and canopy are the only reliable cool in Sedona from May through September | Open mesa tops and slickrock climbs after mid-morning |
Fay Canyon: the younger-children trail
Fay Canyon is the hike we send families with small walkers to first. The Forest Service lists it as easy, 2.1 miles round trip with 144 feet of gain, about an hour, and describes a small hidden canyon that dead-ends at a red Supai sandstone cliff. That dead end is the reason it works: a child can walk toward a wall and know when they have arrived. The surface is natural ground, the grade is gentle, and the turnaround is wherever the group decides. Two cautions from the official page and from us. The Forest Service says the trail can be hot and dry in summer, so the canyon's walls are not a substitute for an early start; and the parking area is across the road from the trailhead on Boynton Pass Road, a fee site where a Red Rock Pass or federal Interagency pass goes on the dashboard. The Fay Canyon parking guide has the lot details.
Bell Rock Pathway: the broad default
When the group spans ages, Bell Rock is our answer. The Forest Service's Bell Rock Pathway is a wide, mostly hard-packed multi-use trail — 3.5 miles one way end to end, which nobody walks with children — rated easy, with restrooms at the northern and southern trailhead lots and the rock in view from the first step. The family version is the stretch nearest Bell Rock as an out-and-back, half an hour to an hour with stops, and the first slickrock shelf at the base is where children get a hand on red rock without a drop beneath them. A sturdy stroller manages the smoother sections near the lots; we describe the pathway as friendlier for limited mobility than most Sedona trails, not as an accessible route. Above the base shelf the climb is unmarked and steepens tier by tier; that is a teenager's decision with an adult beside them, not a family walk. Both lots are fee sites; there is no shuttle here, and the Bell Rock parking guide explains why that is a feature.
Soldier Pass to the pools: built-in destinations
Soldier Pass is the trail with stops, which is what keeps a school-age child moving: the Devils Kitchen sinkhole about a quarter mile in, the Seven Sacred Pools about half a mile in, both on the Forest Service's own distances, on a wide, level path. Turning around at the pools makes it roughly a mile and is the version we recommend for families; the unsigned cave spur beyond is a short, steep, loose climb that is a judgment call for older children, not a given, and the full trail to Brins Mesa is an adult outing. The catch is the trailhead: a gated lot of 16 spaces by our count (the Forest Service lists 14), open 8 AM to 6 PM Monday through Wednesday and locked to cars on every shuttle-service day — Thursday through Sunday all year and daily in the posted spring-break and holiday periods. With children, the shuttle from Posse Grounds is usually the calmer plan — the Soldier Pass guide lays out the access rules and the pools page says when they hold water.
Older children, preteens and teens
Once children scramble happily and can walk a few miles without negotiation, two hikes become the right kind of hard. Devil's Bridge is a long approach to a short, steep rock staircase and a natural arch you can walk out onto, with a photo queue at the top; its Dry Creek Vista lot does not lock on shuttle days. The Subway Cave route from Boynton Canyon is a shaded canyon walk, an unsigned use trail and a slickrock ramp to an alcove holding a Sinagua-era ruin — a place to agree the rules before you climb. Both sit in the older-child, preteen and teen bracket in our guidance; neither is a small-child outing. Cathedral Rock is shorter than either but its slot is a committing Class 3 move with exposure, and if one person in the family is unsure at the base of it, that is the turnaround for everyone. Bear Mountain is the one we rule out: it can demand close, hands-on adult assistance through steep, rough, scrambling terrain, and only an unusually capable child with that support belongs on it.
Water and shade: Red Rock Crossing and West Fork
Red Rock Crossing is not a hike and that is its virtue. Crescent Moon Picnic Site puts Oak Creek, cottonwood shade, restrooms and the postcard view of Cathedral Rock within minutes of the car, and every age uses it at once — toddlers wading at the edge, older children working upstream, adults sitting down. It is a concession day-use site: $15 per vehicle, and no Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful pass gets you in. Hours run 7 AM–7 PM April through September, 8 AM–6 PM in October and November, and 9 AM–5 PM December through March, with a 24-foot vehicle limit and day use only. It fills in the busy months; the Red Rock Crossing guide covers timing.
West Fork is closed — checked October 21, 2026. A Forest Service order closes West Fork Trail #108 through October 31, 2026 (rockfall and flood-debris hazard after the Pocket Fire) unless extended or lifted early. We have left it in this guide because it is a year-round staple; confirm status on the Coconino National Forest alerts page and see Fay Canyon or the Templeton Trail creek section for a shaded stand-in.
When it is open, West Fork is the family adventure for children who are good for a couple of miles and have agreed in advance that wet feet are the point. The Forest Service rates the first three miles easy, with 52 feet of gain at one mile and 107 at two, and the creek crossings — thirteen by our count on the maintained trail — are each a small problem to solve. Most families turn around well before the wilderness boundary at three miles, and should. The trailhead is at Call of the Canyon, a concession site with its own $15 fee (no Red Rock Pass accepted), vault toilets, and gate hours of 7 AM–dusk April through September and 8 AM–dusk the rest of the year. Leashed dogs are allowed — earlier versions of this guide said otherwise and were wrong. The West Fork guide has the shoe decision, which matters more here than fitness.
Family Hikes Are Only Fun If the Kids Are Comfortable
The right carrier, shoes, and snack setup turn a family meltdown into a family memory.
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A scalable morning in West Sedona
For a family that does not know how the morning will go, the Chimney Rock and Sugarloaf trails off Coffee Pot Drive are the flexible option: short loops from one trailhead that can be joined or cut depending on how the children are doing, with a spire in view early and an optional small summit for the ones with energy left. There are no facilities at that trailhead, so the restroom stop happens in town first. The short hikes guide and the easy hikes for kids guide extend this list.
The logistics that decide the day
| Trailhead | Restrooms | Fee or pass | Shuttle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Rock Crossing (Crescent Moon) | Yes — picnic site | $15 per vehicle; Red Rock Pass and America the Beautiful not accepted | None |
| Call of the Canyon (West Fork) | Vault toilets (Forest Service) | $15 per vehicle; passes not accepted; Coconino Hospitality Annual Pass $50 works | None |
| Bell Rock Vista / Courthouse Vista | Yes, at both lots (Forest Service) | Red Rock Pass or federal Interagency pass | None — lots stay open every day |
| Fay Canyon | Not stated by the Forest Service — plan on none | Red Rock Pass or federal Interagency pass (fee site) | None |
| Soldier Pass | None at the trailhead (Forest Service); restrooms at the Posse Grounds park-and-ride | Not on the published fee-site list — follow the posted sign; shuttle riders need no pass | Route 14, Thursday–Sunday and posted daily periods; lot closed to cars on service days |
| Chimney Rock / Sugarloaf | None | Check the posted sign | None |
Three habits cover most of the rest. Start early from May through September — the Forest Service's own heat warnings apply to children sooner than to adults, and monsoon season, officially June 15 through September 30 with the real storms usually arriving around early July, makes afternoons a bad time for anything exposed. Carry more water than seems reasonable and offer it before anyone asks. And pick the turnaround before you start, so that "we are done" is a plan rather than a defeat. Snacks at each landmark, a carrier for the smallest walker whether or not you think you will need it, and water shoes for any creek trail round out the kit; the heat guide has our field rule for water.
Prefer a Guide Who Does This With Families?
Guided hiking tours can take on the parking, pacing and turnaround calls so the adults get to look up too.
Most tours listed offer free cancellation — check each listing.
Verified facts on this page
- Fay Canyon Trail No. 53: easy, 2.1 miles round trip, 144 ft gain, 1 hour, dead-ends at a Supai cliff, "hot and dry in summer" — Coconino National Forest, checked October 14, 2026.
- Bell Rock Pathway: easy, 3.5 miles one way, restrooms at the northern and southern lots; Soldier Pass landmark distances and 16-space lot; West Fork first-3-mile gain figures — Coconino National Forest trail pages, checked October 14, 2026.
- Crescent Moon and Call of the Canyon: $15 per vehicle, Red Rock Pass and America the Beautiful not accepted, seasonal hours — Coconino National Forest site pages, checked October 14, 2026.
- Sedona Shuttle Thursday–Sunday year-round plus posted daily periods; Soldier Pass lot closed to cars during service — City of Sedona, checked October 14, 2026.
Which trail suits which age is our field judgment, not an official rating; no trail is promised to suit every child. Toddler-specific ratings are deliberately not given.
Questions parents ask
Which Sedona hike is best for young children? Fay Canyon: easy, about an hour, a cliff wall at the end to walk toward. Red Rock Crossing if you would rather have water than a trail.
Is there a stroller-friendly trail? The smoother sections of the Bell Rock Pathway nearest the lots take a sturdy stroller. We do not call any Sedona trail accessible in the formal sense; the accessible hikes guide lists routes with documented facilities.
Can kids do Devil's Bridge or Cathedral Rock? Devil's Bridge sits in our older-child, preteen and teen bracket. Cathedral Rock's slot is a committing scramble with exposure, and the base of it is where a tentative child's hike should end; the lower trail is still a fine outing.
What about toddlers? We have not tested enough trails with toddlers to rate them, so we do not. A carrier, Red Rock Crossing and the near-lot stretches of the Bell Rock Pathway are what we would do ourselves.
Where are the restrooms? Red Rock Crossing, Call of the Canyon (vault), and both Bell Rock lots by the Forest Service's own pages. Not at the Soldier Pass trailhead, and not stated for Fay Canyon — plan a stop in town first.
Do I need a pass? At Bell Rock and Fay Canyon, a Red Rock Pass or federal Interagency pass. Red Rock Crossing and West Fork charge their own $15 and accept neither. Soldier Pass is not on the published fee-site list — follow the sign, or ride the shuttle and need no pass at all.
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