Cathedral Rock - Sedona, Arizona - HD

This video shows part of the scramble up Cathedral Rock via the Cathedral Rock Trail.

01/07/2022 - The weather on today's hike was really good - sunny between 50-60 degrees. We had just hiked Devil's Bridge earlier that morning, then decided to climb up Cathedral Rock. We took the Cathedral Rock Trail as we managed to find a parking space at the trailhead around 10:45am. This lot requires a Red Rock Parking Pass. As we saw later on in the day, trailhead parking lot attendants actually shut down the road when this lot becomes full.

This trail is 0.7 miles up, and you gain 700 feet of elevation. This is a scramble, not a hike. Once you pass through the initial section of the trail, you soon arrive at the base of Cathedral rock. It looks massive, but you aren't climbing to the very top; instead, the trail ends at the base between the different spires. The trail is very steep and most of the rock is slippery due to high amounts of dust and frequent use. This trail is very popular, especially towards the bottom, yet I would estimate that less than half that visited actually summited when I went.

Once you get on the Red Rocks, the trail becomes like an obstacle course. There are plenty of cairns along the way to mark the trail, but these are really more like loose guides. If the scramble directly ahead of you looks too difficult, move a few feet to the left or right and try there. Like an obstacle course, you often move to the left or to the right to find the best route. However, the crux of the trail gets extremely narrow at one point so that you have to wedge 1 foot into the rock at a time. There is some exposure on this section, and a fall from here could be dangerous. Plus, the rock here is very slippery and very smooth due to the number of people who climb this. If you are not confident in your scrambling ability, I would not recommend trying this. However if you are, then you will be greatly rewarded at the top of the Rock.

Beyond the crux the trail still is steep but not quite as difficult, and it becomes more of a hike to the summit. One positive of this hike is that you have great views the entire way up, which only get better as you climb and eventually see all that lies beyond Cathedral Rock.

Finally you will come to an End Of Trail Sign, although you can keep walking around. To the Right of the sign is a ledge up against the Cathedral. You can walk out here for an unreal experience and view into the desert. These views are definitely worth all the effort.

You can retrace your steps back down. I overheard others saying, and I personally agreed, that descending was less difficult than ascending. For several parts of the descent, it is easier to sit, lift yourself down with your arms, and slide down a few feet at a time. While I did not get the chance to check them out, other hikers were saying that there are a few smaller side trails at the top. Perhaps next time.

The top of Cathedral Rock is incredible, with fantastic 360 degree views standing from the middle of the spires. After so much scrambling, you feel rewarded at the top - although maybe that feeling is the vortex...