Head over to our Arizona travel guides to explore the best of Grand Canyon, Sedona and beyond. I would not recommend this for anyone scared of heights, who dont have shoes with great grip or for the lesser athletic. Sign up for access to all Karabou has to offer- GPX file library, Arizona Hike bucket list, and updates on posts and local news and events! February 15, 2019. For me, I started on a more official trail and then the map on Alltrails took me off it, and I began taking what looked like other mini trails in combination to reach the cave. Accessing the cave does not require any climbing or use of hands, but there is a steep bank to climb on the final approach. We found the right side of the cave was easier to climb for it had foot holds and plenty of jagged rocks to hold on to. You will have to use your hands, feet and core to pull yourself up. This trail is very exposed and the climb up to it gets steep- I would not want to do this one in the summer! Keyhole Cave is in Sedona Arizona, specifically 1.1 miles north from Sugar Loaf trailhead. 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. There are no marked trails leading to the cave and there are several lightly beaten paths you can choose between. Sedona is a beautiful place to visit and we have to keep it that way for our kids to enjoy in years to come. Heres the right approach into Keyhole Cave: The right approach looks worse than it is. Arriving early to trailheads is essential for the best chance of getting parked. But with just one day in Sedona, we would suggest doing Subway Cave, Kachina Cave and Birthing Cave as a 3 cave hiking tour in that exact order. You just never know when youll lose your footing on these desert rocks. The hike to Kachina Cave is not recommended after rain or during snow and ice conditions in Winter. Once youre parked at Sugar Loaf Trailhead, dont forget to display your America the Beautiful pass or Red Rock Pass. Dont forget, there are also several beautiful hikes along the same Teacup trail you start to reach Keyhole Cave. Subway Cave is arguably the most famous and sought after cave to visit in Sedona. Overall, Birthing Cave is suitable for all hikers with a good level of fitness. It is important to know the Sedona trails you are hiking so you can safely navigate to caves. Remember and follow the 7 principles of leave no trace when hiking to caves in Sedona: From our own experience in Sedona, we found people were not always disposing of waste correctly, but perhaps more surprisingly we noticed people were not planning ahead before hiking. I hope you find the cave and enjoy your adventure. One of the most dynamic trails to be added to the Sedona Hiking Trail System in years. This cave has a grand entrance that can be spotted miles away but is still tucked back off the beaten path so not many people visit it. Without a rope, do not try to come down the middle part of that Right side you came up as it is so slippery and there arent any solid holds. Cross a narrow ledge carefully on slick rock. Once you hop on the trail, though, the hike quickly becomes difficult because you have to climb the elevation up to the base of the cave. The cave is accessed via significant off-trail hiking, which means forging a path through rugged desert wilderness. It is not big, with only a dozen spaces available and usually fills up most of the peak hours and days as most people hiking the Sugarloaf mountain also park here. Keyhole Cave is not for the faint of heart(afraid of heights) or beginner hikers as it involves challenging terrains, including climbing very high rocks and navigating through wilderness comprising cacti and rattlesnakes, as there is no maintained official trail. 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. Keyhole Cave Access: Sugarloaf One of the largest alcoves in the area, Keyhole Cave can actually be seen from many places in West Sedona. Kachina Cave is the best kept secret of all so called hidden caves in Sedona. This is the easiest cant miss way to go. Soldier Pass Cave Soldier Pass Trailhead parking has 14 spaces which are snapped up instantly. This is a fun outing to scramble up above the cave and drop down the drainage that created the cave. You could even use our images during your hike to keep track of where you are along the adventure to Keyhole Cave. Sedona, Arizona. Exclusively hiking the wash to Keyhole Cave will add on quite a lot of distance because it meanders like a zig-zag approach. Keyhole Cave - Parking at Sugar Loaf / Teacup trailhead requires a pass Red Rock Pass 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. Luckily I missed the cactus and landed safely. The majority of it comes at the end when you hike up from the wash up the hill to the face of the cave. It is pretty easy to find and you start at the Sugarloaf Trailhead. Always consider backup parking areas before setting off for a trail. On this path, you will notice many smaller washes branching off the main one. 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. 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. Personally we went for the right side both up and down, but we know others have taken the left route instead. If you dont have either, buy a 1 day or 7 day pass at the ticket machine or online at recreation.gov. This cave is 1 of 5 amazing caves within the Sedona Wilderness Ive hiked to. Now I have to make the following very clear once again: You will be off trail when you do this hike. Karabou Adventure + Travel is a participant of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Unlike the other Sedona Caves which require a bit of hike into the forest depths before seeing the cave, you can spot the Keyhole Cave Sedona way off in the distance, a giant hole amidst the mountains, which is the mouth of the cave. You will only walk on this trail for a handful of steps before you come to a wash and you will follow that up to the right. Read our complete guide to hiking Robbers Roost Trail into Hideout Cave for in depth details and directions for how to access the cave. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. *Please note this post may contain affiliate links. You can use Sugar Loaf Mountain as your landmark to aim for on the hike back. Keyhole Cave Park at Sugar Loaf / Teacup Trailhead which has 14 spaces. Going next weekend, being that it is the weekend after thanksgiving Im worried about how busy it will be in parking areas. Take rope if one person in your group is a stronger hiker and have them help the others with rope support. Would you like to stay up to date with all my adventures? Another big thing to note in this area: I also read on Alltrails that people lost their GPS connection or it went crazy. Generally considered a challenging route. How to Find the Sedona Birthing Cave After getting up that part the rest is easier as there are better steps with lots of foot and hand holds, however again it is not for those that arent great with heights. It is the biggest cave featuring a huge chamber and enormous opening which frames the Sedona landscape outside. Once you have made the climb into Keyhole Cave, you find yourself in a UFO shaped upper chamber in which you can walk around in a semi circle (like a crescent moon) from one side of the cave to the other. Print/PDF map. We always download offline maps onto Gaia GPS so we can track our exact location at all times. Still, a beautiful area with wonderful sights wherever you trek. Keyhole Cave is the biggest and most adventurous cave you can hike to in Sedona. The terrain turns a little steeper on your final approach to Keyhole Cave. Buy an annual pass if you intend to revisit Sedona in the next year. Elevation Gain: 250 feet. @Mark and Kristen Morgan, Is it the same with Keyhole cave? However, to be honest you should be fine with this particular hike. Note that Ravens Caves is the only cave to the south of Sedona and Hideout Cave is a long way out to the northwest of Sedona. 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. Cathedral Rock Sedona is filled with amazing hikes but Cathedral Rock Trail is one of the most iconic. You will begin from the parking lot and start the hike at Teacup Trail. Heres the list of places around Sedona you will need to display either a Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Pass in order to hike. Coordinates: 34.88717 N, 111.79926 W. Dogs Allowed: Yes, but NOT dog-friendly. Ironically, Subway Cave looks the most like a keyhole shape, but there is another cave in Sedona called Keyhole Cave which doesnt look much like a keyhole! 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. They were very much easy to understand and we were able to Hike up all the way to the Cave. 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. It is definitely worth visiting Keyhole Cave, the biggest cave you can hike to in Sedona on your itinerary. This lone tree illuminates under sunlight around mid morning when the sun position is optimal for entering the narrow cave chamber. Heres the left approach into Keyhole Cave: The bottom section is almost vertical and its smooth which makes it hard to climb. Fay Canyon Arch is a gigantic sandstone formation eroded into a towering red rock cliff in the shape of an arch. Jeep Trails Comprehensive guide to the 9 best Jeep trails in Sedona Arizona, including both popular and hidden gem off road routes. 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. Lets take a quick look at your parking options for each of the Sedona cave trails: Subway and Kachina Caves Boynton Canyon Parking lot. In order to start on the proper trail to this cave, you have to begin at Sugar Loaf Trailhead. Hiking is one of the best things to do in Sedona and Keyhole Cave is one of our favorite hidden trails in town. However, you will be parking here to go off-trail and hike to the mighty Sedona Keyhole Cave. Required fields are marked *. Distance: 4 miles RT Peak Elevation: 4,600 ft. Elevation Gain: 420 ft. You will meander along the wash for three-quarters of a mile or so and you will know when to start going up to the cave as you will see it to your right when the time comes. You can get amazing photos from the bottom of the cave too. Since the route to get here is in a wash you want to be careful to not hike during or right after a rainstorm. Keyhole Cave is one of only a few caves that are actually geotagged on Google. It is best to avoid hiking during or after flash floods season. The climb into Soldier Pass Cave isnt too difficult and the other trail landmarks make this one of the most popular cave trails for families visiting Sedona. Youll have to duck to move around the cave network but you can shoot some interesting photos here. Please do not visit ruins with your pet. The Sugar Loaf parking area has just 12 spaces and is often full. See options All photos (629) Top ways to experience Boynton Canyon Trail Recommended This is the major road in and out of Sedona from Flagstaff and Grand Canyon South Rim. You'll probably see a good amount of hikers here as there are a lot of popular routes in the area. Look for a wooden trail sign and head directly behind into the rough vegetation. West Fork Trail has its own dedicated parking lot around 10 miles north of Sedona on AZ-89A. Another 1 mile heading north will lead you into a wash and eventually to a very obvious fork split in the trail. 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. Once you do reach the cave, itll be a gigantic opening thats difficult to miss and you may likely find other people there too (I saw at least 2 people before others came as I left). I will check it out. The sun had already moved so far round to the south that the cave was in dark and deep shadow. Very few know about Keyhole Cave and even fewer take it on once they hear about the unmarked trail and climb. Set your Google Maps or Apple Maps to "West Fork Oak Creek Trailhead" or "Call of the Canyon Picnic Site". Look for tree branches on the ground. All of which take a drastic upturn in difficulty from an otherwise straightforward hike. You simply have to forge your own route to Keyhole Cave. 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. 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. Check the weather and water conditions before you embark on the hike. 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