Red Rock State Park (Sedona): Great Views of the Beautiful Red Rocks.
Visited on Tuesday, October 8, 2013; reviewed October 27, 2013 See this review on Trip Advisor.
As part of our stay in Sedona, Lynn and I spent an afternoon in Red Rock State Park. To access the park, we drove the Red Rock Loop, starting at the north end. We pulled in about 2:00 and paid the $10 entry fee for the day. The fellow at the entrance gate suggested that we head up to the visitor center to get hiking options, so that’s what we did.
The visitor center is sort of built into the side of the hillside, so it is below the level of the parking lot. The roof of the visitor center provides a nice viewing platform. The vista includes Cathedral Rock and it is an amazing sight. The visitor center is pretty tiny with just a few displays mostly on the flora and fauna in the park. One of the Rangers recommended a hike heading south from the visitor center along the Bunkhouse Trail, around the Javelina Trail to the Apache Fire House Trial and back to the visitor center. Very nice hike with some nice views of the red rocks all along the trail and plenty of wildflowers but no critters to speak of other than one Pinyon Jay. But it was still a nice hike. Maybe three miles total. There is some elevation change along this route, but nothing to significant; I would rate this combination of trails as an easy hike.
As part of our stay in Sedona, Lynn and I spent an afternoon in Red Rock State Park. To access the park, we drove the Red Rock Loop, starting at the north end. We pulled in about 2:00 and paid the $10 entry fee for the day. The fellow at the entrance gate suggested that we head up to the visitor center to get hiking options, so that’s what we did.
The visitor center is sort of built into the side of the hillside, so it is below the level of the parking lot. The roof of the visitor center provides a nice viewing platform. The vista includes Cathedral Rock and it is an amazing sight. The visitor center is pretty tiny with just a few displays mostly on the flora and fauna in the park. One of the Rangers recommended a hike heading south from the visitor center along the Bunkhouse Trail, around the Javelina Trail to the Apache Fire House Trial and back to the visitor center. Very nice hike with some nice views of the red rocks all along the trail and plenty of wildflowers but no critters to speak of other than one Pinyon Jay. But it was still a nice hike. Maybe three miles total. There is some elevation change along this route, but nothing to significant; I would rate this combination of trails as an easy hike.
The House of Apache Fire was sort of interesting. It was built for Jack Frye and his wife Helen in the late 1940s. Frye was the President of TWA and an Arizona aviation pioneer. The house was never finished as the Frye’s divorced during construction. Helen lived in the house after the divorce. It is a pretty cool looking place
We left the park about 4:00 and continued on the lower portion of the Red Rock Loop. There are more hiking trails in the park. Our 2-hour stay gave us a good introduction to this scenic park, but more time is needed to cover more of the trails.
We left the park about 4:00 and continued on the lower portion of the Red Rock Loop. There are more hiking trails in the park. Our 2-hour stay gave us a good introduction to this scenic park, but more time is needed to cover more of the trails.