Bear Mountain Sedona Hike: 2,100 Feet, No Maintained Trail, Real Views

Sedona has over 100 trails. Most are well-marked, well-traveled, and genuinely moderate. Bear Mountain is none of those things.

The contrast is the point. This is what Sedona hiking looks like when you remove the directional signs, maintained tread, and guardrail culture of the corridor trails. It’s a route, not a trail. Cairns mark the way in the easier sections, and unreliably. On the upper third, you’re reading the terrain and picking your own line up slickrock steep enough to require both hands.

The reward at the top is real. The summit plateau sits at roughly 5,500 feet, 2,100 feet above the trailhead, and offers a 360-degree view of the entire Sedona red rock system. Capitol Butte, Courthouse Rock, Boynton Canyon, the Cockscomb, Munds Mountain, and the Dry Creek basin all visible at once. No other accessible Sedona summit delivers this.

This hike is for people with solid hiking fitness and some slickrock experience. If you’re new to desert hiking, start with the corridor trails, build some experience, then come back for this one.

Trail Overview

Bear Mountain is 4.6 miles round trip with 2,100 feet of elevation gain. Difficulty is strenuous. The average grade to the summit plateau is 9%, but it’s not evenly distributed. The route climbs in three distinct tiers with different terrain and difficulty in each.

There is no maintained trail above the first tier. From about mile 0.8 onward, you’re following cairns and reading the terrain. The cairns get disturbed regularly by weather and by hikers who wander off-route and accidentally build new cairn stacks in wrong places. Download a GPS track before you go.

Round-trip time for most fit hikers is 3 to 4 hours. Add time if you’re new to slickrock or plan to spend time at the summit.

The trailhead accesses the north face of Bear Mountain above the Boynton Canyon drainage. You’re in the red rock country immediately, no flat desert approach to warm up on.

Getting There

The trailhead is located on Boynton Pass Road, accessed from Dry Creek Road off SR-89A. Take Dry Creek Road north from 89A, then turn left on Boynton Pass Road. The Bear Mountain Trailhead is roughly 3 miles down Boynton Pass Road on the left side. The road is unpaved but generally passable by most vehicles in dry conditions. A standard crossover handles it fine. After significant rain, the road can develop ruts and soft spots.

The parking area is small, maybe 8 to 10 vehicles. It fills quickly on cool season weekends. Arrive before 8am on Saturdays from November through April.

Red Rock Pass required: $5 per day, $15 per week, $20 per year. Purchase at recreation.gov, the Red Rock Visitor Center on SR-179, or trailhead kiosks at other Sedona trailheads. America the Beautiful passes cover the fee. The Bear Mountain lot may or may not have a kiosk on-site. Buying your pass in advance at recreation.gov or the visitor center avoids any uncertainty.

From Sedona town center, the drive is roughly 25 minutes.

Note: The Boynton Canyon Trailhead is a separate parking area a short distance down the same road. Don’t confuse the two. Bear Mountain Trailhead is specifically signed and sits to the north of the Boynton Canyon lot.

Trail Description

Tier 1 (Miles 0 to 0.8): Juniper Slope

The first tier is the most straightforward section of the hike. A clear path leads north through juniper, manzanita, and prickly pear on moderate slope. The grade is consistent and manageable. You gain roughly 500 feet in this section.

The trail is visible and well-worn here. No route-finding needed. Take this time to check your water, adjust your pack, and get your legs warmed up. The terrain changes significantly after mile 0.8.

Looking south from the trail as you climb, Boynton Canyon opens below and behind you. The red canyon walls and the distant mesa country above Sedona become visible as you gain height. This view improves all the way to the summit.

Tier 2 (Miles 0.8 to 1.5): Route-Finding Begins

At roughly mile 0.8, the maintained trail essentially ends. The surface shifts from worn dirt path to open slickrock and broken sandstone. Cairns continue marking the general route, but they are not reliable.

This is where people first go wrong. Several false routes branch away from the correct line, often worn by hikers who followed a wrong cairn and kept going. The most common false route leads southeast onto a slickrock ramp that dead-ends at a cliff face after about 0.3 miles of climbing. It looks like the right way from below. It isn’t.

The correct route stays generally north-northwest, following the ridge system rather than dropping into the drainages on either side. When in doubt on tier 2, stay on the ridge. Drainages look easier but they cliff out.

Download a GPS track and check your position when you’re unsure. This is the section where a phone with offline maps earns its weight.

The grade on tier 2 is steeper than tier 1 and the footing is less predictable. Mixed slickrock, loose scree, and embedded rock alternate. Ankle-support shoes or hiking boots are clearly better than trail runners on this section.

Tier 3 (Miles 1.5 to 2.3): Very Steep Slickrock

Tier 3 is what most people remember about this hike. The route goes directly up open sandstone slabs, steep enough that you use your hands for balance and stability. There is no pretending this is a trail. It’s controlled scrambling on rough Coconino sandstone.

The exposure is real. On the steeper sections of tier 3, a slip could mean a serious fall. The sandstone grips well when dry. After rain or morning frost, it’s a different situation entirely. Don’t attempt tier 3 on wet rock.

Route-finding continues to matter here. The correct line follows a series of natural ramps and shelves in the sandstone rather than attempting to go straight up the steepest faces. Look for wear on the rock surface from previous hikers. Smooth polish on a sandstone edge usually means hands have been placed there.

At about mile 2.0, a false summit appears. You’ll think you’ve arrived. You haven’t. The actual summit plateau is another 0.3 miles beyond it, continuing north.

Summit Plateau (Mile 2.3)

When the slickrock finally levels off, you’re on the Bear Mountain summit plateau. The surface is flat, open sandstone with sparse desert scrub. Multiple high points are visible to the north. Walk toward the highest ground.

The views open in all directions. To the east and southeast: the red rock corridor of Sedona, Capitol Butte, Courthouse Rock, Bell Rock, and Cathedral Rock as a distant silhouette. To the northeast: Wilson Mountain’s broad face. Southwest: the Boynton Canyon drainage directly below you, and the Cockscomb ridgeline beyond. West: the Dry Creek basin opening toward the Verde Valley and Mingus Mountain on the horizon.

Sit down and take it in. You’ve earned it and it’s genuinely one of the best viewpoints in the Sedona area.

What to Bring

Water is the first priority. Bring 3 liters minimum. 4 liters on any day above 60 degrees F. There are no water sources anywhere on this route. The climb is long and the exposure on tier 3 means you’ll work harder than the mileage suggests.

Footwear matters more on this trail than on any other Sedona hike. A hiking boot or trail shoe with solid ankle support and an aggressive lug sole is not optional here. Tier 2 and tier 3 involve loose rock on slope and steep slickrock where a sole with real grip is the difference between confident movement and sketchy scrambling. Our desert hiking boot guide covers which sole types actually perform on Coconino sandstone.

Trekking poles: bring them if you own them. They help on the descent from tier 3 and protect your knees on the long way down. Get poles that collapse and strap to your pack because you’ll stow them during the hands-on sections of tier 3.

A hydration pack is better than water bottles on this hike because you need both hands free on the upper tiers. A pack you can sip from without stopping to dig out a bottle keeps your hydration consistent through the hardest climbing sections.

Sun protection for your arms and neck matters a lot here. Tier 3 is fully exposed slickrock with no vegetation cover. On a March day that feels comfortable in town, the sun on open sandstone is strong enough to burn in 30 minutes. A lightweight UPF 50 hoody handles the full hike.

Download your offline maps before you leave Sedona. Cell signal is unreliable from tier 2 onward.

Photo Spots

Summit plateau, east-facing views: Shoot in the first hour after sunrise for front-lit red rock. The Sedona corridor from Capitol Butte to Bell Rock is directly east of the summit. Morning light hits the red formations face-on from this angle. Late afternoon works for the west-facing shots toward the Dry Creek basin.

Tier 3 looking back down: Mid-climb on tier 3, turn around and shoot back down the route. You get the canyon below, the Boynton Canyon drainage, and the scale of the slickrock terrain you’re on. The perspective is something you can’t get from a valley trail. A wide-angle lens or your phone ultrawide captures the full sweep of canyon and sky.

Boynton Canyon from the summit rim: Walk to the southwest edge of the summit plateau and look directly down into Boynton Canyon. The canyon is roughly 1,800 feet below you. The striped red canyon walls from above are a different shot than anything you’d get hiking the canyon floor. Late afternoon gives the best color on the west-facing canyon walls.

See our golden hour photography guide for timing and gear tips that apply to high-elevation desert shooting.

Safety Notes

This trail requires route-finding. People get cliffed out on false routes every year. Download a GPS track before you go, not just a trail map. Use it actively on tier 2 and tier 3, not just when you’re lost.

Wet rock: The sandstone on tier 3 is very steep. When wet from rain or morning frost, it’s dangerous. Don’t attempt tier 3 on wet slickrock. The Sedona area gets occasional frost through March. Check the overnight low before your hike and give the rock until 9am to dry after frost.

Heat: This hike is not advisable from May through September. You’re climbing 2,100 feet of sun-exposed rock with no shade above tier 1. Summer temperatures in Sedona reach 105 degrees F in July and August. Even in May, a midday summit temperature on open slickrock can be 15 to 20 degrees hotter than the air temperature due to radiant heat from the rock. If you hike this in April or May, start at sunrise and be descending by 10am. Our heat management guide covers the warning signs.

Cell signal: Unreliable from about tier 2 onward. Weak signal may exist at the summit but don’t count on it. Make sure someone knows your planned route and return time before you leave.

Rescue response: The off-trail nature of this hike means rescue access is slower than on corridor trails. A rescue on bear mountain tier 3 takes longer than a rescue on the Cathedral Rock main trail. This isn’t a reason to avoid the hike, but it’s a reason to be conservative about conditions and turning around early if something feels off.

For any hiking emergency, call 911. Yavapai County Search and Rescue covers this area. Cell signal at the summit may be adequate to place a call, but it’s not guaranteed.

Related Trails

Boynton Canyon starts less than a mile from the Bear Mountain Trailhead. It’s the accessible, maintained version of exploring the same drainage that Bear Mountain towers above. If you want to see Boynton Canyon before committing to the Bear Mountain climb, hike the canyon first.

Devil’s Bridge is Sedona’s most popular moderate hike for comparison. If Devil’s Bridge felt hard or you turned around before the arch, Bear Mountain isn’t your next hike. If Devil’s Bridge felt easy and you’re hungry for something with real elevation and route-finding, this is it.

Bear Mountain is the clearest line Sedona draws between its accessible tourist trails and its serious hiking. It’s worth crossing when you’re ready for it.