Brins Mesa Trail Sedona: Capitol Butte Views Without the Crowds

Most Sedona trailheads now require either a reservation, a paid shuttle, or a 7am arrival to snag one of the few parking spots. The Jordan Road trailhead for Brins Mesa has none of that. You park on a residential street, walk to the trail sign, and start climbing. No pass kiosk, no shuttle, no timed entry. The trailhead sits on a Sedona city street rather than Forest Service land, which changes everything about the logistics.

That practical advantage alone makes Brins Mesa worth knowing. The views at the top confirm it.

Trail Overview

Brins Mesa Trail (#119) climbs from Sedona’s west-side residential edge to an open sandstone plateau above the valley. The mesa sits at roughly 4,800 feet. From the Jordan Road trailhead at about 4,200 feet, you gain 600 feet in 1.5 miles of steady switchbacks before reaching the rim.

The mesa top is broad and open, the kind of flat exposed rock that makes you feel like you walked onto a table above the landscape. Capitol Butte rises immediately to the north. The Sedona valley spreads east. Airport Mesa shows to the south.

The standard loop is 5 miles. Up Brins Mesa Trail, across the mesa, then down via Jim Thompson Trail (an old road grade, nearly flat) back to Jordan Road. You can also connect at mile 2.5 on the mesa to the Soldier Pass Trail, which adds Devil’s Kitchen sinkhole and Seven Sacred Pools to the day without major extra elevation.

Crowd levels are noticeably lower than Soldier Pass or Devil’s Bridge. The Jordan Road access keeps casual visitors from finding it easily, and the lack of a single dramatic feature (no arch, no sinkhole, no labeled vortex point) keeps the Instagram traffic away.

Getting There

The Jordan Road trailhead sits at the end of Jordan Road in west Sedona. From Sedona’s main intersection at SR-89A and Jordan Road, drive north on Jordan Road for about 1 mile until it dead-ends at a residential turnaround. The trail sign is on the north side of the road at the end.

Street parking runs along Jordan Road for the last quarter mile before the end. It fills on weekend mornings in peak season (February through April), but later than most Forest Service lots because the locals-versus-tourists ratio here skews more local. By 8am on a weekend you’ll still find spots. By 9:30am in March, you might need to park a few hundred yards back and walk.

No Red Rock Pass required. No fee of any kind.

GPS coordinates: 34.8922° N, 111.7962° W. The address 50 Jordan Road, Sedona, AZ 86336 gets you close.

From Phoenix, it’s about 2 hours north via I-17 and SR-260 or the faster SR-179 into Sedona. From Flagstaff, it’s about 45 minutes south on SR-89A.

Trail Description

Miles 0 to 1.5: The Climb to the Mesa Rim

The trail starts on a wide, clear path heading north from Jordan Road, through juniper-pinyon scrub with scattered prickly pear and agave below the mesa walls. For the first 0.5 miles, it’s nearly flat as it crosses the bench land at the base of the mesa.

At 0.5 miles, the switchbacks begin. The trail gains elevation through a series of wide, well-maintained turns up the mesa face. The surface is a mix of packed dirt and embedded rock, with a few short sections of loose gravel near the top of the switchback series. Nothing requires hands, but you’ll want shoes with real grip rather than trail runners with a minimal sole.

The climb is steady but not relentless. You pause on the switchback turns naturally, and the views behind you build as you gain height. The Sedona valley fills in to the east, with the familiar silhouette of Cathedral Rock visible from about 1,000 feet above the trailhead turnoff.

At 1.5 miles, the trail tops out on the mesa rim. The landscape change is abrupt. One step you’re in enclosed scrub with walls on both sides, the next you’re standing on flat open rock with 180 degrees of sky. Take a few minutes here before continuing. The initial rim view is one of the best on the hike.

Miles 1.5 to 2.5: Across the Mesa Top

The mesa top is mostly flat with gentle rolls in the terrain. The trail is marked with cairns across the open rock, clear on a dry day, a bit harder to follow in full sun when all the rock looks the same. Keep the cairns in sight and you won’t have trouble.

Capitol Butte dominates the north view from the entire mesa traverse. It’s the large red butte that Sedona locals call Thunder Mountain, the same formation visible from much of the city. From the mesa top, you’re looking at its southeast face at roughly the same elevation as its lower slopes. The vertical walls and banded red rock layers are best lit in late afternoon from this angle.

At 2 miles, a short side scramble north along the mesa rim gives a partial look down into the upper Sedona Valley to the west and a cleaner view of the butte. It’s worth the 5-minute detour.

At 2.5 miles, the trail reaches the junction with Soldier Pass Trail coming in from the east. This junction is the choice point on the hike. Stay on the mesa for the simple loop, or turn east on Soldier Pass to add Devil’s Kitchen and Seven Sacred Pools before returning.

The Soldier Pass extension adds about 1.5 miles and eventually requires a road walk back to Jordan Road, so plan accordingly if you take it.

Miles 2.5 to 5: The Loop Return via Jim Thompson Trail

Continuing the main loop, the trail drops off the east end of the mesa and connects to Jim Thompson Trail, an old road grade that runs nearly flat back to Jordan Road. The descent is mild compared to the climb up.

Jim Thompson Trail is wide, clear, and easy. It runs through open desert with periodic views of Steamboat Rock to the east and Capitol Butte still visible north. The flat terrain lets you move quickly and wind down from the morning’s climbing.

The trail returns to Jordan Road at a different point than where you started, roughly 0.2 miles south of the Brins Mesa trailhead along Jordan Road. The street walk back to your car takes 5 minutes.

What to Bring

Water is the first thing to get right. The 5-mile loop with 600 feet of gain takes most hikers 2.5 to 3 hours. Bring at least 1.5 liters per person in cool weather (below 60°F) and 2.5 liters if temperatures are above 65°F. No water exists anywhere on the trail.

Footwear with a real sole matters on the switchback section. The embedded rock on the climb can turn ankle in flat-soled shoes. Any trail runner with a lug pattern handles it fine. Our desert hiking boot guide covers options across price ranges and explains what type of sole works best on Sedona’s red rock mix.

The mesa top is fully exposed. A sun hoody with UPF 50 handles arms and neck for the exposed mesa traverse without the mess of sunscreen reapplication. In March and April, the mesa top can also be windier than expected. A lightweight layer in your pack costs nothing.

A hydration pack or reservoir beats a single water bottle if temperatures are warm. You drink more consistently when the water is accessible, and consistent drinking prevents the dehydration that builds slowly across a 3-hour hike.

Photo Spots

Mesa rim at mile 1.5, looking east: This is the arrival shot, and it’s earned. The Sedona valley spreads below with the Airport Mesa ridgeline in the middle distance and Cathedral Rock’s distinctive silhouette on the far right. Best light is morning, when the sun hits the valley from the east. By 9am in winter you have good direct light on the valley floor.

Capitol Butte from mid-mesa (around mile 2), afternoon: The butte’s southeast face turns deep red in the hour before sunset. From the mesa top, you’re roughly eye-level with its lower slopes, which gives a different perspective than the standard shot from the Sedona valley floor. Shoot looking north-northwest with the flat mesa rock in your foreground.

Jim Thompson Trail on the descent, Steamboat Rock view: Steamboat Rock is a long horizontal red butte east of the trail. Morning light catches the north face cleanly. The flat open trail gives you a natural leading line into the rock. Shoot at roughly 8:30 to 9:30am for the best angle.

See our golden hour desert photography guide for specific light timing advice for each of these shots.

Safety Notes

The mesa top is fully exposed and has no shade. In summer (June through September), start no later than 6:30am and plan to be off the exposed mesa by 9am before direct heat builds. Our heat management guide covers the warning signs that precede heat exhaustion.

Route-finding on the mesa top requires attention. The cairns are reliable on a clear day, but they’re easy to lose track of if you drift from the marked path. Download an offline topo map before leaving the trailhead, AllTrails works well for this with a free account. Cell signal on the mesa is intermittent.

The switchback descent is faster than the climb and easier to rush. Take it at the same deliberate pace. The embedded rock that slowed you on the way up is equally capable of turning an ankle on the way down, especially when legs are tired.

For any trail emergency in Sedona, call 911. Yavapai County Search and Rescue operates in this area.

Related Trails

Soldier Pass Trail connects to Brins Mesa at mile 2.5 via the mesa junction. The sinkhole and pools are worth adding if you want a longer day with more variety. You’ll need to account for the extra 1.5 miles and a short road walk on the return.

Boynton Canyon is a different experience entirely. It goes deep into a narrow canyon rather than climbing to open mesa. Good alternative for a day when you want shade and enclosure rather than exposed views.

For the Sedona overview before picking a trail, the Sedona trail hub covers all the main options with difficulty ratings and crowd warnings.