Vultee Arch Trail Sedona: A Canyon Hike With a Haunting Story

Most Sedona arches are just geology. Vultee Arch is geology plus a story that stops you cold when you read the plaque.

In January 1938, aviation designer Gerard Vultee and his wife Sylvia took off from Burbank in his company’s V-1A transport aircraft. They were heading to Phoenix. They flew into a winter storm over the Mogollon Rim and crashed into the East Pocket Mesa, directly above Sterling Canyon where you’ll be hiking. Neither survived. A bronze memorial plaque sits near the arch today, close enough that you can reach it on the same trail without adding much distance.

The arch itself is 40 feet wide, tan Coconino sandstone, tucked into a side recess above the canyon floor. It’s not as dramatic as Devil’s Bridge. What makes this hike worth doing is the combination of a quiet canyon, a much shorter approach drive from downtown Sedona than you’d expect, and a destination that actually has something to say.

Trail Overview

The Vultee Arch trail is 3.4 miles round trip with 534 feet of total elevation gain. Difficulty is moderate, tilted toward the easier end of moderate. The first 0.8 miles are nearly flat canyon walking. The trail then climbs the canyon wall steadily for about 0.4 miles, gaining most of the elevation. The final push to the arch is brief and you can pick your footing carefully.

Total moving time for most hikers is 2 to 2.5 hours. Add 20 minutes to read the plaque, take photos, and sit at the arch before heading back.

The trail follows Sterling Canyon from the moment you leave the parking area. You’re in the canyon floor for most of the first mile, which means you’re not exposed to the sun as early as you would be on Sedona’s mesa-top routes. Juniper and manzanita line the banks. The soil is sandy and rust-red. In early spring, you may see brittlebush blooming yellow along the canyon walls.

This is not a corridor trail. On most weekday mornings, you’ll count the other hikers on one hand.

Getting There

The trailhead is at the end of Dry Creek Road (Forest Road 152), about 4 miles north of the Dry Creek Road turnoff from SR-89A. The road starts paved, then turns to unpaved washboard for the final stretch.

Expect the approach road to take 15 to 20 minutes from where the pavement ends. High-clearance vehicles handle it fine year-round. Low-clearance sedans can usually make it in dry conditions but can get stuck after rain when the road gets soft and deeply rutted. If you’re driving a sedan and it recently rained, call ahead or skip this trailhead until conditions dry out. A single day of wet road after a winter storm can strand a low-clearance car in loose silt.

The parking area at the end is small, maybe 10 to 12 vehicles. On winter weekends it can fill by 9am. If the lot is full, there’s no good overflow option on this road.

Red Rock Pass required: $5 per day, $15 per week, $20 per year. Buy at the trailhead kiosk, online at recreation.gov, or at the Red Rock Visitor Center on SR-179. An America the Beautiful pass covers it. Have your pass displayed before you park.

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

Trail Description

Miles 0 to 0.8: Sterling Canyon Floor

The trail leaves the parking area heading northwest into the canyon. The surface is sandy and packed, easy to follow. You’re in the canyon bottom almost immediately, with walls rising 50 to 100 feet on both sides.

The vegetation here is classic high desert mix. Alligator juniper with bark like a reptile’s back, manzanita with smooth burgundy branches, and scattered cliffrose that blooms white in spring. In March and April, the canyon floor smells faintly sweet from the cliffrose.

At around 0.4 miles, the canyon narrows slightly and the walls come closer. Look up on the left (south) wall for a small natural alcove about 30 feet above the trail. It’s not the arch, just a recess in the canyon wall, but it’s a preview of the kind of erosion that created the arch above.

The trail stays flat and easy for the full first 0.8 miles. Most of the elevation gain hasn’t started yet.

Miles 0.8 to 1.2: Canyon Wall Climb

At roughly 0.8 miles, the trail begins climbing away from the canyon floor. This is the work section. The grade is consistent but not brutal. You’re gaining elevation along the south canyon wall, switching back twice as you climb.

Watch your footing here. The surface transitions from packed sand to looser decomposed sandstone. Small rocks on slope are the main hazard. Trekking poles help if you have knee problems, but most people don’t need them.

The views improve quickly as you gain height. Looking back down Sterling Canyon from about 200 feet up, you can see the canyon threading south toward the distant red mesas near Sedona’s commercial district. The contrast between the deep canyon shadow and the lit canyon walls is strong in morning light.

The climb section is about 0.4 miles long. Once it levels off, you’re on a bench trail traversing the canyon wall.

Miles 1.2 to 1.7: The Arch

From the bench trail, the arch comes into view at about 1.5 miles. You see the opening in the cliff face from below and to the right before you reach the actual destination.

The trail ends at a natural viewpoint directly below and in front of the arch. This lower viewpoint is the best angle for photography, looking up through the span with sky visible through the opening. The memorial plaque is located nearby, set into the rock at eye level.

You can scramble up to the base of the arch itself, closer than the main viewpoint. It’s not technical, just some careful stepping on broken sandstone. The arch is 40 feet wide and sits about 30 feet above the canyon floor at its lowest point.

From the arch, you can look southeast back down Sterling Canyon and northeast toward the East Pocket Mesa where the Vultees’ plane went down. There’s something strange about standing at a memorial named for people who were last alive somewhere you can see from where you’re standing.

What to Bring

Water: 1.5 liters per person on cool days. 2 liters if temperatures are above 70 degrees F. There’s no water source on the trail.

Footwear matters on the upper section. The climb from mile 0.8 has loose rock on slope and you want a shoe with real grip. Trail runners with aggressive lugs work well. Flat-soled sneakers are fine on the flat canyon section but feel uncertain on the upper climb. Our desert hiking boot guide covers which sole patterns actually grip on decomposed Coconino sandstone.

Sun protection is less of an issue here than on exposed mesa trails because the canyon walls provide shade for the first mile. But the upper section and the arch area are open. A sun hoody with UPF 50 handles the full hike without needing sunscreen reapplication.

A hydration pack works better than a single bottle for the climbing section because you can sip without stopping. On a 3.4-mile hike, a standard water bottle also works fine if you remember to drink from it.

Photo Spots

The arch from below (mile 1.5): This is the primary shot. Stand at the main viewpoint and shoot up through the arch opening. The tan sandstone picks up warm light from about 7:30 to 9:30am in winter months. By 10am, the top-down light flattens the texture. A wide-angle lens or your phone’s ultrawide captures the full span and the sky through the opening.

Canyon floor looking back (mile 0.2): Face south toward the canyon mouth about 0.2 miles in. In late afternoon, the red rock formations south of Sterling Canyon catch direct light. This gives you the classic red-on-red Sedona composition without any other hikers in the frame, since you’re shooting away from the arch rather than toward it.

Memorial plaque in context (mile 1.5): The plaque is bronze on sandstone, readable in any light. For a travel photography angle, include the plaque in the foreground and the arch or canyon in the background. It’s a less common shot than the standard arch photo and tells the story of the place.

East Pocket Mesa from the bench trail (mile 1.2): Shoot northeast from the bench trail toward the mesa wall above. In morning light, the strata layers in the cliff face are distinct. This is where the Vultees crashed. Including it in your composition adds context that a purely geological arch photo lacks.

Read our desert golden hour photography guide for timing tips that apply directly to this canyon.

Safety Notes

Road conditions after rain: The Dry Creek Road approach can become impassable for low-clearance vehicles within hours of significant rain. Always check weather before you drive out. If the road is muddy, turn around. Getting stuck on FR 152 means waiting for someone with a truck to come along.

Heat in summer: The canyon provides shade in the first mile, but the upper section is exposed. From June through September, start by 6:30am and be back at the trailhead by 10am. The canyon walls hold heat after 11am and the temperature rises fast. Our heat management guide covers the warning signs.

Cell signal: Absent in the lower canyon. Weak at the arch area. Download an offline map before you leave Sedona. AllTrails caches the trail map for offline use.

Wildlife: Sterling Canyon is rattlesnake habitat from April through October. Watch where you step and where you put your hands on rock surfaces. Don’t reach above your head onto ledges you can’t see.

For any hiking emergency in the Sedona area, call 911. Yavapai County Search and Rescue responds to this trail system.

Related Trails

Devil’s Bridge is 1.5 miles further up Dry Creek Road and delivers Sedona’s largest natural arch. More dramatic than Vultee Arch, considerably more crowded. If you’re already driving Dry Creek Road, you can hike both in one morning by starting at Vultee Arch (less crowded, better early morning light on the east-facing surface) then driving to Devil’s Bridge before the lot fills.

Boynton Canyon is another 6-mile canyon experience that rewards hikers who go past the first mile. Similar crowd profile to Vultee Arch. Further drive from town.

If you want more remote Sedona and less parking hassle, these two canyon trails are consistently better options than the high-volume corridor hikes around Bell Rock or Cathedral Rock.