How to Hike the West Fork Oak Creek Trail in Sedona, AZ
West Fork Oak Creek is an idyllic hike along a stream in a tall, red canyon in north Sedona, and is a really enjoyable hike, especially in the warmer summer months. I did this hike with my brother on my latest trip to Arizona, and it is certainly a great one to add to your Sedona hiking list.
In this post, we’re discussing everything you need to know about how to do this delightful Sedona trail.
Where is West Fork + Getting to the Trailhead
West Fork Oak Creek is located north of downtown Sedona off of 89a, in the canyon portion of Highway 89a. It takes about 20 minutes to get here from uptown Sedona.
Once you get into the canyon, there is absolutely no cell service anywhere, and you will continue to not have cell service while you are hiking. For that reason, I’d highly recommend you download offline maps so that you can navigate even when in a dead zone.
Entrance to the West Fork parking lot costs $12/car, or is a $3/person walk-in fee. The Red Rock Pass/National Parks Pass does not work here.
The parking lot is fairly large, holding 30-40 cars. The lot does fill up pretty quickly in the morning (usually by around 7-8am), but is actually a little bit less busy if you go mid to late afternoon. Several parking spots were immediately available when we arrived at around 2pm in May.
If the parking lot is full, there are some pull-offs right off 89a just a few minutes past the West Fork parking lot, where you can just pull off and park along the side of the road and then walk back into the trailhead.
There are several vault toilets at the trailhead.
Trail Stats
- Distance: 6.5 miles round trip, an out and back trail
- Elevation Gain: 564 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate, mostly for length of trail. The actual trail is quite easy
- Time to Complete: 2.5 hours
- Dogs Welcome? Yes, but must be on a leash
- Cell Service: No
What the Trail Is Like
From the parking lot, you’ll walk about ⅓ mile to reach the river, which is where the real fun begins. From here, you’ll walk on a trail next to the river (or IN the river – more on that in a minute).
The river and trail are in a beautiful, tall canyon with tall, sheer rock walls. This isn’t a slot canyon – it’s too wide of a canyon to really be considered a slot – but hiking next to the canyon wall did sometimes give a similar feel to hiking through a slot canyon (not unlike the Kanarraville trail in Utah).
The official trail goes through the forest alongside the river, interspersed with 13 delightful river crossings. If you take this trail through the forest, you will often just be hiking in a forest, without the epic canyon and river views.
The river crossings are all very manageable and there are stones or sticks that you can use to pick your way over. The river crossings are crazy beautiful and are certainly the most scenic parts of the trail.
This is where you can really appreciate the tall, sheer, red canyon walls juxtaposed with green trees and the lightly moving stream.
When we hiked in May (and the high temperatures were around 75°F), everyone was sticking to the defined dirt trail through the forest next to the river. On warmer days, though, I think walking in the stream would be much more pleasant, and this certainly is an option no matter when you hike.
Generally, the stream is pretty shallow, just a few inches (ankle height) deep, and the streambed was actually pretty flat rock, with just a few rocky areas. I think hiking in the stream would be a really fun option during warmer months, when I wouldn’t freeze if my feet got wet.
We did this hike in 2.5 hours, sticking to the forest + stream crossings trail. If you hike through the stream, I would expect the hike to take quite a bit longer – walking through water, even shallow water, just takes a lot more time.
Footwear
If you’re hiking in the forest and just doing the river crossings, for the majority of the year, it’s totally doable to do the hike without getting your feet wet, as you can easily jump between rocks as you cross the river. Occasionally, the river height will be higher, after heavier rain.
Still, most people were hiking in Chacos (or another waterproof hiking sandal), or in waterproof hiking boots in case they did step in the water.
If you choose to hike in the stream, I would for sure wear a waterproof hiking sandal or a hiking shoe that is designed to get wet.
Finishing the Hike
The end of the maintained path signals the official end of the trail, but you could continue farther walking in the stream. You’ll know you’ve reached the end of the hike when you reach a big pile of logs in the middle of the trail.
Of course, while the official hike takes you 3.3 miles upstream, you can certainly just choose to do a portion of the hike and then turn around. It seemed a lot of people opted to do this – we encountered far fewer people at the end of the trail than towards the beginning.
The Wrap Up
West Fork Oak Creek is incredibly scenic and relaxed, with great river and canyon views. Overall, we thought it was a pretty easy hike – some small hills, but mostly flat and easy to hike. And if you have time, I think walking at least a section in the water is a great way to do it. This is definitely a top hike to do in Sedona!
Other Hikes to Do in Sedona
Check out my other Sedona hiking guides – these are all top bucket list hikes and experiences in Sedona:
