Nestled amidst striking red rock formations and the dark greens of the Coconino Forest, Sedona, Arizona, is a premier destination for mountain biking enthusiasts. Known for its breathtaking scenery and diverse terrain, Sedona offers intermediate to advanced riders a vast network of technical trails to explore. If you’re just starting out with mountain biking, add Sedona to your bucket list once you’re more comfortable navigating chunky trails, some with significant exposure.
One of the best places to mountain bike in Sedona is the West Sedona collection of trails. Most of the trails are intermediate (blue), which makes it an ideal location to acclimate to the elevation and the terrain. The Sedona Cultural Center Trailhead is a preferred spot to park with access to several trailheads. All the trails in Sedona are incredibly well-marked with signage, maps, and rock cairns, so you never have to guess if you’re heading in the right direction.
On November 17, 2024, we set out at 7:30 a.m. in chilly 33° temps to tackle a 19-mile loop that includes many of West Sedona’s best trails: Stirrup, Girdner, Chuck Wagon, Mescal, Canyon of Fools, and Axis. Check out our route on Trailforks for a profile of each trail. This was our first ride during this visit to Sedona, and we agreed it was the perfect way to kick things off.
The ride begins on Stirrup, a brief connector leading to Girdner which is roughly a 3-mile northbound singletrack that flows up and down with scattered rocky features and sweeping views of the mesa in the distance. Chuck Wagon comes next, offering up several classic Sedona experiences from flowing singletrack winding through a tightly knit forest, to dried creek step-ups and several modest rock drops.
One of the highlights of the route is traversing the Mescal trail, which is carved along the edge of a raised mesa, offering jaw-dropping views of Boyton Canyon and large red rock features in the distance. Mescal is marked with white dots painted on the slickrock to make sure you stay on the optimal line as you ride along the ledge of the mesa.
We opted to take Canyon of Fools to drop back into the valley. It’s quite tame compared to other black diamond trails in Sedona but still offers an exhilarating experience as you weave through a natural pump track within a very narrow canyon.
Once back in the valley, Axis is a perfect cross-country track to bring you back to the car. Words don’t do this route justice, so we hope you’ll take a few minutes to check it out for yourself.
In the past, we’ve only brought larger travel all-mountain / enduro bikes to Sedona because of how demanding the trails can be. This was the first time we had cross-country (XC) bikes with us, which proved an ideal choice for the West Sedona route.
The lighter bikes limited our fatigue as we climbed in and out of the valley. They were nimble and responsive as we whipped through the forest, and we still had plenty of travel to hit all of the rocky features we encountered without having to throttle back on speed (My bike: 120mm front / 100mm rear, Sandee’s: 110mm front and 100mm rear).
Sedona is one of our all-time favorite places to travel with our mountain bikes. In the coming weeks, we’ll post additional routes. We’re also working on a detailed adventure guide that will give you everything you need to plan your own trip to Sedona, including routes, insider tips, and recommendations for lodging, restaurants, what to bring, etc. In the meantime, drop a comment with your favorite Sedona trail below and contact us with any questions.