When my daughter and I take our annual Girls Getaway trips, we almost always include a hike. This year we traveled to Arizona to check out Phoenix and Sedona.
Sedona has a ton of super scenic hiking trails to choose from and we decided on one of the most popular hikes, Devil’s Bridge.
Click the link above for all the important information about the trails and this hike.
Devil’s Bridge is the largest natural sandstone arch in the Sedona area. The hike is listed as MODERATE, which was important, since I am not a frequent hiker and I have asthma. There are two main Trailheads to get to Devil’s Bridge. The Mescal Trail lists the hike as a 4 mile round trip, while the Chuckwagon Trail says it is 5.8 miles. The two trails eventually converge into one path to the bridge. Although we chose the Mescal Trail, somehow we managed to log 7.5 miles.
The hike starts out pretty flat and easy before you start to get into some uphill areas where you need to really watch your footing. A layer of red dirt that settles on the rocks makes them very slippery.
When you are almost to the bridge, you reach the hardest part of the hike. In order to reach the bridge itself, you must first scale 2 steep flights of rocks. The only way to do this is to do an actual rock climb. This area is also narrow, a bit treacherous and very busy. It is a bottleneck area only wide enough for one at a time and there are a lot of other hikers waiting to climb up or come back down. It took a lot of courage for me to push myself to tackle this part, but I did it.
When you finally reach the destination, you have to wait in line for your turn to go out on the bridge for your photo opp. I didn’t mind because it gave me a few minutes to relax after the crazy climb up. The views were fantastic and it was so worth it!!
The Arch is 50 feet high and it made me a little nervous watching how extreme some people were getting with their poses. We even saw people take small children and babies out onto the narrow bridge.
Tips
- Start early before it gets hot and the trail gets busy
- Take lots of water
- Wear good hiking shoes
- Slather on plenty of sunscreen
- Be prepared for that final steep climb
- Don’t forget your inhaler in the car! (whoops….I did it again)
Final Thoughts
My daughter was such a great hiking partner, and never pushed me to go faster than I was able to. One of these days I will actually remember to pack my inhaler when we hike. Sometimes I was so intent on following the trail and watching my footing, I had to remind myself to stop and enjoy the gorgeous views all around me.
This was the most challenging hike I have done so far and I really had to push myself a few times along the way. But it was worth it, because standing up on Devil’s Bridge was absolutely amazing! It was like being on top of the world without a safety net. Thrilling. I would totally recommend this awesome hike if you are in the Sedona area.
The World According to Dev 
We did this hike last August, my daughter, 3 grandsons and I it is fantastic. We even got to meet our first ever tarantula right in the parking lot. The views are beautiful. We went at 6 in the morning and we’re pretty much the first there but in the way out there was quite a few. Would definitely go again
I am sure glad we didn’t meet any tarantulas 😬 Early is definitely best to beat the heat and the crowds.
What a wonderful trip. Thank you for sharing your adventures in Arizona. It looks like you and your daughter had a great time out in Arizona. Your posts give me ideas for future vacations.
Thanks, It’s a great area to visit. Glad you are enjoying the posts.
Just beautiful! Well done on climbing onto Devil’s Bridge 👍🏻.
Thank you! We really loved the scenery throughout Sedona.