Soldier’s Pass Hidden Cave Hiking Guide – Sedona, Arizona

Forever burned in my memory because it took us TWO days to find! I had seen pictures of the hidden cave somewhere on Pinterest and decided to try to find it. Pictures really don’t do it justice so follow my guide and find it yourself in about 2 hours! The picture above where you see us standing? This is what you’re aiming for as a reference point to orient yourself towards the hidden cave. It’s up in the cliffside of the mountains away from the trailhead.

The best way I know how to guide you is to show you pictures and give you short descriptions of what to look for. Keep in mind this is a hard hike that takes some upper body strength. I highly recommend good trail shoes and if you’re going in the summer – TAKE WATER!

• Trail Distance: 4.5 miles out and back

Difficulty: Moderate to Hard (some climbing involved)

The Trailhead

This is the sign you come to after you park and walk a short trail of about 100 yards away from the parking lot? But unless you get there super early you will not find a parking spot in the tiny parking lot for the trailhead. It’s in a neighborhood so if you come early afternoon, I suggest parking and get to walking towards the parking lot/trailhead.

Forest Service 9904 Rd, Sedona, AZ 86336

Trailhead – Soldier Pass Trail No. 66, Address

lANDMARKS

This section is going to be long and detailed but for good reason! It’s NOT easy to find so read this guide carefully once or twice before hitting the hiking trail.

When you get to the first picture of the trailhead signs above- GO LEFT. You will come to a large pit called The Devil’s Sinkhole on the right side of the trail. Stop, take a peek and look around because it’s actually really gorgeous! (see picture below? The darker area is the pit. It’s HUGE. You literally cannot miss it. )

The next major landmark to look for is The Seven Sacred Pools, (if you follow the well-traveled trail you will find it easily). These are gorgeous and another spot you really can’t miss! There are actually seven pools if you stand from the top and look down.

After seeing the ‘7 Sacred Pools’, continue walking: the jeep trail and the hiking trail will converge into one hiking trail that is a footpath only. (Keep in mind the trail you want is actually an offshoot from the main trail.)

Once you see the sign for the Red Rock Mountain Secret Wilderness, there will be a fork in the trail here. (Click the link for an actual geo-tagged location that should work well in google maps!)

Look closely at the next three images so that you don’t miss the fork! {Starting from left to right: Follow the Soldier’s Pass Trail.. the middle photo is the fork. The fork’s path is actually blocked off with some stones making you think you need to go to the left? DON’T. Go to the right. .. and the third photo is what you will see when you start walking/climbing.}

This next set of photos are all landmarks that you see as you keep climbing. You will come to an absolutely breathtaking view on this flat top area. Stop once you get there and turn around!

Now to keep heading up this trail: You need to go to the top far left of this open area (from left to right on the pictures this is what you’ll see if you’re facing up the mountain to turned-around). There is a clear trail to start, a peace sign in rocks on the ground.. and then the trail starts to get a little dicey which you can see by my third photo.

My best suggestion is to put your phone down and follow the footprints others have left. It’s NOT clearly marked. You can take pictures on the way out because this is the section that can trip you up.

So then comes the top of the trail.. This is an area where you’re going to have to climb and just keep telling yourself.. GO UP AND LEFT. There are a million little ways to keep there and it would be impossible to show you exactly how to get there because the foliage changes and rocks fall. This next photo will give you a general idea of what kind of terrain you should see? All I can say is again.. go up and left. Remember the first photo of this guide: You want to shoot for the arches in the cliffside. Once you get here you’ve only got about 20 minutes to go before you see the mouth of the hidden cave! You’re so close!!!!

What to look for as far as the mouth of the cave? There are 3 arches and one cave mouth that makes it super easy to see where you should be headed. The hidden cave mouth you want is actually the one that is off to the right and has a really small arched opening (first picture below). You can climb up and sit to get beautiful shots of the surrounding area!

The second picture is the arch directly to the left but it’s very easy to orient yourself once you see this arch – follow it to the right and you’ll come to a wobbly stacked set of stones that will lead you up into the hidden cave. It’s not an easy little climb and definitely requires upper body strength to manage.

Once you get up inside the cave you see the MOST incredible views!! These are our favorite shots before we sat down to just enjoy. We hope you’ll enjoy finding it and enjoying (technology free) for a while once you do. Please feel free to share and pin to your Pinterest so you can put the Soldier’s Pass Hidden Cave on your bucket list. It’s definitely worth it!! Happy hiking!!

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Until next time friends,

Thanks for sharing!