Your email address will not be published. It has an unobstructed views stretching miles over desert vegetation with nothing to block sunlight. On the teacup trail, you will see the majestic Sugarloaf mountain on your right and the views get prettier along with the distinct desert vegetation as you walk along the trail. Keyhole Cave was one of our favorite caves in Sedona. Here are the 40 best things to do on and off the Las Vegas strip and the 15 best things to do in Valley of Fire State Park nearby. It can get a little confusing but if you have a map you can see the trail intersection on it which makes it much easier. Is it the same with Keyhole cave? You'll probably see a good amount of hikers here as there are a lot of popular routes in the area. Once you get up onto that lower ledge the hard part is over. During the hike you pass into Coconino National Forest. There is a shuttle now to Soldiers pass and we cant drive. It was still difficult due to the sand and slippery rock, though. During these times getting parked at trailheads can be a real challenge. You can get amazing photos from the bottom of the cave too. However, to be honest you should be fine with this particular hike. Subway Cave is one of the harder cave hikes in Sedona because it is 5 miles roundtrip, requires pathfinding and has a steep climb up a bank to enter the cave. The trail to the Keyhole Cave starts at the Teacup Trailhead. While it is a tough hike, it is the least visited Sedona cave. This route gets easier higher up on the climb. Renting a Jeep in Sedona offers a multitude of benefits and one of those is cutting the hike to Hideout Cave down from 3 miles to just 1 mile. Make your way slowly navigating through the tree branches occupying many portions, which will need you to use your hands along with placing firm and steady walk on the ground. We always download offline maps onto Gaia GPS so we can track our exact location at all times. You are actually starting this hike on Teacup Trail despite the parking area being called Sugar Loaf. If you dont have either, buy a 1 day or 7 day pass at the ticket machine or online at recreation.gov. Late afternoon sunlight would illuminate the arch and entire rock face in which it is located on the Fay Canyon Trail. Want to visit Birthing Cave? The hardest part of the right ascent is getting up onto a ledge right at the start of the climb. Without a rope, do not try to come down the middle part of that Right side you came up as it is so slippery and there arent any solid holds. Lets take a look at some of the most asked questions about visiting caves in Sedona, Arizona. At just 2.3 miles roundtrip you might be wondering what all the fuss is about with Keyhole Cave. Consider taking the Sedona shuttle. Not only will you have to forge your own path through wilderness, but you must also climb into Keyhole Cave using hands, feet and core strength. Grand Canyon Just 2 hours from Sedona is the incredible Grand Canyon South Rim, create your wishlist from the best hikes at Grand Canyon South Rim. Thanks Great Directions. Perfect! There are natural foot placements in the rock but you might want to take rope along in case you need help getting up the near vertical rock face entrance. Read our popular guide on how to plan the perfect 1-7 day Sedona itinerary for ideas on how you can spend up to one week exploring this remarkable red rock landscape. You still need to be organized and plan effectively otherwise youll spend your days frustrated about not being able to park anywhere. They like to sit on the rocks to soak up some sun. Lets find out all about hiking the Keyhole Cave right away. Going direct is the more exciting way to reach Keyhole Cave. You can download my Keyhole Cave trackand gain access to my library of all tracked hikes. One of the most impressive caves in Sedona, Try parking at Andante if Sugar Loaf Trailhead parking is full, Go direct off-trail to save time vs the wash, Take rope if youre not confident of climbing into Keyhole Cave, Keyhole Cave has the best light between lunch and late afternoon. If you plan to hike more trails around Sedona over a period of 2 7 days, you should buy the 7 day pass because you will need it at many other trailheads in the area. The Sedona Keyhole Cave is stunning but also the most dangerous out of the caves in this article. Keyhole Cave is the best cave for adventure seekers to visit in Sedona. The elevation also catches up as you get closer to the cave, gaining about 500 feet in the last 20 minutes of the hike, making it more challenging with each step. The terrain turns a little steeper on your final approach to Keyhole Cave. A ledge crossing is required with a fair drop to one side which could be dangerous in rain or icy conditions. This site uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. Read more in ourdisclosure policy.*. It is straight back and looks like a giant gaping hole in the mountainside. Once downloaded, you can load it into your own trusty device for ease of mind! Theres nothing quite like climbing into a cave glowing a deep orange as sunlight creeps in through rugged cracks and openings! Part of the allure of Keyhole Cave for me was finding it myself. We hiked part of the route inside the wash but most of it by going more direct to save time. A rope will help you come down safely. Inside the cave (maybe its a vortex or magnetic issue), but my GPS started scrambling and adding about another 6 miles to my hike incorrectly. If you want to get to the hard to reach places, you should hire a jeep.When to visit Spring and Fall are the best seasons to visit Sedona, but they come with a higher price tag and more crowds. This is one of the 4 main Sedona vortex sites. The elevation gain of the Sedona Keyhole Cave is 520 feet. Come 5:23 Hidden Hiking Gem In Sedona Arizona: Keyhole Cave Via Sugarloaf. Turn right onto a spur trail and follow it until you reach a steep bank. Visit Sedona outside of peak season to give yourself higher odds of getting parked up any time of day. Hiking Sugarloaf Mountain via Teacup Trail. Please do not park in or near driveways of local residents. Kachina Cave is best visited in mid morning between 9am and 11am when sunlight will penetrate a narrow formation causing the lone tree and red rocks to glow. However, the wash is flatter, more consistent and you wont have to go back on yourself at any point. If you do try to do Keyhole Cave around sunset, dont leave it too late because you need to get back to the parking area before darkness. Park at Sugar Loaf / Teacup Trailhead and walk up Teacup Trail for 0.3 miles until it joins with Thunder Mountain Trail. Soldier Pass Cave is a uniquely shaped cave in Sedona. But with just one day in Sedona, we would suggest doing Subway Cave, Kachina Cave and Birthing Cave as a 3 cave hiking tour in that exact order. Heres the right approach into Keyhole Cave: The right approach looks worse than it is. Looking for Sedona Hotel? The climb up is very steep and slippery. Duck inside and walk around to explore the remaining caves in this network. Please do not visit ruins with your pet. Try this 2.7-mile loop trail near Sedona, Arizona. To make your way, you will have to use your hands, feet and core to pull yourself up. Keyhole Cave is stunning, but its one of many others which I will one day do a post on, but in the meantime, heres a few other hikes, including cave hikes you can try: I have more posts on Sedona which you can find by simply using the search on my site, but just know that if youre not feeling the hike to Keyhole Cave after what you saw here, dont do it as there are so many other cool and safer hikes to try out in Sedona. In Sedona, we used Gaia to find all of the hidden caves and didnt lose any time trying to figure out if we were on the right path. You will go left and just follow Thunder Mountain Trail at this junction. In my case, I went left and climbed to get to the proper areas. Please take great care not to disturb rock formations or wildlife in any area you hike. This is the major road in and out of Sedona from Flagstaff and Grand Canyon South Rim. You can actually see Keyhole Cave as a tiny rounded hole carved into a distant red rock mountain from the parking lot and Teacup Trail sign marker (pictured above). Eventually you will find that the wash narrows a bit and becomes filled with fallen trees and rocks to climb over. You are going to hike directly straight ahead beyond the wooden sign heading for the red rock formation on the horizon. This is the easiest cant miss way to go. Due to the more complex network like structure of these caves, you can easily manipulate light to create unique images. But that said, you can also take the trail in the north which goes to the cave. Once you climb the steep bank, walk behind Fay Canyon Arch and use a wide angle lens to frame green trees and red rocks behind the arch. 1. Looking for a adventurous way to explore Sedona's Keyhole Cave? Bell Rock Hike the Bell Rock Courthouse Butte Loop Trail for stunning Sedona views, a fun slick rock climb and our hidden loop half way up the formation. This post tells you exactly how to find the Keyhole Cave in Sedona, including directions and hiking tips for this adventurous trip safely. Ideally, it is best to sit down and use your hands to move slowly for better support, instead of being upright, which can also feel scary. What Trailhead Do You Use to Access The Sedona Keyhole Cave Keyhole Cave Park at Sugar Loaf / Teacup Trailhead which has 14 spaces. Rome2rio makes travelling from Brea to Sedona easy. If you are looking for an easy hike, the Doe Mountain trail in Sedona is one of the best, If you are looking for the best Sedona Hot Springs, in this guide, we cover the best hot springs, The best breweries in Sedona should be on your itinerary whether you are a lover of beer or you, Enjoying the stunning Tucson sunset is the perfect way to end your day while exploring this beautiful city. The views from inside the Keyhole Cave Sedona are spectacular, and rewarding after the climb. Like all other caves in Sedona, the best time to hike to Keyhole Cave are the spring and the fall months and the early winter days provided there is no snow. Stay at Greentree Inn Sedona from $186/night, Andante Inn of Sedona from $153/night, Sedona Village Lodge from $105/night and more. We personally located and explored all but one of the 7 caves in Sedona during our first visit to the awesome adventure town in Arizona, and we have to say exploring caves is definitely among the best things to do in Sedona. No matter which season you visit, try to avoid weekends, holidays and the 10am-2pm rush. If youre fascinated by caves and the windows they create then youll love Keyhole Cave. It truly is a off-beaten gem and perfect for silhouette photos. Teacup Trail to Coffeepot Rock. Half of the fun is finding the caves in the first place, the rest of the fun is figuring out how to climb into and photograph each of the Sedona caves. Lets take a quick look at a comparison of what you can expect hiking either the wash or a direct route to reach Sedonas Keyhole Cave. Lets get stuck into the Keyhole Cave hiking walkthrough! The tunnel shape has a 5 ft gap running exactly vertical from top to bottom as though it has been sliced in half by a wide knife blade. On this path, you will notice many smaller washes branching off the main one. Do you use any of the best hiking apps on the market for navigation on new or unmarked trails? Another 1 mile heading north will lead you into a wash and eventually to a very obvious fork split in the trail. Just want to Thank You for your directions. Walk 0.2 miles to Devils Kitchen sinkhole, followed by a further 1 mile hike to reach Seven Sacred Pools. Getting down is harder than getting up and is a little unnerving even for the best of us. Once you have made the climb into Keyhole Cave, you find yourself in a UFO shaped upper chamber in which you can walk around in a semi circle (like a crescent moon) from one side of the cave to the other. The out and back hike to Keyhole Cave is moderately difficult, but a challenging scramble and climb is required to access the upper cave chamber. A 4WD trailhead is located an additional 1 mile up Forest Road 9530 which saves 2 miles of hiking total. If you want to get to the hard to reach places, you should hire a jeep.When to visit Spring and Fall are the best seasons to visit Sedona. Keyhole Cave Access: Sugarloaf One of the largest alcoves in the area, Keyhole Cave can actually be seen from many places in West Sedona. Early morning and early evening the sun will be too far to either side of the cave entrance and it will mostly be in deep dark shadows. 5. Zion National Park Zion is an adventure playground for adults, find the very best hikes in Zion and choose between 5 ways you can spend a one day in Zion itinerary. Did you know you can actually make it an all-time epic cave hike day by combining this with Soldiers Pass to see that stunning cave. You will want to come down via that wall side though as there is no way to really come down the middle with the lack of holds and how slippery it is. Photography Are you more interested in capturing stunning images? As long as you see it and make your way towards it in the north, you will arrive at the base of Keyhole Cave. Walk up Teacup trail despite the parking area being called Sugar Loaf left and climbed to get to the Cave. Going to hike directly straight ahead beyond the wooden sign heading for the best Cave adventure... A uniquely shaped Cave in Sedona once downloaded, you will find that wash! Going direct is the more complex network like structure of these caves, you can amazing... 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