billyb68

am going to sedona in august and am interested in getting to the cave dwellings along the verde river without paying for a tourguide..is it possible? also, the mogollon rim???? not much written on it but looks interesting..any info would be great..thank you, bill

bigtyke

Check back issues of Arizona Highways for information on hikes to ruins in the Sedona area. ALso might try the Arizona Republic Website to see if they have hikes listed - they feature 1 hike a week and several are in the Sedona area.

I would recommend visiting MOntezuma's Castle if you want to see a very impressive cliff dwelling. My favorite however is Montezuma's Well which is a few miles away. There is usually no one there to collect any entry fee and you can roam around the property better than at the Castle. You used to (at least 40 yrs ago) be able to roam around the neighboring hills where you could see evidence of dwellings. I haven't tried that recently so I'm not sure how practical it is these days.

emd

Perhaps you already know this, but there are also short hikes in the Sedona area that include wonderful ruins. One of my favorites has a cliff dwelling in a canyon that is unreachable (so it is very well preserved) but you can hike by it w/a great view of it. The Sedona Hikes book has them all listed (check my prior post on that book for more info). I will check and see if that book has info on the verde river dwellings- if it does I will repost.

emd

I checked the book, and it has some verde hikes (including the springs) but not the cave dwellings. You might call the tourist office in Sedona- I have found they know everything alot about the hikes in the area; they have some hiking enthusiasts working there.

emd

billyb, now I have gotten very curious about this. I also searched online adn can't find anything on this except the tours. It sounds like this mihgt require canoeing the verde river to the ruins. Re the Mogollon rim-- The same couple who wrote Sedona Hikes (Richard and Sherry Mangum) also wrote "Flagstaff Hikes"- I bet there is something in that book on mogollon rim hiking. You might even try calling the Mangums in Flagstaff-- I bet if anyone has info on the verde ruin access it will be them.

billyb68

Wow, thanks alot for the info...i will look for the books and info...i will definetly roam around montezumas well....bill

emd

billy68-- check out www.hikearizona.com
I foudn it last night while searching around for info on the verde ruins. You ahve to sign in to get on it but once you do, there is a section on hikes by type, and one type is "ruins". I didn't see the "big banana" verde ruins listed that you are probably looking for, but there are hikes to other verde ruins, and the most amazing pictures are posted. This site is a personal log and directions of hikes people have done, may of which i have never heard of and I've hiked the area quite a bit. Also so there is info on the mogollon area

emd

the hike i spoke of that goes by the ruins in the canyon is Lost Canyon. But there are alot of others w/ruins in the book. I opted to go soemwhere new to hike this spring (Zion and Bryce) but now you are makign me miss Sedona and Oak Creek- usually go there every year.

billyb68

emd.. hah,,sorry to make you miss sedona..i was planning a trip to bryce etc. but was in grand canyon and red rock canyon last year and didnt have time to go to sedona, so thats the pln this year. i actually go with girlfriend and our 4 kids ages 7-9 who love to hike, so im lookin for the neatest things to see..they are studying these things in school now..erosion, indians etc and are interested in it all...i hear west fork of oak creek is nice...can we get wet there in the summer?? also considering as far as we can get up mt. humphreys as im told you can see the cone of sunset crater? the kids love the challenge of difficult hikes..thanks again for your help, bill

emd1

Excellent that you hike w/your kids, so do we. We hiked West Fork in late June last year. Yes, you can get wet crossing the creek, or you can hop the rocks. It is the coolest hike (temp. wise) to do that time of year since it is down in the canyon. actually, it was the only hike we did on that trip during the late afternoon- usually we hike in early a.m. or late in the day/evening as it gets hot.
Take them to Slide Rock State Park, right on the road form Sedona up into Oak Creek Canyon. Great time getting wet, the water has carved out a pth on the rocks that is slick and can be waded in and "ridden"; take a cooler and ground cover for the rocks or folding chairs, you can spend a good part of a day there.
Red Rock State park has good guided night hikes during full moons, you hike up to the top of a ridge and the moon is awesome. Then they have huge telescopes set up afterwards.
Don't know about mt. humphreys (is that around flagstaff?)- but the Lowell Observatory in Flag is fun-it's where they discovered Pluto- and it's nice and cool up there at night viewing thru their telescopes.

emd1

BTW- Oak Creek is stocked w/trout in April and they get really big by end of summer if they haven't been caught. Just have the kids drop a little line in w/a piece of corn on a hook and you'll have fish (to cook or toss back). Since we seem to be the only ones talking about this, i'll email you w/our favorite public fishing spot if you are interested.

billyb68

emd...we are going in august..and i already signed into hikearizona.com..wow what a site..what is the fishing law in az.? yes if u like u can email me directly..we will be spending 5 days in sedona and 2 nites in phoenix to go to the supersyition mtns...any info would be greatly appreciated... yes, mt humphreys is by flagstaff and is the highest mtn in az. so thought it'd be a nice vertical walk...bill.

bigtyke

Mt. Hunphries is a pretty rough hike. There was an article in some magazine this last month on it (may AZ Highways or Sunset?) I only tried it 40 yrs ago in November when there was too much snow for a kid my age to get up it.

I odn't know about out of state fishing rules. For instate (and I'm thinking probably out of state) kids under 16 are free. a short term license for Arizona residents isn't very much.

A short trip to Sunset Crater (and Wupatki) Nat Mon. might be fun. There is a nice (but steep) hike right as you get in the park (Lenox cone) that gets you a great view of the area. At Wupatki, there is an interesting blowhole. Walnut Canyon is also interesting

cactushugger

Have you looked at desertusa.com? I love this site. It is definately worth a look for anyone who enjoys the south west. If you have questions, the regulars on the message board are very helpful and a wealth of knowledge. Topics include travel, plants and animals,general interest, off-road recreation, etc. This is also a kid-safe site. Yours might enjoy seeing the many pictures of desert plants and animals plus accompanying educational information. Take a look!

Photodog

There are several wonderful rock art areas near Sedona including Palatki Ruin and Red Cliff Rock Art Site operated by the US Forest Service. Both located off US89 on Forest Service Rds. There is a $5.00 entrance fee, no guide needed, can stay as long as you like. Open from 9:30-4 call 520-282-3854 or the Sedona Ranger Station at 520-282-4119. They can also give you information on V-Bar-V Petroglyph site near the Village of Oak Creek. Boynton Canyon also has a site in it. Couple of books might be helpful Rock-Art of the SW by Liz and Peter Welsh or Ancient Ruins of the SW by David Grant Noble. If you photograph the rock art you will find a polarizing filter will help cut out the glare and give you much better photographs.

emd

billyb68: Will you please report back to us on the mogollon rim and your adventure to the verde river cliff dwellings- I am extremely curious and would like to do those next fall when I go to Sedona if you will please report back. Thanks very much. Alot of times, people do not report back, but I would really benefit from hearing about these routes if you find them enjoyable, since ther eis not much info in the books on them.

travellyn

billyb68, I'd also like to see your trip report. Just a warning if you haven't tried to post one before, write it on a word-processing program and paste. On this site, if the report is too long, the whole thing disappears. If you cut and paste, you can add on different sections as replies to your original post.

emd

Just hoping that billyb68 is around (or someone else) and will see this and can tell me something about that mogollon rim hike. I am going to Sedona in two weeks to hike and want to check it out but still can't find anything about it online.
And what about those Verde river cliff dwellings?