Hiking Fay Canyon Trail- Sedona Arizona Hike That I Didn’t Like

I heard about this Fay Canyon trail hike on the internet — of course, because where else do you get your travel information from these days?! This hike had rave reviews about it being so amazing & beautiful and topped a bunch of lists as one of the best hikes in Sedona. Okay then, so on the list it goes!

Going into this, I knew the Fay Canyon trail wasn’t going to be any kind of challenge due to the short length and minimal elevation gain. I guess I just expected to see more than some red rocks under a canopy of trees. In other words, this wasn’t my favorite hike — in fact, I don’t even recommend it. But I’m also not that target audience for this hike. The Fay Canyon hike in Sedona is for families and anyone who wants a short, easy stroll that gets you into nature. This is not a hike for anyone looking for an actual hike.

Fay Canyon is a family stroll — there were families with children of all ages on this hike, including small toddlers that could barely walk. This is the perfect trail if you are traveling with your young family! But that isn’t me.

Now don’t get me wrong — any hike in Sedona is still beautiful because it’s Sedona –– but all the hikes have this kind of scenery. By the time I hiked Fay Canyon, it was my second visit to Sedona in 2 months, and I had already tackled a bunch of the major hikes in this town — Devils Bridge, Cathedral Rock Solider Pass + Brins Mesa, Doe Mountain, Chicken Point, Boyton Canyon/Subway Cave. So I’ve seen some shit.

And what makes the Fay Canyon hike worse is that there is no payoff at the end. I like hiking and all but I’m not just going to wander around in the woods without any purpose to my hike.

I’ve probably lost you by now, as I keep shitting on this hike, but if you’re still interested, let’s talk about the Fay Canyon trail in more detail, shall we?

Fay Canyon Trail in Sedona Arizona – Details

Distance: 2 miles
Elevation gain: 280 feet
Type: Out and Back
Best time to hike: You can hike it any time of year. I did this hike in early March.
Parking: Fay Canyon has its own designated parking lot. I got there at 1pm on a Saturday during spring break and easily found a spot. This is a popular hike but people are coming and going constantly as the hike is short.
Fees: Fay Canyon is a free hike, no pass required.
Restrooms: Pit toilets at the trailhead.

I do recommend wearing proper footwear, as you are walking on red dirt pathways. This isn’t a paved trail and you will need to watch out for rocks and stumps, like you would on any hike.

Hiking Fay Canyon

From the parking lot, the trail for Fay Canyon is located across the street. The trail is very easy to follow, with tons of vegetation and a decent amount of trees (though it’s not completely in a tree canopy — you will need sunscreen as parts are exposed to the sun). You can glimpse up and see the tall walls of the red rocks as you hike.

You’ll find a lot of desert flora here, including juniper trees, aloe and lots and lots of prickly pear cacti.

I had my camera out, ready to take all kinds of photos but there just wasn’t much to photograph. The views of the red rocks were often obscured by trees, so there wasn’t much to see.

The end of the hike is marked with an “End of Trail” sign and it opens up to this large boulder field. Now, you can go climbing up on them like you’re King Kong scaling the Empire State Building, but that’s not for me. Apparently, there’s a nice view of the canyon you just waddled through but again, I wasn’t that impressed with the view from the pictures I saw. There are better views from other trails in Sedona that don’t involve having to channel my inner mountain goat.

And that’s it; just head back the way you came and question why you did this hike in the first place.

Fay Canyon Arch

One of the draws of this trail is the spur trail that leads to the Fay Canyon Arch. About halfway through the hike, there will be a natural arch on the north side of the canyon.

I had my AllTrails map with me which showed the cutoff for this spur trail that leads to the arch. But in real life, I couldn’t find it. I didn’t waste too much time trying to find it because seeing the arch wasn’t a big deal to me. I’ve seen plenty of natural sandstone arches in my day and from the photos I saw online, Fay Canyon arch didn’t look that impressive. I didn’t feel like bushwhacking to go off into the woods searching for this godforsaken arch (though I could hear voices that were in the direction of it; it just didn’t pique my interest enough to go looking for like it’s the hidden world of Narnia behind a wardrobe).

Fay Canyon Hike in Sedona – Final Thoughts

Of course, there is nothing wrong with getting out into nature, it’s just that most people don’t have endless time in Sedona and if you have even somewhat of a good physical fitness level, then I recommend skipping Fay Canyon in favor of better hikes. Families, however, will love this trail.