Solider Pass Brins Mesa Loop Trail hike: Sedona Arizona
The Soldier Pass / Brins Mesa Loop takes is an amazing hike that allows you to do two of Sedona’s epic trails into one fun hike — with no backtracking! The Solider Pass section takes you past the Devil’s Kitchen, the famous Seven Sacred Pools, and if you have enough time, you can take the spur trail to visit Soldier Pass cave. From there, you’ll be on the Brins Mesa trail where you’ll have amazing red rock scenic views everywhere you look. This was one of my favorite hiking trails in Sedona and I’ve done a lot.
If Sedona’s on your itinerary for a few days, this trail deserves a spot on your list. In this hiking guide, I’ll show you how to tackle it. Let’s begin.
Quick Stats – Brins Mesa and Solider Pass Loop Hike
Distance: About 5.6 miles
Elevation Gain: ~1000 feet
Time Needed: 3-4 hours
Trail Type: Loop
Difficulty: Moderate
Dogs allowed: Yes
Passes Needed: You will need to either have a Red Rock Pass (the pass is $5 per day or $15 for one week – get more information here) or use an America the Beautiful National Park Pass. You must display this on your dashboard at the trailhead. You can purchase the Red Rock pass from a vending machine at the trailhead.
Soldier Pass / Brins Mesa Loop Trailhead Location
There are a few different ways you can access this trail:
Jim Thompson Trailhead:
This is what I did and what I recommend doing. There are spots for approx 50 vehicles. I arrived here just after sunrise in March. This is a popular trail and the lot will fill by about 10 or 11 am so you will want to get here early. To get to this trailhead, you will travel through a neighborhood, and then onto a gravel road. The gravel road has one sketchy part, where there are a ton of giant potholes with broken-up concrete pieces. However, any car should be able to make it; just take it slow! There is a restroom at this trailhead as well as a vending machine to buy a Red Rock pass should you need it.
Solider Pass Trailhead:
It is MUCH more difficult to score a parking spot here — I don’t recommend trying this method. This parking lot only holds 15 cars, and there is a gate – the lot is only open from 8am – 6pm, Monday through Wednesday. So even if you get here early before the lot opens, there is often a line of cars waiting to get in. No Red Rock Pass is needed if you’re able to score a spot in this lot. But I wouldn’t attempt it. Just go to Jim Thompson.
Sedona Shuttle:
Alternatively, you can use the Sedona Shuttle to get to the Solider Pass Trailhead from Thursday thru Sunday. To catch the shuttle, you’ll need to park at the Posse Grounds Park and Ride lot. Check the website for more details such as shuttle times and bus stop location.
This is the exact hiking route I followed on AllTrails.
Should I hike this loop clockwise or counterclockwise?
Absolutely 100% without-a-doubt recommend that you hike this trail clockwise! Unless you want to torture yourself with some major elevation gains at the start of the hike. I hiked this clockwise — the elevation gain when doing the Brins Mesa Loop clockwise is gradual; you’ll hardly notice it. Once you reach the Brins Mesa Trail (at the ‘top’ section of the loop on the map above), it’s all downhill from there — and it’s a pretty steep grade. I wouldn’t want to be hiking that uphill; it looked brutal.
Plus, by hiking it clockwise, you’ll beat the shuttle bus crowds at the Seven Sacred Pools, as you’ll reach them early on in your hike. (And by that logic, you’re also going to beat the big crowds at the Solider Pass Cave, too). The hike out to the Solider Pass Cave is steep and it’s good to get it out of the way while you have the energy!
Part 1: Hiking Solider Pass / Brins Mesa Loop – (Cibola Pass / Devil’s Kitchen / Seven Sacred Pools)
Since I did this from the Jim Thompson Trailhead, that’s what we’ll be following in this post. At the Jim Thompson Trailhead, you’ll see signs for Cibola Pass, Jordan Trail and Brins Mesa. You’ll want to follow the signs for Cibola Pass / Jordan Trail, as we will be doing this CLOCKWISE. If you follow the Brins Mesa at this point on the trail, you’ll end up going counter clockwise and you don’t want to do that!
The trail takes you though the forest and it’s very easy to follow. At about a 1/2 mile into your hike, Cibola Pass ends and you’re onto the Jordan Trail. Then, your first point of interest is the Devils Kitchen, which is a (somewhat) interesting sinkhole. This massive hole in the ground wasn’t created by an earthquake or meteor; instead, it formed as underground caverns collapsed. Over the years, it’s expanded quite a bit, with the most recent collapse in 1989. I reached the Devils Kettle just after sunrise and it was extremely difficult to photograph this as it was shrouded in a shadow. Oh well. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t that impressive to me. Moving on!
Next up is the Seven Sacred Pools. This is a series of small, naturally carved pools that fill with water after rain. These pools hold spiritual significance for the area’s native people, and they make for an excellent photo stop. I definitely recommend coming here early in the morning, because I thought the Seven Sacred Pools looked amazing in the early morning light. Looking at other pictures online from those who’ve visited mid-day, they don’t look as impressive and can just look like brown mud pits.
After this, you’ll start ascending slowly until you reach the turn off for the Solider Pass Cave…
Part 2: Solider Pass Cave
This is a spur trail that leads you out to a famous cave opening in the red rocks of Sedona. This is an unmarked trail and I highly, highly recommend using an app such as All Trails to help you navigate where the turn off is to this cave as well as to make sure you stay on the right path to the cave. Even with AllTrails, I got a little off-trail for part of the time.
From the main trail, this spur trail is 0.5 miles (one way) to the Solider Pass cave — and it gets very rocky and very steep! If you didn’t feel like you were getting any sort of a workout on this trail yet, you will now!
This is a very popular spot, so chances are, you’ll be able to follow the crowd out to the cave. Because I was here realitvy early, I didn’t have that advantage so I relied on my All Trails.
Once you’re at the cave, you’ll have to do a rock scramble up a crevice to get into the cave. I thought this was much, much easier to do than the one at the Subway Cave on the Boyton Canyon hike. It was still challenging, but I didn’t have as hard of a time with it.
Once up into the cave, you’ll see views like this:
You won’t be the only one up here no matter when you go. In fact, despite arriving early, there were several groups of hikers hanging out in the cave. You definitely will not have any solitude here!
A lot of people will sit in the open archway of the cave for photos. I did this hike solo, and I felt it was really dangerous to climb up there, so I just took my photos and left.
Was hiking to the Solider Pass Cave worth it?
I’ll be blunt – no. This cave was nowhere near as cool as the Subway Cave. I didn’t like how my photos turned out (the lighting made it very difficult to get decent photos) and trust me, it doesn’t look any better in person. If you want to get photos of yourself within the opening of the Solider Pass cave, you have to be very comfortable and confident with your scrambling skills, which I am not. The hike out here is very steep and rocky; I don’t think I’d do this again.
Part 3: Brins Mesa
After you retrace your steps from the Solider Cave back onto the main trail, you’ll have a gradual ascent for a little while before the trail kicks the elevation gain into high gear as you reach the top of the mesa. It gets steep, but don’t worry, it doesn’t last that long – about a half of a mile. Before you know it, you’ll be at the plateau and from here on out, it’s all downhill. The beautiful red rock scenery is everywhere you look — and if you look to your right as you’re hiking, you’ll have a great view of Brins Butte. As you continue on the trail, the descent does get steeper – the terrain will alternate between rocks and steps. Trust me, you’ll be happy that you’re headed down the trail rather than up! This section of the trail is almost completely exposed – make sure to use sunscreen – there is little to no shade here. You’ll eventually reach the parking lot at the Jim Thompson trail and this will conclude your hike.
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Final Thoughts – Brins Mesa / Solider Pass Loop
Overall, this loop perfectly captures the beauty of Sedona, making it a good choice for hikers looking for red rock views, unique rock formations, and a decent workout. Though I didn’t think the Solider Pass Cave was worth the detour, that doesn’t take away the fact that I did enjoy my hike and I would still recommend it to anyone looking for a decent day hike in the Sedona area.
