West Fork Oak Creek Trailhead

West Fork Oak Creek Trail is consistently rated among the top ten hikes in all of Arizona and is frequently called the most beautiful trail in Sedona. The trail winds through a dramatic slot canyon carved by Oak Creek's centuries of erosion, crossing the creek 13 times on stepping stones while ascending into a narrowing canyon where the walls rise hundreds of feet overhead and a hanging garden of ferns, mosses, and wildflowers clings to the rock faces.

For families, the trail is nearly ideal. It begins gently at the canyon floor and requires no sustained climbing, making it manageable for children ages 5 and up. The creek crossings — 13 in total, navigated via stepping stones — provide built-in entertainment for kids that keeps the hike from feeling repetitive.

Water shoes are mandatory, not optional: the stones are wet and slippery, and everyone will get their feet wet at some crossings.

The trail has no fixed length. It extends deep into the canyon for several miles, but families can turn around at any point. Most families with young children do 2-4 miles round trip, which still delivers the canyon's most dramatic features. Older children and teens can continue further into the narrowing gorge where the canyon becomes truly slot-like.

Fall foliage season — typically late September through October — transforms West Fork into one of the most spectacular canyon displays in the Southwest. The bigtooth maple, Arizona sycamore, and cottonwood trees line the canyon in gold, orange, crimson, and yellow, rivaling anything New England offers in peak fall color. This is peak season and parking fills fast — arrive before 8am.

A Red Rock Pass is required for the parking area (the former Call of the Wild restaurant site on AZ-89A, 11 miles north of Sedona).