On Saturday, May 2nd, 12 of us met at Denny’s for the Long Canyon Hike. We left around 8:00 due to construction delays on I-17 that caused some to be late.

Sedona rocks in red and white!

Fantastic formations grace Long Canyon.

The first mile and half were in open areas with smaller trees scattered throughout. The trail was relatively flat and easy walking through here. All the while we could see the Maroon Mountains to our right. The trail weaved its way ever so much closer to the mountains.

After the first 1.5 miles, the trail crosses the now dry creek bed several times. We walked through the shade of pine and fir trees, some of which looked to be more than a hundred years old based on the size of the trunks! The manzanita trees were terrific with gray and shades of red through the trunks and branches.

The perfect picnic!

Although the trail continued upward, the journey would have required some bushwhacking to continue. The hike was a pleasant experience with rewarding views of the canyon at the end of the trail. However, we did not find the petroglyphs we had hoped to find.

With the warm sunshine and dry weather baking down on us, several stopped in Sedona for some homemade ice cream and frozen yogurt. A cool refresher after a great day of hiking.