Sterling Pass Trail: Oak Creek Canyon's Quiet Hard Hike

By The Lowdown Guide Editorial Team · Visited April 2026 · Updated April 2026

Finding the Trailhead: The Unsigned AZ-89A Pullout

The Sterling Pass trailhead is one of the hardest to find of any named trail in the Sedona area, and that difficulty is the primary reason the trail stays uncrowded. There is no trailhead sign visible to drivers approaching on AZ-89A. There is no brown recreation sign on the highway. There is just a small pullout on the west side of the road that holds approximately six vehicles, with a trail post visible once you are parked — but not before.

The navigation key: drive north on AZ-89A from Sedona into Oak Creek Canyon. Pass Sterling Springs Fish Hatchery on your right (east side of the road). Continue approximately 0.7 miles south of the hatchery entrance. The pullout is the second pullout you come to on the west side of the road after passing the hatchery going south. GPS-mark coordinates before you leave Sedona — the AZ-89A pullout at approximately 34.9985° N, 111.7428° W is the target. Do not rely solely on navigation apps; several route to the wrong location or to a gated private road.

No Red Rock Pass required. This is the other major surprise about Sterling Pass — because the trailhead is a highway pullout rather than a Coconino National Forest fee site, no day-use fee applies. Park fully off the road shoulder. AZ-89A is a fast highway with limited sight lines in Oak Creek Canyon; getting in and out of the pullout requires care. The trail itself is Coconino National Forest land from the moment you step off the highway corridor.

The Climb: What 1,100 Feet in Oak Creek Canyon Feels Like

Sterling Pass Trail begins in the riparian zone at the canyon bottom — Arizona sycamore, cottonwood, and bigtooth maple along the creek drainage — before climbing steeply into the canyon wall. The first 0.4 miles is a moderate warm-up through the creek drainage. Then the trail turns uphill and the grade immediately increases.

The crux section runs from approximately mile 0.5 to mile 1.5. This middle mile gains nearly 700 feet — a sustained average grade of over 18%, with several sections steeper than that. The trail is a single-track through loose rocky soil with occasional exposed root systems. Good traction shoes are not optional here. The canyon-shaded drainage means the trail is in shadow for most of the morning, which keeps temperatures down but also means the soil stays looser and the rocks stay more slick than on open exposed trails.

The grade eases significantly in the final 0.8 miles to the pass as the canyon opens slightly and the trail runs through ponderosa pine forest. At the pass itself, roughly 1,100 feet above the trailhead, the terrain levels and the views open in both directions — east back down into Oak Creek Canyon, west into the drainage toward Vultee Arch. Most hikers turn around here. The descent on loose rock requires careful footing; poles are genuinely useful on the return.

Trail Breakdown: Mile by Mile

Winter Conditions, Snow & the Vultee Arch Extension

Sterling Pass Trail's canyon-shaded drainage creates winter conditions that last significantly longer than on Sedona's open desert trails. The upper section of the climb — roughly above 5,000 feet elevation — sits in a north-facing drainage that receives limited direct sun from November through March. Snow that falls in the Sedona area typically melts from lower-elevation open trails within a day or two; on Sterling Pass, it can persist for a week or more in the upper canyon. Ice forms on the loose rock sections after freezing nights and may not thaw until mid-afternoon.

For winter visits, carry microspikes — not crampons, but microspikes — and plan to turn around at the snow line if conditions are icy and you do not have traction devices. The loose rocky descent that is merely challenging in dry conditions becomes genuinely dangerous on ice. Check current trail conditions before any winter or early spring visit.

The Vultee Arch extension from the pass adds 1.9 miles each way for a total of 8.4 miles round trip from the AZ-89A trailhead. The arch itself is a 40-foot natural sandstone span set in a dramatic side canyon — less well-known than Sedona's famous arches and dramatically less crowded than Devil's Bridge. The extension is also accessible from the West Fork area via a separate trailhead, but the Sterling Pass approach is quieter. For the full 8.4-mile route, carry at least 3 liters of water, start by 8 AM, and have a solid fitness base — the total elevation change exceeds 1,500 feet.