The Baldwin Trail starts across the road from the Red Rock Crossing (Crescent Moon) parking area near the end of the Verde Valley School Road. It heads east and soon drops down a bit to the valley floor, near but out of sight of the creek. At 1/2 mile, it meets the end of the Templeton Trail. The Baldwin Trail forks sharply right and climbs moderately through a draw between Cathedral Rock and a red rock butte. Nice views of Cathedral Rock and back to Wilson Mountain. It levels out and then begins a gradual descent to the southwest and ends at Verde Valley School Road at 1.6 miles. (Hike House University preferred route is to access Cathedral from 179/Back O’ Beyond Road. Go up Cathedral 1/4 of the way, go right on Templeton, drop down in slot canyon which leads to Oak Creek. Trail then intersects the Baldwin Trail which is a loop trail bringing you back to intersection.)
The Hike House Sedona Trail Rating System provides actual hiker feedback and ratings of each of the Sedona hiking trails. The cumulative trail ratings for the Secret Canyon Trail submitted by fellow hikers is located above with the Trail Data. Your trail feedback and ratings are an important resource for fellow hikers and provide a personal account of your trail experience from which others may learn. So please hike Sedona, help others, and rate a trail today!
The staff at The Hike House recommended the trail, as I had failed to pack my hiking shoes. A great trail for walking in flipflops 🙂 If I had my shoes, I would have done far more hiking as the experience we had was awesome. The trails were well groomed and maintained and easy to followed. Views were breathtaking and lots of kodak moments. Anxious to return to Sedona and really experience the area with more hikes and biking! The staff was friendly and helpful, and the cookies were yummy! Purchased a few before I left Sedona and brought them home to GA.
Great variability in this trail. Up and down hills and wonderful views of the back of Cathedral Rock.
I am 10 years old and I went on the Baldwin trail with my mom, dad and sister. It was pretty easy and the creek was cool. I climbed down a small ravine. We also saw a great view of Cathedral Rock. The man (Mike?) at Hike House helped us pick the trails we went on!! 🙂
While I have hiked Baldwin to Cathedral Rock previously I chose the Baldwin Loop today. Its a scenic easy trail that doesn’t take long to complete. There is high ridge half way that provides great Cathedral Rock and other views while having a snack.
Nice little hike but can be crowded.
The Hike House suggested the perfect trail for us. We brought our six year old Gabriel who was able to hike it with no troubles. This was our first hike. We travelled from Tampa, Florida. Overall was a 5, views were a 5 and difficulty a 2. Thanks Hike House for making our experience a GREAT one!!
My sister and I experienced this hike in the dead heat of a summer day – despite the high temperatures, we were able to enjoy this hike immensely (especially considering we had the trail to ourselves). It was an easy to moderate hike that allowed us to see Sedona from vantage points we had never seen before – and we grew up in Arizona and have spent much time in this area.
This is an amazing trail, we did it on a rainy day in March so we only ran into a handful of people. Great variety with lots of different terrain, views, and just enough challenge to make me feel like I went for a hike instead of just a walk in the woods.. We did the loop clockwise, would recommend counter-clockwise from the trailhead, that way you don’t have to see so much of the housing when you come to the end of the trail. Took my 3 year old Labrador with me and he had a great time. Highly recommend for views and variety.