More than 2.5 million hikers tripped U.S. Forest Service infrared counters along Sedona trails in the Red Rock Ranger District between January 2024 and early September 2026, logging 930,714 passes in 2024, climbing to 986,002 in 2025 and tallying another 674,458 through the end of summer 2026, according to the trail counters provided to the NEWS by the U.S. Forest Service.
The Pocket Fire, which broke out June 19 north of Sedona, closed Boynton Canyon, Mescal, Soldier Pass, West Fork and other trails. Counters on those trails, along with Fay Canyon and the newly added counter on Doe Mountain, recorded little or no traffic from late June into July.
Cathedral Rock Trail
■ 2024 to Sept. 2026: Averaged 451 daily users in 2024 with 164,967 total counts, 462 in 2025 with 168,767 total and 461 through Sept. 2026 with 125,934 total.
■ 2018 to July 2023: Average daily users rose from 406 in 2018 to peak at 592 in 2021 before declining to 464 in 2022 and 429 through July 2023.
Chuckwagon and Mescal Trailhead
■ 2024 to Sept. 2026: Averaged 347 daily users in 2024 with 126,911 total counts, 388 in 2025 with 141,476 total and 312 through Sept. 2026 with 85,083 total.
■ 2018 to July 2023: Visitation doubled from 98 daily in 2019 and 82 in 2020 to 196 in 2022 and 208 through July 2023.
Boynton Trail
In late June 2026, counters on the Boynton, Chuckwagon and Mescal, Doe Mountain, Fay Canyon, Soldier Pass and West Fork trails recorded little or no traffic for roughly three to six weeks, an apparent equipment outage.
■ 2024 to Sept. 2026: Averaged 373 daily users in 2024 with 136,473 total counts, 387 in 2025 with 141,432 total and 307 through Sept. 2026 with 83,692 total.
■ 2018 to July 2023: Usage increased from averages of 205 and 199 people per day in 2019 and 2020 to 359 in 2022 and 366 through July 2023.
West Fork Trail
■ 2024 to Sept. 2026: Averaged 373 daily users in 2024 with 136,379 total counts, 370 across 11 active months in 2025 with 123,551 total and 233 through Sept. 2026 with 63,534 total.
■ 2018 to July 2023: Usage dropped from 334 people per day in 2018 to 298 in 2022 and 195 through July 2023.
The West Fork Trail closed in June and will remain closed for the foreseeable future, the USFS announced on Oct. 27, because of damage and safety concerns stemming from the Pocket Fire and later rainfall and flooding.
Bell Rock Pathway
■ 2024 to Sept. 2026: Averaged 267 daily users in 2024 with 97,844 total counts, 279 in 2025 with 101,698 total and 262 through Sept. 2026 with 71,558 total.
■ 2018 to July 2023: Daily usage patterns remained consistent, ranging from 263 daily users in 2018 to 264 in 2021 and 276 through July 2023.
Soldier Pass Trail
■ 2024 to Sept. 2026: Averaged 274 daily users in 2024 with 100,403 total counts, 272 in 2025 with 99,255 total and 237 through Sept. 2026 with 64,731 total.
■ 2018 to July 2023: Not included in the earlier USFS summary.
Fay Canyon Trail
■ 2024 to Sept. 2026: Averaged 183 daily users in 2024 with 66,958 total counts, 218 in 2025 with 79,429 total and 232 through Sept. 2026 with 63,471 total.
■ 2018 to July 2023: Saw a small increase from between 190 and 200 users each day from 2018 through 2020 to 264 in 2021 and 242 through July 2023.
Munds Wagon Trail
■ 2024 to Sept. 2026: Averaged 117 daily users in 2024 with 42,807 total counts, 104 in 2025 with 38,023 total and 77 across eight active months through Sept. 2026 with 18,763 total.
■ 2018 to July 2023: Remained between 65 and 75 people per day on average from 2018 through 2022, rising to 107 through July 2023.
Baldwin Trail
■ July 2025 to Sept. 2026: Averaged 95 daily users across five active months in 2025 with 14,467 total counts and 112 across seven active months through Sept. 2026 with 23,940 total.
■ 2018 to July 2023: Not included in the earlier USFS summary.
Broken Arrow Trail
■ 2024 to Sept. 2026: Averaged 82 daily users in 2024 with 30,101 total counts, 89 in 2025 with 32,449 total and 81 through Sept. 2026 with 22,060 total.
■ 2018 to July 2023: Usage was largely unchanged, from 98 people per day in 2018 to 97 in 2022 and through July 2023.
Slim Shady Trail
■ 2024 to Sept. 2026: Averaged 61 daily users in 2024 with 22,187 total counts, 54 in 2025 with 19,875 total and 49 through Sept. 2026 with 13,297 total.
■ 2018 to July 2023: Experienced a small increase, from 53 users per day in 2018 to 63 in 2022.
Bell Trail and Devil’s Bridge Trail
■ 2024 to Sept. 2026: Both counters remain absent from the recent dataset.
■ 2018 to July 2023: Bell Trail averaged 60 people per day in 2018 and 66 in 2019, rising to 156 in 2020 and falling to 21 in 2021 before the counter failed in 2022. Devil’s Bridge daily usage was 459 in 2018, 472 in 2019 and 529 in 2020, averaging 764 in early 2021, or an estimated 665 daily for the full year, before the counter failed on March 26, 2021.
New additions
As part of the Red Rock Trails Access Plan, which made a suite of improvements across the Red Rock Ranger District, a previously unofficial social trail that makes a loop on the top of Doe Mountain was brought into the USFS trail system in the spring of 2025 through the financial contributions of the Sedona Red Rock Trail Fund. A multiyear buildout of the Turkey Creek Trail system off Verde Valley School Road in the Village of Oak Creek is also underway. The first Turkey Creek counter has been recording since at least 2023, before the new trails, and the Doe Mountain counter, which began recording in July 2025, covers the established Doe Mountain Trail as well as the new loop.
Doe Mountain Trail
■ July 2025 to Sept. 2026: Averaged 103 daily users across six active months in 2025 with 18,897 total counts and 118 through Sept. 2026 with 32,138 total.
Turkey Creek and Turkey Creek 2
■ 2024 to Sept. 2026: The first Turkey Creek counter averaged 16 daily users in 2024 with 5,684 total counts and 17 through July 2025 with 3,537 total. Turkey Creek 2 averaged 17 daily users from July through Dec. 2025 with 3,145 total counts and 23 through Sept. 2026 with 6,257 total.
