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• Sedona and Arizona
• Sedona Maps - Activities
  • Sedona Outdoor Activity Maps
  • Sedona Outdoor Activity Maps and TOPOS - Local Sources
  • Sedona Outdoor Activity Maps and TOPOS - Phoenix Sources
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Sedona Outdoor Activity Maps

Hiking, biking, running, or on horseback, you'll want a detailed map that fits your needs. Each map listed has its own unique qualities that offers safety and direction to your adventure. Maps are useful only if you know how to use them. Learn how to read and understand them. The fun will follow. Be prepared as you enter Sedona’s nature and take proper precautions.

Having a good map and knowing how to use it provides a safety factor that cannot be understated. It also can make the difference between and a fun outing, a painful experience, or a tragedy.

Planning your hike, bike, or horseback adventure means having the right maps. Many books offer excellent abbreviated maps and are covered in our book section; folding maps are handy on your hike and add safety and peace of mind; and internet technology let's you print your own Topo maps or order custom designed maps with your specific journey in mind. Whether the map is hand-drawn with shaded relief or a photo lay-over, making larger features stand out gives the map user a better feel for the overall terrain: how much higher the cliffs above you really are and how much longer the trail really is. Map scale and representational style is a personal thing and any regular map user will develop an ability to mentally adjust to any map’s scale and graphic qualities. A visitor new to the area may not have had much map interpretion experience so using two maps might work best or better yet, carry a hiking book and a map. For cross country scrambling, the U.S.G.S. topo quads are a must to use with a larger scale map of your choice. A compass and flashlight are a good idea, too. Many hikes take longer than you planned and hiking out at dusk or in the dark without light can really mess up your day.

Topographical maps from the U.S. Geological Survey are generally the most detailed maps though it takes a bit more skill to read and interpret the contour intervals. For example the tightly compressed lines you’re looking at on your Sedona topo could indicate a large cliff that could make the difference between the hike you thought you planned and a life-threatening scramble that you wish you hadn't encountered. Learn to read and understand these topo maps before you go.

Forest Service maps are generally a much larger scale. The Coconino National Forest map requires two sides in order to cover 1.8 million acres. This map is a great overview and companion for explorers who have a large area in mind that they plan to investigate. The Sedona Ranger District offers a new, more detailed map of the Red Rock Country that highlights all major foot, horse, and bike trails. It includes valuable info on trail etiquette, geology, plants, and itemizes these trails as well as overlays them in colors on the map.

Privately produced maps aim to be a user-friendly tool that are specific to your type of activity. The original Sedona back canyon hiking map, Reed Thorne’s “Experience Sedona”, was the only map available 15 years ago. Now there are many. Choose your map according to what works best for you. Our personal visual styles and mental imaging abilities vary from person to person. I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked directions by someone who had a good map in their hands, but either didn’t know how to read it or the map was a style that did not “compute” for them personally. Take a close look at all of them and fit them to your needs.

Sedona Outdoor Activity Maps

Red Rock Country - Coconino National Forest
www.redrockcountry.org/index.shtml

A nice map with all system maintained trails and trail ratings. This map lays the very distinctly drawn trails over a faint topographical background. My only gripe is that this style doesn’t illuminate enough 3-D effect to let a user know where he or she is in relation to the major geographical landmarks (large cliffs or formations like Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, the Mogollon Rim, etc.). The additional info on natural resource protection/etiquette is a valuable inclusion since many visitors have never heard of cryptobiotic soils or realize the fire danger that surrounds them in dry season.

Beartooth Maps - Sedona

Easy to read, laid over a topographical background, the Beartooth map has lots of detail and good graphics. Geared for hiking, it covers a wide area, 8 topo quads total; all of the Sedona area, west to Sycamore Canyon, and east to Munds Park, more area than any of the other privately produced maps. I particularly like the elevation change graphic shown as a graph for 22 of the major trail hikes. Waterproof and tear resistant, it includes lots of special notes on trail etiquette, delicate soils info, minimum impact travel, Wilderness Etiquette and user safety. Like a highway map, it tells you the mileage between the dots, indicating the total length of the trail you choose. Forest Service system-maintained trails only; for the myriad of lesser known single track trails that are not in the “system”, you should combine this map with one of the bike-oriented maps or a good mountain bike trail book.

Experience Sedona - Recreation and Activity Map
Reed's website, Ropes That Rescue: www.ropesthatrescue.com

This is the original (since 1988) and still one of my favorites. Reed Thorne, world-famous rope rescue expert, created this map. It is a hand-drawn representation of a topo map, with shaded/colored areas to indicate vegetation. It rates trails as easy /moderate/strenuous and is easy to read if you have a basic understanding of topo intervals (elevation changes), the spaced lines on maps that indicate angles, slopes, hills, and valleys. The first map editions list trails, or better yet, “routes”, that Thorne hiked/scrambled and included on his map. These routes are mostly cross-country, what we call “Kung Fu hiking” in the vernacular. He uses a clever, little triangle icon with an exclamation mark on these routes that indicates,” Extreme caution! Little or no trail evident. Recommended for very experienced hikers with advanced route finding capability”. In later map editions, the icon means "Hazard or Difficult". These travel routes often require “bush-whacking” and some Class 3 climbing (using your hands for ascents and descents). Be careful if you attempt to follow these unmarked routes. Personally, I seek out such routes and treasure the solitude and difficulty.

Sedona By Trail
www.mountainbikeheaven.com

Almost overwhelming with its cluttered, intense written details all over the map, this map is best used in combination with another map. Used solo, only an experienced map user will find it useful enough to explore new trails efficiently. It is particularly geared for mountain bikers, providing a micro-analysis of five major trail areas with details like “banked turns” and “whoa! look out. Big ditch!”. Avid, local biker Dan Paduchowski created this map in 1997 with technical aspects in mind so the serious biker could enjoy and select the best rides. Hand-drawn, with comments penciled-in throughout the map, this map shows the trails, but not the 3-D relief, making it a fantastic resource, though challenging to use if it’s your only tool on the trail.

Sedona Trails Map
www.emmittbarks.com

200 miles and 94 trails in a fantastic, useful map. Though I tend to carry at least two maps on my adventures in addition to the USGS Topos for the area, if I had room for only one commercial map it would be this one. My new favorite is also the most recent of the map pack. The Barks map succeeds superbly in combining the best features of all the previous Sedona maps offering vertical trail profiles, trail mileage, spot elevations, and trail summary descriptions and in addition even provides UTM coordinates for GPS users. Hiking and biking trails, equestrian trails, picnic areas, scenic views, campgrounds, State Parks, and vortex sites are covered in useful detail on a artistically shaded-relief map. It’s easy to read, simple to use, and especially comprehensive in depth. Check out their equally fine Flagstaff map if you plan on journeys North.

Epic Maps - Sedona
www.epicmap.com

Imagine an aerial photo of Sedona with the trails laid over the photo. This describes the Epic map except that upon closer look one discovers that the photo is a top down shot of a 3-D model of Sedona. Also geared primarily for mountain bikers, it offers nice trail/photo contrasts. Tear-proof and water repellant, it's easy to read and visualize where you are in relation to the canyons and prominent rock formations. 12 major trail rides ranging from 1.6 miles to 21 miles are covered in serious detail on the back of the map so that you won't get lost as long as you keep track of the exact mileage you ride (or hike). This of course means you need an odometer on your bike or a pedometer while hiking....

The Best Hikes in Sedona
www.sedonahikes.net

Doc Cassidy has hiked and explored more territory in Sedona and the surrounding Red Rock region than all but a handful of people. On rare occasions he will even lead a hike to obscure and remote Sedona destinations that few trekkers have ever seen. Doc offers 30 trail maps complete with detailed photo descriptions showing actual points along the hike, arrows on the photos indicating where to turn or continue, and a reference guide concerning the hike. It all adds up to 480 incredible information and map pages complete with 1200 color photos. Well-known Sedona photographer Janise Witt’s photographs add the icing on Doc’s information cake providing gorgeous color and clarity to the hike, vicinity, and destination. it may seem a bit like overkill to present hikes in such detail, however Doc’s approach will perfectly fit the needs of many visitors and residents who are not comfortable going deep into the Sedona landscape without the added safety edge of quality info that cannot be surpassed in its accuracy and ease of use. Think of it as a macro version of Google Earth focused only on Sedona. Go to his website and choose a sample hike from his list in order to examine a preview of his work in the form of an Adobe PDF page that shows exactly what you’ll receive for each hike. You can purchase maps and guides individually by the hike or as a total Sedona set. Doc has created a tool that serves as suitably for hiking safety as it does as a doorway to exploration and discovery. Cool, very cool.

Sedona Outdoor Activity Maps and TOPOS - Local Sources

The Worm Bookstore
Village of Oak Creek - Oak Creek Factory Outlet Mall
6645 Hwy 179
520.282.3471
www.sedonaworm.com

The Worm is a Sedona landmark. For over 15 years it has been a source of learning and education for locals and visitors alike. Topo maps, privately produced trail maps, hiking/biking books, music, and an incredible variety of Sedona and Arizona specific reference books covering herbs, edible plants, Native American, art, archaeology, and history. Family owned and operated.

Canyon Outfitters
2701 W. Hwy 89A in West Sedona
520.282.5293
www.sedona.net/shop/canyon/

The most comprehensive Sedona source for hiking and camping equipment. Tents, topo maps, boots, sleeping bags, water bottles, technical rock climbing gear, packs, and clothing. Another great family-run operation.

Sedona Ranger Station
520.282.4119
www.redrockcountry.org

The Sedona Ranger District office carries the basic Sedona topo quads, Coconino National Forest maps, and has trail sheets with detailed info on individual trails. The main office (which is temporarily located at the Beaver Creek Ranger Office 2 miles east of I-17 as you continue east on Hwy 179), the Sedona Chamber of Commerce uptown, the South Gateway office in the Village of Oak Creek on Hwy 179 (I-17 entrance), West Gateway at the Sedona Cultural Park (Cottonwood/89A entrance), and the North Gateway at the top of Oak Creek Canyon (Flagstaff/89A entrance) all sell Red Rock Passes and the new Red Rock Country map.

Sedona Outdoor Activity Maps and TOPOS - Phoenix Sources

Wide World of Maps
800.279.7654
www.maps4u.com

Top source: every Arizona Topo map in print, Forest Service maps, and specialty Arizona maps. Over one million maps, books, and traveler information products for every country on the globe. Order online or visit their mega-store before you head up to Sedona from Phoenix. Three Phoenix area locations; the original flagship store is located 1 block West of I-17 at the Indian School exit (602.279.2323). This is truly one one of the most comprehensive map/travel stores I've ever seen. I've been a loyal customer since they opened. Founded in 1975, it is the most complete map store in the Southwest. For real!