In February of 2020 I had my very first trip to Arizona. A bucket list item was to visit Sedona and see the famous Red Rocks. With limited (as in zero) hiking experience I was really looking forward to hiking some of the famous trails in Sedona; little did I know what I was getting into.
Prior to my trip to Sedona, I did a ton of research on what were the best hikes, best photos, and easiest and most manageable routes for a Florida native.
After all my research I landed on the Devil’s Bridge hike. Listed as a beginner’s hike with Instagram worthy photo ops I knew this was right up my ally.
Thankfully, my friend Kate flew in from LA the night before to meet me for the hike. As a novice hiker herself I knew we would be good travel partners.
The morning of the hike we woke of before the sunrise to get breakfast and head to Devil’s Bridge. We wanted to get an early start so we could do an afternoon hike. Once arriving, parking was a mess. There were no spots left so we took cues from other and parked on the side of the road. Little did I know it was a 2 mile walk to the entrance of the official hike.
Thankfully the weather was beautiful. It was mid-February, so it was chilly for a Floridian, but I soon was stripping layers throughout the hike. The scenery was also beautiful and jaw dropping. At every turn and every climb, it seemed to get more stunning.
We encountered many beautiful photos ops and many people as we made our way up. What blew my mind was the amount of people with babies strapped to them walking through these narrow walkways and climbing up rocks. I could never!
I was also surprised for a beginner’s hike how much I actually had to get low and climb rocks to keep my balance. Maybe that is the fact that I wore tennis shoes and it felt slippery or that I am well below a beginner in hikes but I was for sure getting red clay all over my black pants climbing through some of these paths.
About halfway up we reach a landing point where we got some incredible phots and could see devils bridge from below. Although we were tired at this point, seeing the destination made us really excited to keep going. Also at this landing point, I ran into a coworker I had never met except via Zoom. He recognized me from my voice and we finally got to meet in person. What a modern way to meet and what a small world it truly is.
Finally, after 2 hours we reached Devil’s Bridge and the view was incredible. There was an organized line of hikers waiting to get the famous bridge picture and I could not believe the daredevil sprits some of them had. A few dangled their feet over the edge, I saw one lady do a cartwheel, and others jump for a photo op. I opted to stand still as my fear of ledges started to kick in.
One thing that is truly memorable about our hike was how nice the people were. Everyone was in such a great mood to be out exploring nature and to help each other out. I had a man help me over a patch of slippery ice at the top, another gentlemen offered to take a photo of my friend and I, and others were more than willing to share the best path down or rocks to land on. It made the experience so much better.
After plenty of photos and taking the views in, it was time to make our way back down. Unfortunately, we underestimated the time it would take to hike Devil’s Bridge and only got in one hike during our time in Sedona. But Devil’s Bridge was well worth it and I am so excited to go back. However, I think a Pink Jeep tour will be my performed method of seeing Sedona here on out.
