Hiking The West Fork Trail

There are no shortage of beautiful hiking trails in the Sedona Arizona area to explore year round. But in my opinion the most beautiful trail in Sedona is the West Fork Trail located in the Northern part or stretch of Oak Creek Canyon. However, enjoying the beauty of this trail that meanders along the bottom of steep and narrow canyon with a gentle flowing creek comes with a price. In most cases you will not be alone as it is by far one of the most popular hiking trails in the Sedona trail system. Its popularity also stems from the fact that this is an easy and mostly level hike with lots of shade from the soaring canyon walls and trees. There are a few sections where you will have to cross the creek on rocks or logs to get to the other side. However, the creek is very shallow in this narrow canyon and most fit hikers with decent balance should easily be able to negotiate these crossings. A hiking stick or Trekking poles can come in handy. I advise people to hike in an hour or so (about 3 miles) and just turn around as the trail starts to becomes much tighter and less obvious in the upper reaches of this narrow canyon.

Parking At Call Of the Canyon:

Keep in mind also that there is limited parking for The West Fork trailhead . The fee based parking lot (I believe its currently $12.00 per vehicle) is also used for the popular Call Of the Canyon picnic and day use recreation area so it can fill up very quickly- particularly on weekends and high seasons. There are some unorganized opportunities to park along side of highway 89a north of the trailhead parking lot but this requires a bit of a walk along side a busy and tight road. In addition, the forest service now charges a nominal $3.00 walk in fee if you elect to park along the highway. The best tip I can give you is to visit early and on a weekday to secure a parking space at the trailhead.

Photography Tips:

As far as shooting photos, to me the most important dynamic is the season. Late fall is my favorite time to hike this trail as fall colors start popping on the Oaks and Maple trees in the canyon bottom. However, the crowds during this busy time of year can be extremely annoying and noisy so I personally avoid at all costs going on the weekend. As far as lenses, a wide angle lens at 16 to 18 mm can come in very handy in my experience shooting in this narrow canyon. You will also see a lot of Photographers setting up macro shots of the brilliant fall foliage on this trail and a tri-pod is more or less a must for this type of shooting.

Winter Hiking On The West Fork Trail

Winter is my second favorite season to hike and shoot photos on the West Fork Trail. Because of its cooler and higher elevation the upper part of Oak Creek Canyon is no stranger to snow fall during the winter months. And if you time your visit right and catch a snow event it can be a truly magical experience with snow falling against the red rock canyon walls. You can see some images and short video clip below that hope fully demonstrate that. Its important to note that the forest service will some times close the trailhead parking lot if there is a heavy snow fall so walking in and parking along highway 89A may be your only option to access the trail.

Images For Sale: Below are images and some video footage of various sections of the West Fork trail and trailhead taken during all four seasons. Please click on the pictures to see full size high resolution images that are available for sale and digital download. You can view more Sedona related images here. You can also view a short video here of a fall hike on the West Fork trail.

Wall Art: You can also view wall art for sale here including canvas, metal, and poster prints.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or special requests for content. All images are copyrighted.

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West Fork Trail entrace Call Of the Canyon — West Fork Trail entrance at the Call Of The Canyon day use area in Oak Creek Canyon.

Some hiking scenes along the West Fork Trail during fall time. Along with a lot of others who hike in Sedona often, Fall is my favorite time to be on this trail.

A Foot bridge crosses Oak Creek near the beginning of the trail.

A heavy winter snow storm covers the West Fork foot bridge that crosses over spring fed Oak Creek.

Snow Covered Historic Old Building At The Entrance Of West Fork Trail — A late fall snow storm provides a dusting to this historic old building at the narrow canyon entrance of the West Fork Trail.

Another view of this historic building during a heavy snow storm in January of 2024. When a significant snow storm is in the forecast they sometimes will not open the trailhead and parking lot so you have to be pragmatic and find parking along highway and walk in. You can see more of my tips about avoiding crowds when hiking in Sedona here.

Snowy winter scenery along the gentle flowing West Fork of Oak Creek during January of 2024. You can read some of my tips about about the best times and places to see snow in Sedona here.

A quick clip of some snowfall scenery from the West Fork Trail. In my opinion, Its absolutely mesmerizing to hike on any trail in Sedona when its snowing!

The West fork trail runs mostly parallel to the slow flowing West Fork of Oak Creek . Autumn is a great time to see vibrant reflection’s from fall foliage lining the canyon bottom.

The top of this ledge above the creek is a popular spot for hikers to stop and take in the view along the trail.

Ponderosa Pine Forest In Sedona AZ — Ponderosa Pine trees thrive in the canyon’s cooler micro climate.

In my opinion the best time of year to go for a hike on the West Fork trail is the fall season which begins in Mid September and winds up in late October. The Oaks and Big tooth Maple trees along the trail and canyon bottom in particular put on a brilliant fall display. If I recall, this photo was probably captured the third week of October.

More vibrant fall colors on the West Fork trail in Sedona.

Unique canyon wall feature with a cool snow dusting.

This image will give you an idea of the scale of the canyon walls along the West Fork trail. This canyon environment creates a cooler micro climate that allows for the growth of Ponderosa Pines & Douglas Fir trees that normally would be found at much higher elevations in the American Southwest.