We enjoyed doing these two short hikes that start from the Soldier Pass Trailhead. The trickiest part about these is the parking because it's a very small lot and is closed Thursday-Sunday which means the only way to get here to is to use the free Sedona shuttle or you have to walk a lot longer since the entire local area is blocked off to parking. Be sure to check the shuttle schedule to see when it's running, especially during the Spring Break timeframe March 1-April 17 when they close the trailhead parking lot entirely.
This is a very popular hike because it's quite short at 1.1 miles roundtrip. There are also jeep tours that run here so it has the potential to become crowded during busier times unless you plan to arrive early or late in the day. The trail is pretty flat with only 108 feet in elevation gain over the course of the hike. We did it on a quiet day and that made it really nice!
The end point has a series of 7 small pools which are in a beautiful setting. During our visit most of the pools had some water in them and we enjoyed wandering all around a bit and found a great place to sit and gaze out at the views.
It's easy to add this on to the hike to the Seven Sacred Pools. We did it on a different day and that meant it was 2.8 miles roundtrip with a 541 foot elevation gain. There were beautiful rock formations on every side as we followed the trail and some large flat rock sections we walked across.
The elevation gain was mostly at the end as we climbed up to reach the entrance for the first cave. It had great views looking out from the cave and the rock formations around the opening were really unique.
We thought this was the only entrance we could go in, but another hiker told us there was a second entrance next to this one that would allow us to climb up inside. It was amazing and the interior lighting and natural window were incredible.
Here's a couple of short videos we took with our 360' camera as we walked around inside. You can't go very far but it's really worth getting up to that second tier if you're able.
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