Sedona Trail of the Week: Airport Loop

Outdoors | Lifestyle By Barbara Myers

Photo courtesy of AllTrails

There’s something about hiking in Sedona that always feels like coming home. Growing up over in Prescott, I spent my youth wandering trails that smelled of pine and dust, but the red rocks of Sedona have a magic all their own. The Airport Loop Trail is one of those places where you can lace up your boots, step onto the path, and feel like you’ve been dropped right into the heart of this landscape. The loop begins just off Airport Road, where you climb a short rise and suddenly the whole town of Sedona spreads out beneath you. To the north, the jagged peaks of Wilson Mountain and Coffee Pot Rock catch your eye; to the south, Cathedral Rock glows in the distance like a cathedral built of sandstone. The trail is rocky in places, and the footing keeps you on your toes, but the reward is that the views never quit.

As you circle the mesa, each bend offers a new perspective. One moment you’re looking across Oak Creek Canyon, the next you’re staring straight into the fiery cliffs above Red Rock Crossing. The desert plants along the way, prickly pear, agave, and the occasional juniper, remind me of the Arizona I grew up with, stubborn and beautiful in equal measure.

What I love most about this trail is the sense of space. You’re close enough to town that you can still hear a faint hum of life below, but up on the mesa it feels like you’ve been given a private seat to watch the sun dance across the rocks. If you time it right and catch the late afternoon light, the whole valley seems to glow. For an easy-to-reach hike that shows off Sedona at its finest, Airport Loop is a gem. It’s not the longest or the toughest trail around, but it’s the kind of walk that reminds you why so many of us Arizonans fell in love with these red rocks in the first place.

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