Towering red rock buttes set against a backdrop of deep-green forest and clear blue sky make this road one of Arizona’s most photogenic. A great way to enter Sedona from I-17 if coming from Flagstaff. Many hiking trails on the more scenic lower half of road. Recommend non-street-legal vehicles start at top where you can park, camp and explore side roads. No camping below Vista Point. Trail is closed from I-17 to Merry-Go-Round Rock in winter approximately December through April.
(928) 203-7500Coconino N.F., Red Rock R.D,
Check the Weather10/22/2023
Submitted by Craig
Ran this with a 2020 4Runner TRD Pro (32 inch tires, 2 inch lift). I had not looked at any updates for this trail and had last done it about 6 years ago. I remember meeting a Honda Civic about 2 miles up it around 10 years ago. NO WAY this could be done now. Trail is rocky and ultra punishing as others have said. Nothing is particularly difficult, but rating should probably be upgraded to moderate and it’s just not enjoyable other than for the views. About 5 miles up I ran into a guy changing a tire on his R1T with a cut sidewall also indicating that the rockiness can definitely do in your tires if you are not careful. It’s too bad also since this used to be such a fun trail.
05/13/2023
Submitted by Dave
Skip this one and do another trail. The road is in terrible condition and is not fun at all. The rating should now be moderate. Hopefully, the commercial tours can chip in for some road maintenance.
04/27/2023
Submitted by Eric
Closed 4 miles in. Very very rough: one is shaken from one side to the other side of the Jeep. Nice views, but this is not easy, a moderate.
04/06/2023
Submitted by Ted
Tried to join from I-17 and descend into Sedona. It was closed. Went into Sedona but could only go up 4 miles: it was closed at Merry Go Around Stop. The 4 miles were very rough. Broken Arrow and Soldiers pass were much more enjoyable in a stock Rubicon.
09/06/2021
Went on this trail and I would not call this an easy trail for stock 4wd. Super bumpy for most of it – not fun. Record rainfall for this year’s monsoon has really created a lot of rocky, washed-out areas for this and many other Arizona trails. There were some great views, but there are so many other nice trails in that area with similar views. I won’t be going back to Schnebly anytime soon.
09/04/2020
Submitted by John
I saw the trail in the “Guide to Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails” and decided to give it a go. As I’m new to off-roading in general I was a bit apprehensive but decided to give it a shot. While technically I have an all-wheel drive vehicle, a 2020 Subaru Outback, it did quite well and a couple of people that we passed remarked that they were impressed that we got as far as we did when they saw us. We made it the whole drive from Sedona to I-17. The road from Sedona goes from paved to a very rocky dirt road very quickly. It is heavily traveled by the “Pink Jeep” tours. There were a few obstacles that had me concerned and at least a couple that I had to try a couple of times to make it over. It’s a very scenic trail and should be attempted if you’re in the area.
5/07/2020
Submitted by Harv
Trail listed as Easy in 2012 book. We have an F250 4WD. The road was far from easy now. Very rocky. We turned back after just a few miles from Sedona. I asked people coming from I-17 if the road was same all the way and they said yes. And we only met about 2 others coming from that direction over about 3 hours. We’ve done some of the moderate trails in the book and nothing was ever as bad as this road. It was just not fun to drive we thought.
8/28/2019
Submitted by Funtreks
This trail is bumpy but the views are spectacular. A stock vehicle can make it with high ground clearance.
7/28/2019
Submitted by Dave
Like other folks have mentioned, this trail used to be enjoyable and was easy many years ago. We ran it on 7/27/19, and in our opinion it’s no longer enjoyable. The views are really great, so there is a decent pay-off for your efforts. Airing down and going slow will help, but it is definitely now a lower-grade moderate trail. Lower slung SUV’s may want to avoid the trail below the vista. The road between I-17 and the vista is a much better ride.
7/12/2019
Submitted by Mike
Ran the trail 7/3/19 after running Broken Arrow. Get ready for a spine-jarring ride with amazing views. Frankly, the road sucks, you should air down and disconnect just to keep your sanity. By the time we were done some 3 hours later (we ran the entire thing all the way to the highway) I was pissed at the brutality of the jostling around.
We ran a 2″ lift, 33s aired down, discos, frame mounted rock rails and open diffs in a 2018 Sahara JL and had no problems with picking the right lines and making it through.
8/24/2018
Submitted by Charles Wells
Customer Mark Shishida phoned us today to say this road is no longer easy. He drives a Subaru Forester and found the trail quite challenging. We’ve had other reports saying similar things. Just a reminder to all our customers that you can now post updates yourselves directly to our new website.
We drove from Sedona up to the vista. The road is very rocky and slow going. It looks like most...See More
I agree with Laura's review. The road has become extremely rocky (it was better a few years ago). While technically...See More
I agree with Mike. I did it back in 2013 in my 2012 Tacoma and was very enjoyable, a little...See More
Drove this road in mid-May 2020 and can concur with others: this is no longer an easy or fun road....See More
We were looking so forward to the beautiful views but the road was so rough and jagged (the whole way)...See More
We rode this trail in September in our Hummer H3. We really enjoyed this trip, but I would not call...See More
We ran this run back in 2018. I had a 2018 Toyota RAV-4 AWD with Toyo Open Country A/T II,...See More
Amazing views and used to be a great trail. Ran it for the third time in October 2023 and the...See More
