Get and early start if you plan on making the loop around Cathedral Rock...and bring plenty of water!
Sedona, Arizona, Baldwin Trail, Hiline Trail, Cathedral Rock, hiking, Verde Valley School Road, Red Rock
Arizona, United States
time : Oct 15, 2015 8:13 AM
duration : 3h 16m 44s
distance : 4.9 mi
total_ascent : 820 ft
highest_point : 4423 ft
avg_speed : N/A
user_id : OhioHick
user_firstname : Allen
user_lastname : Arrington
We were on the road just before 8:00 heading down the Verde Valley School Road to the Baldwin Trailhead. Once at the trailhead, we got our gear in order, Lynn secured our Red Rock day pass and away we went. We took Baldwin Trail counter-clockwise to Hiline which we took out past Cathedral Rock and back then completed the loop along Baldwin. I guess that makes sort of a reverse lollipop route? This route covered almost 5 miles and took us about 3.5 hours. This was a great hike with outstanding views all along the trail in all directions.
I really enjoyed the section from where Baldwin turns north to the junction with the Hiline Trail and out along the Hiline Trail. There is a lot of variety along this section as well as the best views further out Hiline. I think this is also the hardest part of the trail as this is where the majority of the elevation change takes place, at least for the section we hiked (there is obviously a big change along the Hiline Trail to get to Yavapai Point but this is beyond where we turned around). Most of the elevation change is made up through switchbacks in the trail but there are a couple of steep scrambles to negotiate as well. Nothing that significant for hiking but these looked uber challenging for the mountain bikers on the trail.
The best views were once we were south and east of Cathedral Rock. This is where we finally decided to stop and turn back toward the trailhead. We did have a few good animal sightings today. I got a decent image of a Cooper’s Hawk and some nicer shots of a Scrub Jay and a good size lizard. There were several butterflies about as well as songbirds but they were all too busy to pose for me this morning.
This is definitely a hike I would do again. We all agreed that the loop combining Hiline and Templeton looks to be a nice route. In fact, we passed several hikers who were doing just that, starting at Yavapai trailhead, but they had started between 6:00 and 7:00 this morning. I think this would be about a 12 mile hike but with an earlier start is would be a great day hike. Something to keep in mind for our next visit to Red Rock Country. Also a few mountain bikers out on the trail. As mentioned there are some really tough looking spots on the Hiline trail but we did not see any horrendous crashes during the return hike so I reckon they all made it through safely. We were back at the rental house by noon, with a cold beer in hand.