4 Wheel Drive Trip On Schnebly Hill Road - Sedona Arizona

(Sedona, AZ)  62 degrees, perfect

Schnebly Hill Road is one of the premier drives in Arizona.  It's a steep, twisty, unpaved and wonderfully scenic route that rises more than 2,000 feet from Sedona into a lovely wooded mesa.  Currently the road is open up to  Schnebly Road Vista due to snow and ice. Otherwise, it goes all the way up to I-17 outside of Flagstaff.  Our jeep handled it nicely and John said it was very happy today.

On the way up

We stopped often to take pictures and to take in the beautiful mountains.  There are some nice trails along the way.  A Red Rock Pass ($5) is necessary if you plan to park. Senior/Access passes can also be used and we were told by the Forest Service to leave the car on the dashboard with the signature side up. 

We saw some cars traveling on the road, but a four wheel drive is probably a very good idea.   You have to take your time as you weave around the rocks but it's worth the effort.

The vista parking lots is right at the base of the mountain below.  We parked and climbed up to the mesa at the left.  The views were eye popping.  

 

John climbed up much farther than I did and got this great photo. 



This road was a former cow trail and became the main route from Sedona to Flagstaff before being replaced by the Oak Creek Canyon Road (US-89A) in 1914. The road is named after pioneer, Carl Schnebly, who settled near Oak Creek in 1900, building a home and general store. He became the area's first postmaster naming the postal station, Sedona, after his wife. This name was of course then used for the town.

Jimmy had a great time too.  He'd follow John anywhere. 

 

This is also a popular route for the Pink Jeep Tours.  There are also lots of companies that will rent you a jeep for a day. 

We have a few more days here to explore. So much to see...so little time.  We've had several questions about the Elks Lodge and how to join.  I'll show more pictures of our site in tomorrow's post.