Length: 3 hours
Hiking distance: 1 to 4 miles - A slow and easy stroll down a flat trail
What's included: Use of binoculars and scope, day pack, beverages, and gourmet snacks including cheese, hummus and Tim’s famous Suitcase of Make Your Own Trail Mix.
Average Price: $95 per person
On this tour you will learn the basics of birding while exploring Sedona! We are in no rush on this Sedona birding tour designed as much for scenic beauty as it is for bird watching. We will visit the most gorgeous riparian areas along Oak Creek Canyon, walking along easily navigable, flat paths, under majestic Sycamores and Cottonwoods. Imagine a plethora of warblers and finches singing in the canopy. A Great Blue Heron forages in the river, and the majestic Common Black-Hawk soars slowly overhead.
We will go over some of the basics of bird watching. How to correctly use binoculars, spotting scopes, and field guides. Which birds are singing which songs and why? I will discuss bird behavior and GISS (General Impression of Size and Shape). These simple keys to bird identification and behavior will provide you with the tools to open up the avian world that surrounds us everyday and everywhere. Then, off we go to bird watch in Sedona in one of the most spectacular settings in Arizona, on one of the many beautiful trails in Oak Creek Canyon. Beginners and kids are encouraged; I love to get people going on an adventure that lasts a lifetime.
This Sedona birding tour is wonderful for slower walkers, beginning birders, and families who want extra attention given to learning proper use of equipment and the basics of bird watching. The client dictates the pace as we meander through these beautiful, shaded areas.
Grasshopper Point: Allen’s Bend to Casner Canyon
The Allen’s Bend Trail begins at a scenic swimming hole with rushing water and heads north along the Oak Creek Riparian area. After less than a mile, a mild creek crossing to the east takes us to the Casner Canyon Trail which, after a moderate climb through juniper habitat, brings us to wonderful views along an edge of the Mogollon Rim. To the south of Grasshopper Point a technical, rocky, stream bed trail leads to the Wilson Canyon Trail and to the Huckaby Trail.
Difficulty: Allen’s Bend is flat and slightly technical; Casner Canyon has several hundred feet of elevation gain.
Chapel Trail to Broken Arrow Trail
Built into the red rock, Sedona’s iconic chapel is dwarfed by sheer, dramatic cliff walls, where White-throated Swifts and raptors intermingle. The mostly flat trail meanders towards, and then around the picturesque Twin Buttes towards the Devil’s living room along the Broken Arrow Trail.
Difficulty: Easy
Brins Mesa (with potential extension to Devil’s Bridge)
This trail leads you right out into the open where you can enjoy unobstructed views of the spectacular red rock formations for which the Sedona area and Oak Creek Canyon are famous.
Difficulty: easy to moderate