How to Hike Devils Bridge Trail Sedona, Arizona

The Devil’s Bridge hike in Sedona is one of the most popular hikes in the area and features a large natural sandstone arch that you can walk on. When I visited Sedona, Devil’s Bridge was absolutely at the top of my list — and it’s probably at the top of your list too! In this hiking guide and review, I’ll spill the tea on what to expect when hiking to the Devil’s Bridge in Sedona Arizona and how to get to the Devil’s Bridge Trail Sedona.

Quick Facts – Devils Bridge Trail Sedona Arizona

Distance: 4 miles
Type: Out and back
Elevation Gain: 528 feet
Dogs allowed: Yes
Time needed: 1.5-3 hours. You need to account for both hiking time and photography time. You will be waiting in a line to get your photo taken on the bridge.

Devils Bridge Sedona Trailhead Location

There are a few different trailheads you can use to access the Devils Bridge trail but for the sake of simplicity, I’m only going to go over one. When I was researching this hike myself, I was getting information overload on where to park for the Devils Bridge that it was too confusing and I almost gave up. Additionally, one of these trailheads requires a 4×4 vehicle with very high clearance, and I’m going to assume that the average reader isn’t going to have access to that. I don’t want you go give up; I want you to go do this hike! So I’m just going to mention the easiest trailhead to find to hike Devil’s Bridge: Mescal.

The Mescal trailhead is located in Northern Sedona and has quite a bit of parking available, including some spots along the side of the road.

Sedona Hiking Shuttle

The Dry Creek Vista/Mescal Sedona shuttle stops at the Mescal trailhead, so if you are visiting Thursday through Sunday, or during spring break, and don’t want to deal with parking, you can take the shuttle to the trailhead. Here is a schedule for shuttle timing and a map of the park and ride: https://sedonashuttle.com/routes/route-11/

Hiking to the Devils Bridge from the Mescal Trailhead

As mentioned above, you can either park at the Mescal Trailhead or take the shuttle. I did this hike in December, on a Saturday in the early afternoon and there was surprisingly plenty of parking at the trailhead.

From the trailhead, you will cross the street to begin your hike. At this point, you will be following the Mescal/Chuckwagon trail but there are still signs that point you to the Devil’s Bridge. During this part of the trail, you will be sharing the trail with mountain bikers, so keep your eyes and ears out for cyclists!

The trail is very well marked but I always like to download offline AllTrails map just in case — I also enjoy tracking my progress. This part of the trail is relatively flat so you can cover a lot of ground quickly.

At about the halfway point to the Devil’s Bridge, you’ll cross Dry Creek Road. This is where you will see the sign for the Devil’s Bridge trail. At this crossing, this is where those with 4×4 High Clearance vehicles can park for the Devil’s Bridge, cutting off about half of the hiking journey. When I crossed the road, I didn’t see any cars parked here; probably a testament to how tough the road apparently is!

From here, you’ll start gaining elevation. As you get closer to the Devil’s Bridge, you’ll end up having to climb up a bunch of ‘rock staircases’ and at some points, it feels like you’re rock scrambling (though it’s nowhere near the kind of rock scrambling you’ll do on the Cathedral Rock hike!). I had to put my camera in my backpack to do this final push to the top, as I needed all ‘fours’.

This is the part where I’d be really sketched out to take a dog here. While dogs are allowed, I wouldn’t be comfortable having my dog do this climb. I didn’t see any dogs on this trail.

Once you’re at the top, you’ll know it by the line of people waiting to take their photos on the Devil’s Bridge.

I started my hiking around 1pm on a Saturday in December – so, a busy weekend, but not peak season either. The wait at the top was about 45 minutes, but the line could definitely be much longer if you’re traveling here during peak spring break season, especially on a weekend. I’ve heard from others that you could end up waiting almost 2 hours to get photos! Yikes! Get here early — by 7:30am at the latest — especially if you’re traveling during peak times if you don’t want to wait in a long line.

Everyone was very respectful — there was no cutting line, and everyone was willing to photograph strangers, so don’t worry — if you’re willing to wait in line, you’ll be able to get photos of your entire party on the bridge.

I did this hike solo, so this meant that I had to leave my photos up to the mercy of the person standing in line behind me. Unfortunately, they all came out blurry except for one when I was walking back. Oh well, I’ll definitely be back!

Is standing on the Devil’s Bridge scary?

No! It is much, much wider than it looks from the vantage point in photos and in person. When it’s your turn to walk out onto the bridge, you’ll see what I mean. You don’t even feel like you’re walking onto a ridge with drop offs on both sides — it’s wide and I promise you, you will love it!

Can I get photos of the Devils Bridge with no one in them without having to wait in line?

YES! Because everyone takes turns walking out to the bridge, there is ample amount of time to snap photos of the Devils Bridge with no people. You will not have to wait in line. If you don’t care about photos of yourself on the bridge, you can snap in between hikers and be on your way back down in no time.

Final Thoughts – Devils Bridge Hike – Sedona Arizona

I absolutely loved this hike — despite the crowds, despite the long wait, I loved it. Yes it’s busy but the Devil’s Bridge is absolutely amazing, the scenery here is top notch. I’ve done a ton of hikes in Sedona — both on and off-the-beaten path — and Devil’s Bridge is my favorite. Don’t hesitate, just do it!

Devils Bridge Hike – Sedona – Pros
Definitely worth it – this is one of those hikes that has a huge payoff at the end!
Just enough elevation gain to make it feel like a decent workout.

Devils Bridge Hike – Sedona – Cons
Very busy!
Can be a very long line for photos at the top