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Little Horse to Chicken Point Trail – Sedona Hike Guide

If you’re looking for an easy-to-moderate hike in Sedona that leads you to an interesting rock formation, you might want to check out the Little Horse trail to Chicken Point. I did this hike myself and I’ll give you everything you need to know about hiking the Little Horse to Chicken Point (and White Line!).

NOTE: If you are doing a Pink Jeep tour during your time in Sedona, you might want to skip this hike. This hike takes you to one of the viewpoints you’ll see on the popular “Broken Arrow” Pink Jeep tour.

Pink Jeep tours at Chicken Point in Sedona Arizona

Table of Contents

Parking and Shuttle Information

You can access this trail at the Little Horse Trailhead, which is right off of SR-179 (northbound). Parking here requires a Red Rock pass or an America the Beautiful Pass.

The Little Horse trailhead parking lot can be a headache

Shuttle Information: The Little Horse Trailhead has limited parking. There is a free hiking shuttle service provided by the city of Sedona and operates from Thursday to Sunday. For the Little Horse trailhead, you will need to park at the SR-179 park and ride. This is the same park and ride for the Cathedral Rock trail, so it is extremely busy. This park and ride isn’t big enough to accommodate all the cars, so you may need to come back later, especially if you’re trying to get a spot mid-day during weekends or holidays. If you park at the park and ride lot, you do not need any passes.

I hiked this trail in mid-March, on a Saturday and I couldn’t get a spot in the park and ride, so I tried again later, at the Little Horse trailhead parking lot and was able to get a spot around 4pm.

As you can see, Sedona is a busy place!

Best time to hike Little Horse to Chicken Point in Sedona?

You can hike this trail all year round. This trail doesn’t have much shade (though there are a few points with some tree cover), it could get really hot and uncomfortable if you were to hike this mid-day in the summer sun. I did this hike around 4pm in mid-March and temps were perfect.

You’ll find a little bit of shade on the Little Horse Chicken Point Trail

Little Horse to Chicken Point Trail Stats:

Distance: 4.0 miles
Type: Out and Back. You could extend this hike via the Broken Arrow Trail but you’ll need to arrange transportation back to your car.
Elevation Gain: 541 feet
Difficulty: Easy / Moderate
Time Needed: About 2 hours

Chicken Point trail in Sedona Arizona on a sunny day

Hiking Little Horse to Chicken Point in Sedona

The hike begins by starting off at the Bell Rock Pathway Trail, heading southward. After hiking for 0.3 miles, you’ll make a left turn onto the Little Horse Trail. The journey to Chicken Point is about approximately 2 miles.

The start of the trail is super easy.
And shortly you’ll encounter the sign to lead you to the Little Horse trail

The trail is easy to follow and you won’t be alone. This isn’t as heavily trafficked as some of the more popular trails in Sedona, like Devils Bridge or Boyton Canyon, but you’ll definitely have company. This is a pretty easy trail but you will find some natural grades and steps along the way that will get your heart pumpin’ just a little.

You will be walking uphill a little bit

Most of this hike is exposed, so you’ll need to wear sunscreen and carry enough water. Along the way, you’ll come across the trail junction for the Chapel of the Holy Cross. If you wanted to see the chapel, you could extend your hike and head up there. I didn’t have time to do that on my hike.

Junction to the Chapel of Holy Cross trail

The scenery on the trail is beautiful — lots of desert flora and, of course, the beautiful red rock scenery of Sedona.

As you get closer to Chicken Point, you’ll encounter more steep and slippery terrain. Keep an eye out for basket cairns in this area, as it will help you navigate the trail, and how to get up to the viewpoint.

As you get closer, follow the sign and cairns to the overlook

This is a popular spot for the Pink Jeep tours, so you’ll likely encounter a tour group up at the viewpoint. These tours arrive here via Broken Arrow, which is a 4×4 route. The tour groups don’t spend a lot of time here so if you wait ’em out, they’ll be gone soon.

Chicken Point trail and hike in Sedona Arizona (the white line is visible here)
Again, see the white line? Mountain bikers bike across that!!

You can also hike up to the White Line. This fascinated me — the White Line is just what it sounds like — it’s a white line on the red rocks, but it’s also a famous mountain biker daredevil route, where brave cyclists ride across the “White Line”. It looks EXTREMELY dangerous — check out this YouTube video of a mountain biker riding the White Line! I didn’t see anyone doing this while I was here, but you might want to look up to the White Line and see if there are any bikers attempting it!

I climbed up toward the white line but didn’t go all the way. You can see the Chicken Point overlook in the distance

I hiked up part way to the White Line but then chickened out. I couldn’t find an actual trail leading up there, even though I was using my AllTrails which had it mapped out for me. It’s also extremely steep and slick, so I just went up a little ways and headed back down.

Chicken Point

When you’ve had your fill of everything here, just turn around and head back the way you came.

Final Thoughts – Little Horse to Chicken Point / White Line – Sedona Arizona

Overall, this was a nice hike. Sure, it’s not one of the iconic hikes in Sedona, like Cathedral Rock, but you wouldn’t know it from the parking lot situation! This is a great hike for beginners, as the trail is easy to follow and only has a slight elevation gain, with most of it being at the end when you approach the Chicken Point. If you do a Pink Jeep tour, I personally wouldn’t do this hike because your tour will bring you to Chicken Point on the jeep.

While you can (apparently) hike up to the White Line, I stopped short as it was too steep and slick for me. Guess I’m too ‘chicken’ and I belong at Chicken Point!

Little Horse to Chicken Point Hike in Sedona Arizona

More About Arizona

WHERE TO GO / WHAT TO SEE IN ARIZONA: Check out all of the posts on Arizona on this blog here.

US NATIONAL PARK UNITS IN ARIZONA: Did you know Arizona has 22 National Park Service units? I wrote about them all here. Some of my favorite NPS sites in Arizona are Organ Pipe National Monument, Tuzigoot National Monument, and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument – Flagstaff, Arizona.

OFF-THE-BEATEN PATH ARIZONA: Looking for something else? Here are some lesser-known sites in Arizona that you might want to check out: Abandoned Lisa Frank Warehouse, Fairbank Ghost Town, Agua Caliente Regional Park, and The Abandoned Buckhorn Baths.

ROUTE 66: The famous Route 66 runs through part of Northern Arizona. If you’re thinking of doing a Route 66 road trip, check out my Route 66 tips.

TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY: If you love taking photos when traveling, don’t miss my article on how to Improve your Travel Photos with these 7 Lesser Known Travel Photography Tips

More About Sedona, Arizona

SEDONA ARIZONA ITINERARY: I created a 3-day itinerary, focused mostly on hiking in Sedona, if you’re looking to figure out what you can do with a long weekend in Sedona.

BEST HIKES IN SEDONA: These are some of the other hikes in Sedona that I’ve written about: Little Horse Trail to Chicken Point, Doe Mountain, Fay Canyon, Devil’s Bridge Trail, and Cathedral Rock.

WHERE TO STAY IN SEDONA: I’ve stayed at (and written about) these hotels in Sedona. Arabella Hotel – Sedona, Arizona, and Desert Quail Inn Hotel.

NEARBY THINGS TO DO IN SEDONA: Looking for a day trip from Sedona? Here are some places I’ve written about that are close enough for a day trip from Sedona: Tuzigoot National Monument, Travel Guide: Montezuma Castle National Monument + Montezuma Well

View all of my Sedona posts here!

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