By Mark TenBroek
Sedona, Arizona – The major draw to Sedona for residents and visitors alike are the Red Rocks and the many trails that provide an up close look to the wonderful formations. Unfortunately, there are times in the Spring and Fall when so many people visit the area that these trails can become overwhelmed and you can see the degradation on the trails and trailheads as well as roadways that are over capacity. Not a good experience for visitors or residents as shown in the photo.
While some may not like the single lane SR-179 that extends from I-17 to the Y, those of us that can remember what it was like before this was built can recall the unorganized random roadside parking, social trails, and overuse that took place before this scenic byway was built. The US Forest Service (USFS) was wise to construct limited parking for Bell Rock, Little Horse, and the Yavapai Vista Point to manage the number of hikers that could access the trails from these trailheads. Since the rest of the roadway was listed as no parking, had curbs and bikeways, there were no other locations for hikers to start from.
North of USFS land in Sedona things got more complicated with an existing trailhead for Cathedral Rock on the Back O’Beyond Road, Mystic Trail in the Chapel area, Broken Arrow at the end of Morgan Road and Soldiers Pass. These neighborhoods and their roads became places where visitors would flout the no parking rules and park illegally. So this turned into a problem that the City of Sedona needed to manage.
Over the past year, Sedona has managed the Back O’Beyond problem by building a parking lot on SR-179 and deployed Trailhead Transit along with Traffic Control Assistants (TCAs) to manage traffic in the area and move hikers to the Cathedral Rock trailhead during peak times. No parking is also enforced on Morgan Road and in the Chapel area. Now the City is considering providing an automated gate at Back O’Beyond to help manage entry to the trailhead.
Another Approach for Cathedral Rock
What if there was another better approach to the trailheads in Sedona? Lars Romig of the Sedona Fire District and a member of the Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition recognized the limited access for rescue operations via the Cathedral Rock trailhead and proposed another way. They understood that just south of Back O’Beyond is USFS land on the Cathedral Vista Mesa that extends all the way to the existing trailhead on Back O’Beyond. This provides an opportunity to build a new Cathedral Rock trailhead that could be accessed directly off SR-179 and a set of new overlook trails for Cathedral Rock that could better manage both the visitors wanting to climb Cathedral and those less athletic who simply want a better view from level trails.
This would provide a new Cathedral Rock trailhead accessed only from a new roadway connected to SR-179 and would eliminate the existing trailhead and parking on Back O’Beyond. This concept is shown in the figure to the right would include construction of additional trails along the Cathedral Vista Mesa for better viewing opportunities for hikers. The access on SR-179 would be directly across from the Little Horse Trailhead parking lot.
This approach would allow better transit access to the new trailhead for Cathedral Rock and would better manage overall traffic to this area while moving hikers out of Sedona residential areas that cause safety problems. This would also contribute to enhancing the overall experience of the scenic corridor by better dispersion of users and removing conflicts between hikers and City TCAs from roadways.
Lars Romig also noted that “These congestion and parking problems degrade the resident and visitor experience while showing no regard to jurisdictional boundaries. The ideal solutions also span these boundaries. Sedona residents should urge the City of Sedona, Yavapai County and the Coconino National Forest Red Rock Ranger District to prioritize this solution to better manage parking and user traffic. In the meantime, our sensitive landscape suffers further Environmental, Archeological and Visual Damage.”
Dry Creek Road Improvements
When one drives Dry Creek Road West of Sedona on busy days there is a stark contrast with the current SR-179 Scenic Byway. Dry Creek Road has no parking limits North of the Sedona City Limits and you can often see bumper to bumper roadside parking that significantly exceeds the capacity of the USFS parking at the established trailheads. This random parking and social trails has caused degradation of the area in general and also impacts the many archeological and historic sites in the area. This dispersed parking and hiking also makes the area more difficult to find injured or in trouble hikers as they start from many different areas, delaying rescues.
The photo is another example of this parking overload taken over the Christmas Holiday on Boynton Pass Road, a time that sees far lower pressure than in the Spring and Fall peak periods.
The roadside parking also causes problems with conflicts between the auto traffic in the area and hikers walking in the roadway to the trailheads that will inevitably result in injury or death to these hikers.
Some would say that even if no parking was posted in this area, there would still be those that would park along the roadway since visitors would gladly pay the parking fines for a good parking location. To respond to that concern one only needs to look at Boynton Canyon Road near the Boynton Canyon Trailhead that is posted No Parking. This photo shows that at the same time as these other photos, there was no parking taking place on this section of the roadway.
This No Parking approach could be used to eliminate or at least control roadside parking along the entire length of this roadway system from SR-89A to the Doe Mountain trailhead. Existing USFS trailhead parking lots could remain open at all times to allow the appropriate numbers of hikers on the trails.
The areas recommended for No Parking is shown in the diagram below. It is understood that the City and Yavapai County are already evaluating the use of different methods to prevent parking along these roadway segments up to Boynton Pass Road. It is recommended that this No Parking approach be provided all the way to Doe Mountain in a single phase to prevent continued problem parking along Boynton Pass Road.
To encourage the access to these areas by other than cars, it would also be recommended that the shoulders of these roadways be extended to provide completely separated bikeways on either side of the roadway all the way to Doe Mountain.
This would significantly extend the bikeable pathways outside of the City and would encourage visitors to use their bikes and ebikes to explore these areas without the use of cars. Providing adequate separation for these bikeways and the roadway would also discourage the illegal parking in this area.
Why These Changes are Important to Sedona
The Cathedral Rock and Dry Creek upgrades described are outside of the City of Sedona. So why are these changes important to the residents of Sedona?
It is important to remember that while these areas are outside the City, the people that are using these trails are probably staying in Sedona, buying food and other things in Sedona, and most importantly are driving their cars in Sedona. During peak visitation periods the current Cathedral Rock trailhead requires the City to run a Trailhead Shuttle year round to limit traffic to the Back O’Beyond neighborhood.
If a new trail access was built, the use of the Trailhead Shuttle could be adjusted to peak periods only. No TCAs would be needed at SR-179. And safety for hikers would be improved.
If the No Parking improvements on Dry Creek Road were built, there would be a significant reduction in excess parking during peak visitation periods in this area. This would limit how many visitors could come to Sedona during peak visitation periods, acting like a reservation system. This would help reduce traffic in town during peak periods and should convince some that visit to come during less busy times.
How to Make these Improvements a Reality
The biggest challenges to making these two changes are the fact that these areas are outside Sedona. Both Yavapai County and the USFS need to be convinced that these changes are needed and that they need to support their construction.
For the USFS, it needs to be understood that a NEPA study may be needed for both areas and that this will take time. For Yavapai County, while they may support these changes, they likely do not have the funding to support these improvements or provide the enforcement that comes with No Parking requirements.
The community that has the most to gain from these changes is Sedona. These improvements are precisely the reason Sedona collects sales and bed taxes from businesses in Sedona so that the City can mitigate the damage that is caused by peak visitation by using these funds for making these changes.
So everyone in the community needs to work to convince the USFS that these are projects they should support. And everyone needs to work to convince Yavapai county that these will also work to benefit the County that also is impacted by the overuse of these trail systems. And finally, the City Council needs to support these changes and provide funding to make it happen.
Thanks to Lars Romig and the Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition for the concept and layout for the new Cathedral Rock Trailhead access off SR-179 as well as the ideas for improving the Dry Creek Road with reduced parking and bicycle access.
Editor’s Note:
Mark is a retired Professional Civil Engineer who graduated from the University of Michigan in 1977 and worked as a consulting and design engineer in the Midwest for over 40 years. He worked primarily on Water and Wastewater projects for municipalities and utilities. Mark and his spouse arrived in Sedona in 2017 to design and build a home in Uptown where they now live. He understands Sedona’s unique place as both a sacred and spiritual center. Researching how the local economy can be effectively managed to protect our quality of life, the natural world, the tourist experience, and reasonable profits for local businesses, has become his passion.
18 Comments
In reading this article concerning Cathedral Rock trailhead access I was in total disbelief that anyone would propose a ridge line road with parking areas on the ridge. What an eyesore.
This would certainly make for a beautiful view of all the vehicles parked from the saddle of Cathedral Rock. Why not just pave the Templeton trail so tourists could drive right to the overlook trail. Oh, and the vehicle lights at night on a ridge line….so wonderful!
Beyond being a huge environmental scar this would lead to more people accessing an already overcrowded trail.
Trailhead shuttles are the best way to control access to crowded trails. It also eliminates the number of vehicles on the road.
As for access to Cathedral Rock trailhead there is Easy Breezy that can be accessed from the Little Horse parking that leads directly to the Cathedral Rock trailhead.
We do not need more paved roads or more trailhead parking that impacts our forest. Take a page from Zion National Park on how they control visitors, shuttles.
I’m not sure what should be done but as a resident for almost 30 years and my husband a resident for 40, I’m heart broken I have not been able to access Cathedral Rock Trailhead proper in years due to traffic and other popular trailheads also unless I get up at the crack of dawn.
I believe it sets a bad precedent to take away any trailheads, many trailheads are in neighborhoods, and why does the Back and Beyond get to decide who comes in there, money?
This whole mess disgusts me.
Are we going to eliminate all trailheads eventually or only in the higher end neighborhoods?
Are not the Sedona and VOC locals deserving of using their own trailheads after paying outrageous taxes?
It would be great if there could be ten designated parking spots for locals at each trailhead for use, but wait that wouldn’t be enforced as are none of the trailheads are so why do I buy a pass each year.
It’s a mess, why not look at where this mess started and start looking at COC and the push for increased tourism. Why not use funds instead to push to educate the tourists on safety procedures, proper trail etiquette, carrying trash out including their dog poop and perhaps funding for more rangers to actually walk the trails and educating and giving tickets to people not adhering to the rules.
Why are we so bent over backwards to tourism and the money coming in instead of educating them about how special this land is, if we don’t take care of this land, it will be destroyed for all.
To clarify, the proposal for Cathedral Rock would move the existing trailhead parking located on Back O’Beyond to a new trailhead parking lot on forest service land that would be accessed directly off SR-179.
I think there are some legitimate safety concerns about letting that much car or pedestrian traffic down that road. And in general neighborhoods shouldn’t have to shoulder traffic from major attractions, as it destroys the character of the neighborhood.
I don’t sense this is about the wealth of the people that live there. Am I missing something about that?
Locals don’t deserve any more access or rights to accessing federal lands just because they live close. Reserving spots, while a great idea, is probably not going to happen. Is there precedent for this, on forest service lands, anywhere else?
Sounds like you had a great time in the past before Sedona was discovered, and now that population growth, and the region’s popularity requires managed access, the glory days are over. There is no going back. Sounds like you had a good run though! Wish I could have been there back then. Anyway, back to the art of the possible…
How does ascribing blame and then going to look into the past going to help the discussion of how we proceed? It’s pretty clear we don’t want to fund destination marketing. That’s the lesson learned from the past. Chapter done.
Funds have been allocated and partnerships formed, and plans executed to educate tourists. What more are you meaning? I feel like some smart minds have been on that problem. What more specifically can be done there? The funding of rangers sounds great. Sedona just allocated a lot of money ($300k?) for trails work. You’re saying we should what…double…triple that to add compliance officers? Can the city fund staff directly like that?
I do feel the pack-it-out mentality has to be ingrained somehow. That’s going to be a long row to hoe. It may be that trash services need to be increased in super popular areas.
A road for a very much needed trailhead so a trailhead down a tight road in a neighborhood is more of an eyesore than the paved roads and driveways leading to the houses that are there currently? You’re saying we’ve reached some limit of eyesore such that a large amount of common good should be forewent so as to not marginally increase the blight on the land from the presence of humans living in the area? The sightlines of the landscape already include a lot of human structures. Another five roads isn’t going to spoil the natural beauty. It’s fine. Keep in mind that as private land is developed (e.g. Hilltop Road near Chavez Crossing), more roads are all but inevitable. Let’s allow ones for the public good as needed.
Who said anything about paving a road to a trailhead? There are many trailheads with dirt road access.
You bring up an interesting point about access from Easy Breezy. Way farther to hike. So the philosophical question you pointing to is interesting: What obligation does the Forest Service have to allowing shortest-path access when neighborhoods are negatively impacted. Just like limited parking or closed lots plus public transit throttle use of a trail, so too would requiring a longer hike to get to popular destinations. Just like the new lot at Mescal supports more access to Devil’s Bridge with a longer hike on the Chuckwagon trail. Expanding the Little Horse lot could be the best solution- Making people hike further will likely drastically reduce visitation at Cathedral.
Maybe, just maybe, when a place is full and has gotten unpleasant for tourists and residents alike a city would stop advertising?
Naaaa…it just means higher hotel and restaurant prices and more taxes.
Mark thank you for your very informative information. I have lived in Sedona for 23 years and no longer go to the popular hiking spots since the traffic and the amount of people on theses trials takes away the quiet beauty that was once their. I totally agree with putting up no parking signs along Dry Creek road, it s not only a safety issue but hopefully would cut down on the overuse of the trails. I’m not sure what the solution for Cathedral Rock should be. Having a electric gate at the entry to Back and Beyond that is kept open until 8:00 am and then closed for residents and shuttle buses seems like a possible way of controlling tourist traffic in the area yet allowing residents early access to the trail head. Building a new parking lot will just encourage over use of the trail which is being loved to death, I’m not sure that is the best possible solution.
Mark’s article clearly shows the unintended consequences of 10 years of aggressive tourist marketing, the state consolidating their control over short-term rentals, and thousands of newly built hotel accommodations. The issue is further complicated because, unlike the National Parks system, the USFS was never designed to manage tourist visitors and has insufficient funding to do so adequately. The role of the USFS is principally intended to manage public land use for grazing, forestry, and wildfire control. Over the past 12 years, the USFS has increased trailhead parking to support sustainable trail use.
The current trailhead transit system created by the Sedona City Council has further aggravated the USFS sustainable use problem by significantly increasing trailhead parking to exacerbate unsustainable trail use, even though the USFS attempts to use trailhead parking to mitigate trail overcrowding. The combination of these issues is the perfect storm we Sedona residents find ourselves in.
Since the Sedona Chamber of Commerce abandoned its members’ desire for tourism marketing, the current City Council has decided to employ three tourism marketing specialists. As with other newly created Council-approved department heads for economic development, affordable housing, sustainability, and transit, the new tourism department head will likely use outside marketing consultants to do their work.
While Sedona depends on visitor tax revenues to support the city, it must be done sustainably for the environment and residents’ quality of life. I believe the only way to accomplish this is to elect a new Mayor and three new Council members next year with the vision and intestinal fortitude to solve our crises
While I appreciate the creativity of these “solutions” they are merely stopgap measures. The problem for Sedona is that we live 120 miles from the 4th largest metropolitan area in the country. The root problem for tourists and residents is that there are too many cars coming to the limited infrastructure in Sedona. More parking lots is just kicking the problem down the road. Making 179 4 lanes is also a similar fix. If we don’t recognize that there is a physical limit to the number of cars our fair city can handle without complete gridlock, then we are spending a lot of time and resourses with bandaids. Many tourist destinations throughout the world are experiencing the too many cars/tourists problem. Our leaders keep telling us that addressing this root problem is “impossible.” Notthing is impossible if you recognize the root problem and show creativity and leadership to address it.
You had some valid points, but you hyperbole is so over the top. You either dont live here, just moved here or you’re all out uninformed. Thousands of newly built hotels?…wow you are out of touch on a lot of this city by far!…..Run for mayor you will have lots of people who will enjoy your made things up delusions. You have no clue to how things work!
And how long have you lived here? I have lived here 21 years, have been an active forest service volunteer, city volunteer, and spent 4 years on city council. Maybe you should run for city council since you apparently know so much.
Well Mr I know everything….Show me 300 hotel rooms that have been built in 10 years….Ive been here 16…..Now Im sure you cant, but you will keep blustering……Now lets list at least 1000!…..You cant My Hyperbole!…..You cant……your pathetic and we both know it…..Now show us your proof, Mr Wizard! LOL! or great Oz?
Sadly, as debatable issues arise, an idea is proposed, opinions are offered and addressed…an then the name callers and finger pointing starts…and the conversation degrades. I am one of some fortunate people who moved to the Verde Valley more than 35 years past. Pandora’s Box has been opened in the name of tourism and is going to take some serious suggestions and debates to find solutions that are best for the residents (including employment housing). Build it and they will come happened, with help from the State legislature and an ambitious local Chamber. I have believed that the definition of municipal progress should be controlled growth that benefits the totality of its current residents. Check into who pays for what. What is the tourist occupancy tax rate of timeshares vs hotels< What is the tax rate on homes being used as rentals? What is the tax rates on visitors buying food at local grocery chains that they cook in their provided kitchens, vs revenue the city collects from local eateries? All these visitors force an increase in infrastructure (fire, police, road maintenance, etc.). While an objection from VOC business owners who I believe still do not pay a city tax to Sedona, signage on I-17 coming from the south (which is the majority of traffic heading to Sedona) maybe ADOT could finally be convinced to put signage on the highway directing people to Sedona via SR-260. I just wanted to offer other topics to debate while concerned citizens and interested parties express their ideas to make their home (and their neighbors' homes) peaceful, embracing the entire beauty Sedona has to offer.
Thom, when someone lights their hair on fire, it needs to be called out…..He will not respond because his allegations are so far fetched it makes my head spin…..I can name all 4 hotels that were built in last 10 years, and one was a addition to an existing hotel….So with his numbers each one had around 500 rooms each one…..I call out BS, and when you deal with such fibs, only being rude sinks in to the dense!
Your welcome
Rule one, when you are in a hole, stop digging.
THERE ARE TOO MANY TOURISTS FOR THE LIMITED ROADS AND PARKING!
Unless your goal is to pave paradise and put up a parking lot, stop all city paid advertising. I’ve lived in Sedona over 30 years, greed has about killed the place. Please stop.
Mike
No one will disagree with you….But really? Have you been to Cottonwood? Its Capitalism my friend, greed is what drives it all….Gee I thought my right wing friends that all they care about? The city cant stop someone from expanding or starting a new business….ITS THE LAW….now all the city can do is have them follow city code and jump through the hoops…..You cant close the door behind you….Why do you think the Air B&B law was so perverted? People please wake up….Its not the city, or the chamber, its greed driven by capitalism, and If you cant understand that….well, read and educate yourself…..Its not that hard!
Yes!
I don’t want to prohibit new businesses, I want to stop city paid advertising. Stop subsidizing the Sedona Film Fest, The Sedona Wine Fest. As Mayor Sandy said “everyone knows where Sedona is.”
Government should be concerned with taxpayers quality of life, not just business profits.