Good stuff guys. I'll be riding friday and saturday morning about 8-noon so not too worried about parking or congestion on the trails. I have to wrap it up early so I can hike in the afternoon with the girlfriend.
Speaking of that, would Bell Rock Trailhead be a good spot to ride one morning then hike in the afternoon? Really looking for vistas for the hike obviously.
These are good options in my opinion:
For the West Sedona ride, I would park at the shooting range on FR 9589-B by the AZ Cypress trailhead. It's just southeast of where Dry Creek Road/Boynton Pass Road intersects with Long Canyon Road. Keeps you away from the masses of tourists. Take AZ Cypress, climb up Snake, left on Girdner, left on Chuckwagon, cross Dry Creek Road and continue on Chuckwagon, stay on Chuckwagon for the long route, staying right at the shortcut to Mescal, and then then left at the intersections that lead to Devils Bridge and Brins Mesa, cross Long Canyon Road, take the connector to Mescal, continue right on Mescal to Deadman's Pass, left on Deadman's Pass to Boynton Canyon trailhead, Aerie to the intersection with Cockscomb where you continue straight on Aerie around Doe Mountain back to Cockscomb, Cockscomb to the paved road crossing, continue on Cockscomb to Rupp, stay left on Cockscomb to the intersection with Dawa, Go right on Dawa and continue to AZ Cypress. Go left on AZ Cypress and continue back to where you parked at the shooting range.
For the ride/hike day, park by the Red Agave Resort somewhere on Canyon Circle Drive in the Village of Oak Creek. Take the trail that cuts through the resort grounds and connects to Slim Shady. Take Slim Shady a short distance, then turn hard right through the wash that takes you out to the Hwy 179 road crossing. Cross the highway and enter the Bell Rock Trailhead parking lot. Take the Big Park Loop clockwise over to Little Rock trail, go left on Little Rock trail and take it to the Rabbit Ears trail, go left on Rabbit Ears and take it back to the Big Park Loop, go left on the Big Park Loop and take it back to the parking lot, and then retrace your route to where you parked. Plenty of good hiking options from the same spot, some of which do lot allow mountain bikes. The ride is short, but packs a punch.
I will echo the advice already given here. Sedona miles are hard-earned compared to the vast majority of trails you'll encounter in the USA, at least in my experience. New England south to the mid-Atlantic are rather similar. Just something to consider. Many riders consider mileage and elevation gain in Sedona to be double what they're used to on their hometown trail systems. Neither of the two routes I'm suggesting are ever overly technical, but the relentless punchy climbs and ledgy rock moves can wear you out unless you're used to that type of riding. Gotta relax and not feel the need to attack every perceivably hard move. The traction is supreme here.
