Brins Mesa Trail: The High Plateau Loop
Brins Mesa is the broad plateau between Mormon Canyon and Soldier Pass, accessed by a moderate climb that drops you onto a flat-topped mesa with sweeping views in every direction. It connects to Soldier Pass on one end and to Jim Thompson Trail on the other, opening up several loop options for a longer day.
Trail overview
The Brins Mesa Trail is a 4.0-mile out-and-back climbing 600 feet from the Jordan Road trailhead to the mesa top, then traversing the open plateau before descending into Soldier Pass. The full point-to-point Brins-Soldier loop runs 4.5 miles with a car shuttle, or you can do it as a 7-mile loop using the Cibola Pass connector to return to your starting trailhead. Most groups treat Brins as a 4-mile out-and-back to the mesa rim and back; that\'s the recommended baseline.
What to expect
The climb begins on a moderate sandy switchback up the south face of Brins Ridge, gaining 600 feet in about a mile and a half. The grade is steady but never steep enough to be miserable. Once on the mesa, the trail opens onto a wide grassland with juniper and prickly pear; the views extend in every direction. To the north, the mesa drops dramatically into Mormon Canyon; to the south, you look back at Capitol Butte and the Sedona basin. The flat mesa walk feels remote — you can usually find solitude even on busy weekends because the climb filters out casual visitors.
The trail connects with Soldier Pass on the western end of the mesa; doing the full Brins-Soldier traverse with two cars (one at each trailhead) makes a memorable point-to-point day.
Permits + parking
The Brins Mesa trailhead is at the end of Jordan Road in Uptown Sedona, past the residential section. A Red Rock Pass is required ($5 day). The lot is small (about fifteen spaces) and fills by 9 AM on weekends. Park-and-walk options from the Posse Grounds area are possible but add significant mileage.
Best time to go
Spring and fall are ideal. Summer mornings (start by 7 AM) are acceptable; midday in summer is fully exposed on the mesa top with no shade. Winter is good if no snow — the mesa can hold snow for several days after a storm.
Difficulty + safety
Moderate. The 600-foot climb is the main effort; once on the mesa, the walking is easy. Carry 1.5-2 litres of water per person. Dogs welcome on-leash and this is a good hike for fit dogs — the climb is hard on tired animals. Cell service is patchy past the rim.
Brins-Soldier point-to-point logistics
The most rewarding way to do Brins is the point-to-point traverse from the Jordan Road trailhead over the mesa and down into Soldier Pass, finishing at the Soldier Pass trailhead. This requires either a car shuttle (drop one car at Soldier Pass, drive the other to Jordan Road) or a willingness to retrace your steps. With two cars and an early start, the full traverse runs about 5 miles point-to-point and takes most groups three to four hours including time on the mesa. Solo hikers sometimes combine Brins-Soldier-Cibola into a 7-mile single-car loop returning via the Cibola Pass connector — that route is well-signed but adds a final mile of moderate climbing that fit groups tend to under-budget for.
Stay nearby
The Jordan Road trailhead is a five-minute drive from our Uptown-adjacent rentals. See our Sedona vacation rentals for properties within easy reach, and check Visit Sedona for current trail conditions.
