Fay Canyon Trail: The Easy Family Canyon
Fay Canyon is the gentlest of the box-canyon hikes on Sedona's west side — flat, shaded, kid-friendly, and short enough that even small children can finish without complaint. It also hides a natural arch tucked into the canyon wall, accessible by a short signed spur.
Trail overview
Fay Canyon Trail is a 2.4-mile out-and-back with about 200 feet of elevation gain, almost all of it on the optional spur to Fay Arch. The main canyon trail itself is essentially flat, walking up the wash bottom under towering red cliffs on both sides. The trail ends at a slickrock pour-over deep in the canyon (3 miles round-trip if you go all the way to the box end). The arch spur turns right (north) about 0.7 miles from the trailhead, climbing about 200 feet through a juniper forest to the arch itself.
What to expect
The walk in is one of the most pleasant easy hikes in Sedona — high red cliffs on either side, partial shade from juniper and Arizona cypress, soft sandy tread, almost no climbing for the first three quarters of a mile. Wildlife is common: javelina in the wash bottom in morning and evening, mule deer at dusk, the occasional bobcat. Fay Arch is harder to see than to find — even standing under it, you can miss it unless you know to look up; it is a 30-foot natural arch in the cliff face above the spur trail. Look for the small wooden sign at the arch viewing point.
The canyon ends at a slickrock pour-over where the wash drops into a deeper canyon section; this is the natural turnaround. Adventurous hikers can scramble around the pour-over and continue further but the route becomes unmaintained and route-finding gets harder.
Permits + parking
Fay Canyon trailhead is on Boynton Pass Road, about a mile before the Boynton Canyon trailhead. A Red Rock Pass is required ($5 day). The lot is medium-sized (about twenty-five spaces) and fills by 10 AM on weekends but is usually less crowded than Boynton or Soldier Pass.
Best time to go
Year-round. The partial shade and shallow grade make this one of the more forgiving Sedona hikes in summer — early mornings (start by 8 AM) are pleasant even in July. Spring and fall are perfect for kids. Winter mornings can be cold in the shaded canyon but the trail itself stays clear after most storms.
Difficulty + safety
Easy. This is one of the best hikes in Sedona for families with kids in the 4-to-10 range — soft tread, shade, no steep sections on the main trail. The arch spur adds 200 feet of elevation and is steeper but still manageable for most kids. Carry one litre of water per person, more in summer. Dogs welcome on-leash and this is an excellent dog hike — shade, easy tread, no scrambling.
Why this trail works for first-timers
If you have never hiked in red-rock desert before, Fay Canyon is the trail we recommend as a calibration outing. The terrain is gentle enough that you can focus on the experience rather than the effort, the partial shade means you do not need to time your start around heat, and the box-canyon geometry gives you a strong sense of being inside a desert landscape rather than just walking through one. Many of our guests do Fay on day one as a low-stakes introduction, then graduate to more demanding hikes (Cathedral, Devil\'s Bridge, Soldier Pass) on days two and three with a clearer sense of what they can handle. It is also the right trail for a multi-generational family that wants one outing everyone can do together.
Stay nearby
The Fay Canyon trailhead is a ten-minute drive from our West Sedona rentals — an easy choice for a low-stakes morning hike before lunch in town. See our Sedona vacation rentals for properties close to the trailhead, and check Visit Sedona for current trail conditions.
