Pay-per-view: One of Sedona’s must-do hikes (with a small cost)
Few canyon hikes near Sedona are reached by a paved road, but this one is! As a result, the pleasant, ponderosa pine-packed Boynton Canyon Trail enjoys considerable popularity among the locals. However, because the trail is located inside the Secret Mountain Wilderness, you have to pay a fee to enter.
Your hike starts in an open valley towered by red sandstone cliffs and skirts along the edge of Enchantment Resort before dropping down to the canyon floor, netting you some welcome shade. After that, the trail turns west and runs through a narrower canyon enclosed by dense rows of pine trees, climbing gently at first, then becoming steeper as you near the final viewpoint above the woods.
Once you reach the exposed rock face at the top, you’re treated to sweeping views of the canyon floor below and the surrounding desert wilderness. All that’s left to do is come back down and return to the starting trailhead.