Red Rock State Park
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Red Rock State Park is a 286 acre nature preserve located about ten miles outside of Sedona. The park boasts a five mile network of trails ranging from walks by Oak Creek Canyon lined by tall trees to paths that take you to the top of some great lookout points. The Miller Visitor Center has educational exhibits with information about the park and Sedona area, as well as restrooms and a gift shop.
On our recent visit, we took the Bunkhouse Trail from the visitor’s center to Kingfisher Bridge, which spans Oak Creek. The area near the creek is a riparian habitat, home to many different birds and apparently even river otters (though we didn’t see any on our visit). The Kisva Trail runs along the creek, and is a pleasant, flat, and shady trail. In fact, according to one of the sign posts, “Kisva” is Hopi for “shady water.”
From the Kisva Trail, we took the Eagle’s Nest Trail, hoping for some amazing scenic views of the surrounding area and stunning red rocks. The trail is well-marked, surrounded by scrub pines and dotted with prickly pear cacti. Even the dirt on the trail is a vibrant rusty red. The views as we climbed the easy-to-moderate switchback trails became more and more beautiful as we made our way up the hill.
The main viewpoint at the top of the Eagle’s Nest Trail is a wide flat area, complete with benches that are a great place to take a break and enjoy the scenery. There are also several informational signs explaining and naming the geographic features of the area.
We greatly enjoyed our visit to Red Rock State Park and will definitely visit again. There is a fee to enter the park, but we believe it’s worth the price. Next time we’ll have to explore more the beautiful trails that the park has to offer.
Google Maps Link: Red Rock State Park
