Munds Mountain Wilderness

Munds Mountain Wilderness is a 24,411-acre property on the eastern edge of Sedona. This is an area at the edge of the Mogollon Rim characterized by fantastic colorful rock formations: cliffs, domes, spires, buttes and mesas. Elevations in Munds Mountain Wilderness vary from about 3,600 feet up to 6,825 feet at the summit of Munds Mountain itself. Walking the canyon bottoms here is easy enough but if you should choose to follow a trail that leads up into the higher areas, be prepared for a steep, rocky climb. The upper areas are very dry but the canyon bottoms hold some gorgeous riparian zones.

Two of the more popular trails at Munds Mountain Wilderness are the Hot Loop Trail and the Jacks Canyon Trail. The Hot Loop Trail climbs about six miles to the top of Horse Mesa and a spectacular overlook. The Jacks Canyon Trail goes north through the riparian zone in the canyon bottom for about 4.3 miles up to a narrow saddle where it meets up with the Munds Mountain Trail which runs south from the high ground on Schnebly Hill.

Munds Mountain Wilderness is in the Red Rocks section of Coconino National Forest. The Red Rocks area sees so many human visitors that you'll need a $5 day use permit just to park your vehicle for more than fifteen minutes (they allow fifteen minutes to allow folks to shoot some photos). Access to the wilderness is easy as roads run along three sides of it.