Thunder Mountain
Amazing hikes exist just minutes from Tlaque-Piki Sedona Retreat. Here are a few of our favorites!
Thunder Mountain Trailhead
Just a 5 minute drive from the home you’ll find Thunder Mountain trailhead. This trailhead splits off into two smaller circle hikes. One to the south west called L. Chimney Rock (and the summit) or Sugar Loaf and one to the north east you’ll see noted as Chimney Rock, or Chimney Rock Pass. If you take the route called Chimney Rock Pass, you’ll follow the north east trail shown on google maps below. Both are great options for a quick hike!
Sugar Loaf aka L Chimney Rock: The easier of the two routes you’ll see marked as “Sugar Loaf” on google maps, or L. Chimney Rock on the trailhead. The trail map at the park matches Google maps… but the signs on the trail don’t exactly match. It’s easy to figure out though - you won’t get lost! The Sugar Loaf trail, which you’ll see marked as the L Chimney Rock signs on the actual trail, is an easy hike that takes about 45 minutes at a light pace. There is gravel over much of the route and little elevation change. While the views aren’t as good as some other hikes, it’s a great place to hike with kids or those that want to take it easy.
We hiked on a cloudy, windy morning and the views were still beautiful (they are most places in Sedona!). One thing we do recommend is to bring a pair of hiking boots or shoes that you are ok with getting stained. The Red Rock dust does NOT come out! If you’re traveling here and your shoes need to go in a suitcase home, bring a plastic bag to put them in.
As with any hike, make sure you have water, sun protection (hat and sunglasses) and sunblock. Both of these hikes are short enough that if you forget something, it’s only a short hike back to the car.
When we hike, we like to take a picture of the trailhead map at the beginning of the hike, but also screenshot what the hike looks like on Google Maps. The aerial view on Google maps almost always is more exact. In most places around Sedona, you’ll still get cell service on your hike. This means your little dot on Google maps will move along the trail on your phone and you can double check your progress!
Chimney Rock/Chimney Rock Pass is a slightly longer hike than Sugar Loaf aka L Chimney Rock. This one actually loops around Chimney rock. The best views are on the east side of the hike, both of Chimney Rock and of the red rocks to the east. If you hike in the afternoon, you’ll see the sun lighting up the beautiful red rocks!
While it’s closer to a moderate hike, it’s only about an hour or so and most kids and beginner hikers can easily complete it. The last time we hiked it we had our 5 and 7 year old girls and our friends had their 10 and 14 year old boys. It was about 85 degrees and we just made a few water stops in the shade and they all made it without too much complaining! When we’ve hiked with just our kids and grandparents (late 60’s) and took more stops, it was around an hour and a half.
The short distance/time frame makes up for the mild elevation change. My Apple watch clocked about 350ft of Elevation change and about 1.75 mile hike.
About halfway through, to do the loop shown on Google maps and the trail map (as shown above) and complete the 1.75 mile hike, you’ll want to take the sign for Chimney Rock Pass, not Thunder Mountain.
Of the two hikes at Thunder Mountain Trailhead, this is the hike I would recommend if you’re only going to do one of them. It’s just a little longer, but the views of the red rocks are incredible. We hiked this during a sunny day around 4:30pm and the sun off the rocks to the east was brilliant during so much of the hike. There is one great photo location a little more than halfway through where a large slab of flat rock overlooks the red rocks to the east.
If you hike one of these two places, let us know! We’re @tlaquepiki on Instagram!