Dry Creek Scenic Road, a 6.5-mile portion of State Route 89A from Cottonwood to Sedona, crosses the Verde Valley on its way to Red Rock Country, with side trips to Cathedral Rock or Sedona’s backcountry of colorful hidden canyons and ancient ruins. The smooth journey takes less than a half-hour nonstop, but plan on adding at least an hour or two for each side trip. After crossing the cottonwood-shaded Verde River, the highway climbs east. Look back for views of Cottonwood, Clarkdale and Jerome, which clings to the side of Mingus Mountain.
In 1583, Spanish explorers entered the Verde Valley in search of gold. They left disappointed, but you won’t be. The area is rich in history, scenery and recreational opportunities. As the road gains elevation, mesquite changes to scattered juniper. On the south, you’ll catch glimpses of broad House Mountain, the figuratively-named top of an extinct volcano. The name was given to the mountain by pioneers who began farming and ranching around Cottonwood in the 1870s.
Past Milepost 361, the highway crosses dry, rocky Spring Creek. When State 89A expanded to four lanes, archaeologists uncovered a cluster of pithouses nearby. Beginning about A.D. 650 -- centuries before they constructed canyon cliff dwellings and hilltop pueblos -- the ancient farmers we call Sinagua Indians lived in scattered settlements of small rock-lined houses built into the earth. Today, the pithouse village at Spring Creek is covered by the highway. Page Springs Road joins State 89A at Milepost 363. The rural communities of Page Springs, Oak Creek Valley and Cornville lie along lower Oak Creek, where orchards advertise fresh peaches, apples and blackberries. The Page Springs fish hatchery is a birdwatcher’s delight, drawing merganzers, warblers, flycatchers and other species to the creek’s shady banks. Page Springs Road leads to Beaverhead Flat Road that links with State Route 179, the Red Rock Scenic Road.
As State 89A continues to climb toward Sedona, red-rock vistas peek up from behind nearer hills. About a mile past Page Springs Road, a loop-shaped parking area offers a panorama stretching left to right from Casner Mountain’s green slopes to basalt-crowned Wilson Mountain. For now, continue on 89A toward Sedona. Between Milepost 366 and Milepost 367, the road crosses Dry Creek. The aptly named creek remains dry most of the year except early spring, when it sparkles silver from snowmelt as it drains the high backcountry between Sedona and Flagstaff. Just past Milepost 368, Lower Red Rock Loop Road begins a scenic 7-mile long side trip that skirts the base of 4,899-foot Scheurman Mountain before circling back to rejoin the highway. Though part of the route is gravel, it is accessible to most passenger cars, depending on weather.
As the loop road heads east, descending toward Oak Creek, imagine how newlywed Dorette Schuerman must have felt in 1884 as she rode toward this remote and rocky outpost. Months earlier, a letter from her fiance Henry asked her to leave Germany and join him on a homestead he’d received in payment for a $500 debt. Their wagon trip from Prescott, where Henry was a hotelier, took five days. The Schuermans planted orchards and a vineyard, dug irrigation ditches and built a road. By 1891, the Schuermans and their neighbors established the area’s first school at the little community named Red Rock. The Schuerman homestead is preserved at Red Rock State Park, at mile 3 along the loop. The park’s hiking trails cross Oak Creek and climb to the top of lichen-covered sandstone cliffs. Far below you might spot a black hawk, a threatened species, circling for fish to feed its nestlings. The visitor’s center has programs and displays focusing on the riparian ecosystem.
Past the park, the loop road changes to gravel as it continues to hug the edges of Scheurman Mountain. The mountain is named for the Schuerman family, though mapmakers transposed the first two vowels. If that wasn’t bad enough, mapmakers also transposed the names of two nearby rock formations. In 1886, Abraham James dubbed a block-shaped butte “Church Rock” and named the cluster of spires near Red Rock Crossing “Courthouse.” Thanks to the mapmaker’s error, today the spires are called Cathedral Rock by all but the most stubborn traditionalists. For a closer look, turn right at the stop sign from the loop road onto Chavez Ranch Road, following the signs for Crescent Moon Ranch/Red Rock Crossing. Here, Cathedral’s spires soar above and reflect in the clear waters of Oak Creek, resulting in an inspiring scene said to be the most photographed place in Arizona.
Returning to the loop, turn right and proceed up a series of hairpin turns. Dirt pullouts offer a place to stop for breath-taking elevated views of Cathedral Rock and Courthouse Butte. Watch for a speed limit change nearing Red Rock High School, home of the Sedona Scorpions. Just south of the school, Scorpion Way leads to parking for a trail to the basalt-scattered top of Scheurman Mountain, a sunny hike on a cool day.
At the stoplight, Upper Red Rock Loop Road rejoins 89A. Turn right toward West Sedona or continue through the intersection to visit the Sedona Cultural Park, a 50-acre complex combining an amphitheater, nature trails, sculpture garden and red-rock panoramas. This is also the site of Sedona’s West Gateway Visitor Center, operated jointly by the Forest Service and chamber of commerce. West Sedona was once known as Grasshopper Flat, where would-be anglers caught grasshoppers for bait on their way to Oak Creek. Real estate boomed during the 1970s and ’80s, and today West Sedona is the community’s largest residential area, dominated by dome-shaped Capitol Butte.
For the adventurous, a visit to Sedona’s backcountry begins by turning north on Dry Creek Road at the next stoplight. The first street on the left, White Bear Road, leads to Sedona’s library. At its entrance stands a larger-than-life bronze statue of Sedona Schnebly, the pioneer woman whose name graces the city. Sedona’s likeness was created by local sculptor Susan Kliewer.
As you continue north on Dry Creek Road, you might be able to spot Cockscomb to the left, the jagged silhouette depicted on Sedona’s city flag. The trio of spires on the right is Chimney Rock, locals refer to it as Three-Finger Rock. Look up at the shoulder of Capitol Butte, where Lizard Head stares west. Directly ahead is Sedona’s backcountry, an intriguing maze of red-and-gold sandstone canyons and buttes. Two miles past Dry Creek Road on State89A intersection, a sign announces Forest Service Road 152 (Vultee Arch Road). This bone-rattling dirt road heads 5 miles northeast into Red Rock–Secret Mountain Wilderness providing access to several hiking trails, including popular Devil’s Bridge and Vultee Arch, both of which feature natural sandstone arches and stunning views. Paved Dry Creek Road continues to a T intersection, where a low-water crossing traverses the usually barren Dry Creek. Here, grayish-green Arizona cypress trees stand among the dense piñon-juniper woodland. Through the ages, springtime floods have sculpted chutes and tubs into Dry Creek’s bedrock base, creating pools of water that attract coyote, deer and other animals between rains.
On the right, FR 152D leads to Long Canyon, where twin-topped Maroon Mountain presides. To continue to Boynton Pass, turn left on FR 152C. In a couple miles, the road T's again. To the right is Enchantment Resort, tucked into the mouth of Boynton Canyon. This box canyon is revered by the Yavapai as their place of emergence. The first Yavapai man, Skatakaampcha, lived here with his grandmother, Old Woman Rock. Boynton Canyon Trail, one of the most popular in Sedona, is a gentle ascent into ponderosa forest.
Turn left at the T to continue on FR 152C, Boynton Pass Road. Depending on weather conditions, most passenger cars can handle this dirt road. At the half-mile point, a large parking area on the right provides access to the Fay Canyon Trail. The road continues through mixed grasslands below 6,541-foot Bear Mountain. A strenuous trail leads to the top of the mountain, where hikers can spot Flagstaff’s San Francisco Peaks. A better choice for novices is flat-topped Doe Mesa, across the road from the trailhead parking area. The mile-long trail up this steep-sided mesa leads to sweeping 360-degree views of red-rock country and the Verde Valley.
Three miles later, the Boynton Pass Road ends at Forest Service Road 525, Red Canyon Road. Turn right, and you’ll come to a fork. To the left is the infrequently maintained, rocky 4.5-mile route to Honanki Ruins, best left to high-clearance vehicles. The 2-mile gravel road on the right leads to Palatki, a 900-year old Sinagua dwelling built into the cliffs of Red Canyon. When archaeologist Jesse Walter Fewkes arrived here in 1895, he made several glass-plate photos. The two-story pueblo looked much the same then as it is does today. Fewkes called it Palatki, a Hopi Indian word for “red house,” correctly deducing that the people who constructed and occupied this cliff dwelling in A.D. 1100-1300 were ancestors of the Hopi.
During this time period, Sinagua farmers moved from scattered pithouses to live in multistory dwellings. They favored cliffs that faced south or southwest, shaded in summer and warmed by the winter sun. In the valley below, they raised corn, beans and squash, continuing to hunt game and gather wild plants as their ancestors did before them. Centuries later, the canyon bottom was cultivated again, this time by homesteader Charles Willard. During the 1920s and ’30s, Willard dry-farmed a large orchard of apples, peaches, pears, pomegranates and jujubes (a popular movie-time treat predating Gummi Bears). On the canyon’s other side, a foot trail passes along sheltered cliffs marked with thousands of rock art elements in red, white and black. Some date back to Archaic and possibly even Paleolithic times, evidence that humans have frequented the area known as Red Cliffs for millennia.
Red Cliffs, Palatki and nearby Honanki are maintained by the Coconino National Forest. Unfortunately, some masonry walls, artifacts and rock markings have been damaged by time, vandals and even well-intentioned visitors unfamiliar with site etiquette. Though many Southwest cultural sites have been closed to the public, at Palatki it is still possible to walk through villages and even enter individual rooms where the Sinagua slept, worked and raised their families.
After leaving Palatki, stay on Red Canyon Road for 10 miles until it connects with State 89A. Turn left to return to Sedona, where you will gaze at the red-rock vistas feeling a deeper sense of connection to those who lived here long ago.