Ambling the Crimson Cliffs and More

May 02, 2025

After three months in a cold and grey French winter, I was happy to come back to my Arizona second home in mid-March. I woke up to inches of snow, adding white to the green, red and blue palette of the classic Sedona landscape. A few hours, and it was all gone. A few days, and it felt like Summer. A few weeks, and I was back on the trails with the Amblers. Marg’s Draw, Crimson Cliffs and Pancakes were the day’s milestones. I wondered if they would take me on different paths than the ones I had already explored, going around Snoopy Rock being one of my favorite hikes. The answer is yes.

We met at Posse Grounds, commuted to the Schnebly Road parking and split into two groups. Follow your leaders! I followed mine, Deb. Tailgating by Gloria. They kept us safe and sound. Thank you!

Marg’s Draw trail first wound down a bit on the north of the road, then crossed it. On the south side, it felt like we were at the real trailhead. We started walking and I remembered why I liked Marg's Draw so much. The trail is close to the city, but already in the Munds Mountain Wilderness. It snakes its way around Snoopy Rock, never boring. Bluffs and needles are towering on my left. On my right, Sedona and its striking background opens up through not very dense and ever-changing curtains of shrubs and trees. 

The noise of civilisation was a distant buzz except for the occasional ATV sputtering. The path went up and down non-stop, but it was far from strenuous, the variations being very modest. A perfectly maintained route and its 100+ steps helped overcome any potential difficulty. Below and round Snoopy Rock we went, still in the not-so-early morning shade.

The trail flattened. Barely past the south side of Snoopy, we turned left and quickly reached a small slickrock plateau. We got closer to the towering cliffs and spires: the red rock mineral universe that I love so much to hike. The plateau turned into a couple of wide ledges going east toward the Munds Mountain backlighted silhouette. We were now on the south side of Snoopy, edging the Crimson Cliffs and their successive rock amphitheatres. We overlooked a vast cirque framed by the Cliffs and the monumental bluffs and canyons of Munds Mountain, until they reached, way south, Gibraltar Rock, Chicken Point, East Twin Buttes and Elephant Rock. In this cirque, somewhere, the Pancakes were waiting for us.

We progressed on the ledges. The cirque was not flat. It went up progressively from the faraway state route 179, where Marg’s Draw trailhead can be found, to the feet of Munds. As we progressed, our smooth rock ledges levelled up with the flatland and we entered a succession of trees, bushes, cacti and ocotillos. The trail was easy to follow, except on wide slabs of rocks where a few tracks may converge and diverge. The Pancakes were not far. Why they are called like that is a no-brainer. I counted five of them piled up nicely to form a large stack. Very flat with comfortable edges to sit on or against and enjoy our mid-trek break. The view was spectacular: a 360° panoramic of the best the Red Rocks have to offer. We took the mandatory group picture for the Westerners’ yearbook.

The way back was a piece of cake. We quickly connected to Marg’s Draw comfortable trail. Back at the parking lot, we checked our phones. Distance, 4.3 miles. Duration, 180 minutes. And for cumulative elevation gain, 380 feet on my old altimeter.

Back home, I surfed the wide world web and found out that, supposedly, Marg was not a ruthless pioneer, but a mare grazing along the draws that come down from Munds Mountain.

It is not a surprise that one of the pictures enhancing the Westerners website banner is of the Crimson Cliffs.

The 2024-2025 season for the Sedona Westerners will conclude on Thursday, May 2nd with our annual spring cookout. Our new season will begin again in early September. If you enjoy hiking in Sedona, we hope you’ll consider joining us then. In the meantime, you can learn about the history of the Westerners and read all of the hiking articles we published this season. Go to www.SedonaWesterners.org. The articles are posted on our News page and photos and other highlights from our hikes can be seen under the Gallery/Year Book Gallery tab in the coming weeks.