Westerners Amblers take Snake Trail to view Mescal Mesa

September 12, 2025

On a cloudless spring-like day in late April, the Amblers of the Sedona Westerners Hiking Club ventured out on the next-to-last hike of the season. The weather was perfect with temperatures not exceeding 65 degrees during the hike. With the hot summer we have had, the memory of the hike is very refreshing.

We met at the Arizona Cypress trailhead off Dry Creek Road. The trail is a popular trail for hikers and bicyclists. We opted for a loop trail adding less-travelled Snake and Anaconda trails, which are not as popular. This loop is really a worthwhile hike for the views. Once you start climbing up out of the valley the views open to being able to see most of Sedona’s iconic Red Rock formations in every direction.

Led by Lisa and Jane, we started down the Arizona Cypress trail in two groups. The trail parallels Dry Creek and hiking along the trail we could see why it has the name it has. The many cypress trees were easily identifiable by their blue-green color. We also passed juniper, pinion, the occasional cottonwood and sycamore trees, along with many patches of manzanita.

Arriving at the intersection of the Snake trail there was a large area that had been cleared of trees and brush leaving only a few Emory Oak standing tall. We found a sign describing the work the Red Rock District of the Forest Service was doing to restore Emory Oaks in several areas in our district. These oaks are native to the area, and the sign informed us the “Emory oak acorns are an important resource for the Western Apache Tribal Nation as a food source, and for cultural and ceremonial uses.”

Due to the lack of winter and spring rain last year we did not see any wildflowers along the trail until after making the turn onto Snake. While hiking up a gentle climb we started seeing the result of the rain a week before. We passed individual bladderpod mustard and black foot daisy flowers, not many, but enough to know a bit of spring had arrived in this part of the forest. Further along the trail we started seeing hedgehog and prickly pear cacti with swelling flower buds.

We had been walking and looking down at the trail long enough, it was now time to look up and around and take in some views. As we climbed and walked along the Snake trail, Mescal Mesa appeared on the right side and slightly behind us. After turning onto Anaconda and still climbing, the backside of Thunder Mountain came into view, as well as the other side of Lizard Head. From our perspective on Anaconda, it looked more like a camel back and head.

Making some more turns and climbing just a little higher, the Courthouse, Bell Rock, and Cathedral formations come into view. The view of this triplet appears odd because Bell Rock appears very small compared to the very large Courthouse and Cathedral formations. When you are in the Bell Rock parking lot and looking up at it, it really is a large, grand formation as well - just not from this perspective in West Sedona.

A little further along Anaconda, Cockscomb came into view followed by Doe and Bear mountains. At the peak elevation of our hike, which has been less than a 300-foot gradual climb since turning on Snake, we have spectacular views into Fay and Boynton Canyons.

We started descending and our views of red rock formations continued and came full circle, completing a 360-degree viewing of red rock formations. Directly in front of us we had a view, from a higher elevation than we had earlier, of Mescal Mesa again. Peeking out behind Mescal was the Three Sisters formation with Ice Cream Cone next to it.

We connected back to Arizona Cypress and took a 10-minute break before heading back to the trailhead. The trail made several crossings of Dry Creek and about halfway back we came across a very tall and large, dead cypress. This cypress has an impressive, spectacular, and if I might say, grandiose 30-foot circumference at its base. It is hard to believe such a magnificent tree is no longer living.

To end on a positive, we came across a singleton plant – a yellow wallflower - standing tall within 100-foot of the trailhead. All this in less than a 300-foot climb and less than 3.5-mile hike. And we only saw one trail-runner, one dog walker, and one bike rider. Just another perfect hike in Sedona.

This week the Rustlers are going to Flagstaff on Saturday to hike Kachina (5 miles), Drovers will hike Crescent Moon Loop on Sunday, the Dogies will do a 6.5-mile version of Kachina on Tuesday, the Drifters will go to Baldwin/Templeton on Wednesday, Amblers will hike Kelly Canyon on Thursday and Mustangs will go to Blue Dot also on Thursday. Be sure to check sedonawesterners.com for the full schedule, group details, and the most up-to-date hike information. You can also join the Westerners at the website if you are not already a member.