Sedona-area hike has all the views you love with lots fewer people. Here's how to try it
Rerouted and revamped in 2021, the routes formerly known as the Pine Valley and Dairy Springs trails are now the Rabbit Ears and Little Rock trails. They're the rising stars of the Big Park Loop Trails system in the Village of Oak Creek.
The two single-track paths were moved off areas that had become heavily eroded. The rehabilitated routes now include an extra mile of scenic trail at the base of Lee Mountain southeast of the uber-popular Big Park trails that wind around iconic Courthouse Butte and the Bell Rock vortex site.
Combined with a short stretch of the Big Park Loop, the Rabbit Ears and Little Rock trails make a moderate 5.7-mile loop with lots of variety.
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Start at Jacks Canyon Trailhead in Village of Oak Creek
The hike begins at the Jacks Canyon trailhead, which essentially serves as the less crowded “back door” to Big Park.
After passing a gate and crossing Jacks Canyon Road, the trail hops an ephemeral creek which may be difficult to cross during heavy spring runoff seasons.
Once over the creek, Rabbit Ears ascends a sun-drenched mesa dotted with catclaw, yucca and cactus.
There’s little shade along the first 0.7 mile, which means unobstructed views of Lee Mountain, the Munds Mountain Wilderness, Horse Mesa and the distant Bradshaw Mountains. At the first junction, the loop splits.
To get the climbing part done first, follow Rabbit Ears as it ascends a stepped mesa to the loop’s high point beneath the eponymous bunny ears rock formation. Tucked into cleft below Lee Mountain, the ears stand out as double sandstone pillars.
The route then makes a gradual milelong straight shot downhill overlooking a gully where the faint scribble of Little Rock Trail is visible on the red ledges below.
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Views include Sedona favorites Courthouse Butte and Cathedral Rock
Piñon pine-framed looks at Courthouse Butte, Cathedral Rock and the skyline of Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness roll out all the way down. At the Big Park junction, the route heads left on Big Park Loop for 0.3 mile, then heads left again on the Little Rock Trail.
This lower 2.4-mile leg of the loop is dodgier than its ridgeline component.
Twisted and undulating, the trail is a combination of woodsy passages and sketchy slickrock traverses. Where the trail crosses solid rock, white arrows painted on the slick sandstone point the way.
While never demanding too much lung capacity or leg muscles, the trail’s unrelenting dips and climbs add up to over 1,000 feet of elevation change, mixing a mild sweat in with sweet vistas and a quieter outdoor space.
It’s a recipe for relaxed hiking in red-rock country.
Village of Oak Creek hike: Little Rock-Rabbit Ears loop
Length: 5.7-mile loop.
Rating: Moderate.
Elevation: 4,222-4,709 feet (1,022 feet of total elevation change).
Getting there: Use the Jacks Canyon Trailhead. From Interstate 17 north of Camp Verde, take Exit 298 for Sedona/Oak Creek. Go 6.5 miles on State Route 179 to the Jacks Canyon Road/Verde Valley School Road traffic circle. Veer right and continue 2 miles on Jacks Canyon Road to the trailhead on the right. Roads are paved up to the trailhead. The trail begins at the Rabbit Ears sign at the north end of the huge parking area. There are no fees or facilities at this trailhead.
Details: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recarea/?recid=72017.
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Read more of Mare Czinar's hikes at http://arizonahiking.blogspot.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sedona hike has iconic views: Little Rock, Rabbit Ears trails
