Info/ route advice for Sedona mtb trip

Hoping to get some knowledgable community members to share must-ride trails or other info about Sedona area. I’m heading there next week and haven’t been before, currently searching for GPX files on the usual MTB sites but always appreciate advice.
Thanks in advance!

I would just look at TF. It’s accurate, and has very good trail descriptions, including how much of a trail is at specific difficulty level. Try a trail a level below your normal comfort to calibrate their ratings with your preferences. Specifics I’ve liked are:

Slim shady > Made in the shade > Hiline > Transept > Baldwin > Templeton > many choices back to VOC.

Various trails from VOC to Little Horse> Chapel> Mystic> Hogwash> Broken arrow> Little horse> llama, bell rock parkway

The aerie/Mescal/cockscomb area is great. Aerie in particular is a favorite. That area can be accessed on its own, or by riding out there via the cultural center trails (which can also make a decent ride on their own).

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Awesome, I appreciate the info!
Someone mentioned snakes this time of year, is that something I should actually be concerned about?

I have been there in sept, dec, Jan and Feb, and have never seen a snake. No idea about other times of the year.

I was there last week for a few days. I was with my family, so more of a family trip than a MTB trip.

We were staying across the road from the Twin Buttes trails, so each evening I banged out a quick ride on the Twin Buttes loop (Peccary, Hogwash, Broken Arrow, Little Horse, Pigtail). Highly recommended for a quick ~ 1 hr ride.

Other times I’ve been to Sedona I’ve ridden more trails in the Twin Buttes area (the Hogs); Trails near Cathedral Rocks area (Slim Shady / Highline / Templeton trails). And West Sedona. (Girdner, Chuck wagon, Mescal, Aerie, Ground Control, Outer Limits).

These are so many good trails to choose from. You’ll be spoiled for choice. Hard to go wrong really.

For a break from MTB, check out Slide Rock state park, Grasshopper point, West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon.

A few pics from last week

And not to disappoint, a snake :laughing:

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Sounds like I can’t go wrong! Staying in west Sedona, I guess I can just look at trail forks and Strava heatmaps and I’ll be fine.
Looks beautiful ,those pics are amazing.
My friend said he’s thinking of wearing gaiters (I guess he’s scared of snakes) but that sounds miserable to me. He told me the snakes jump and attack movement, which is not my experience of snakes but :person_shrugging:

I have never seen a snake on the MTB trails in Sedona.Also, I can’t say I’ve heard many stories about bikers being bit by snakes. So not something I ever worry about.

When you ride there, the quality of the trails and the scenery are good distractions!

The pic above was in an area of grassland. Looks like it was a harmless Gophersnake. Not that I knew that at the time, so I kept my distance anyway.

https://rattlesnakesolutions.com/snake-information/reptiles-of-arizona.php

Awesome, that’s kinda what I figured re: snakes.
I’m super excited, thanks again for the info!

And with hikers tramping all over the place in Sedona, if snakebites were a problem, hikers would be getting bit.

From West Sedona, you can probably start where you’re staying to access the cultural center trails or the West side of the hwy (shurman or something like that?). It’s hard to go wrong there, all the trails are great IMO.

This is really the answer.
Pretty much all the trails are pretty great. Some, of course are better than others, but you likely won’t have a bad time anywhere. You’d have to go out of your way to find a bad trail. Those ones are typically geared towards hiking and aren’t really part of the larger mountain bike system.

Trailforks is super helpful. Tons of reviews and photos on all the systems. Thunder Mountain Bikes also have this cool cloth map that’s helpful and is a great souvenir.

I saw one snake while hiking but it scurried off quick before I could even see what it was. I assume it’s largely a non-issue.