Secret Canyon-Bear Sign Loop Hike

We hiked Secret Canyon-Bear Sign Loop on 15 February 2014. This involved parking at the Secret Canyon Trailhead on Vultee Arch (sometimes referred to as Dry Creek) Road, hiking up Secret Canyon, taking David Miller Trail up a side canyon and across a steep ridge into Bear Sign Canyon, following Bear Sign Trail south to Dry Creek Trail, continuing on Dry Creek Trail until it ended at Vultee Arch Road and following the road back to where we parked. We just called it the “Secret Canyon-Bear Sign Loop Hike.”

We drove from Cottonwood to Sedona on Hwy 89A, turned left onto Dry Creek Road and continued to the junction with Vultee Arch Road (some maps, including Google Earth) indicate that Dry Creek Road turns and continues up Dry Creek. However, the section of the road running up the stream seems to have been renamed “Vultee Arch Road” and that is the name used for this report. It should perhaps be noted that the road does indeed end at the Vultee Arch Trailhead.

A paved parking area and restrooms are provided at the start of Vultee Arch Road and, at that point, the pavement ends and the rest of the ride to the Secret Canyon Trailhead is along a very rough dirt road. It should not be attempted in other than a 4-wheel drive vehicle. To emphasize that point, the Forest Service has imbedded a row of rocks across the road at its very beginning. The rocks are of sufficient height as to discourage passenger cars from even attempting to go further. However, we had come prepared with 4-wheel, high clearance vehicles and certainly did not intend to hike the four miles up Vultee Arch Road to the trailhead where we would start our almost 7-mile hike.

It was a rough ride and the going was slow, but we were eventually greeted by a sign (right) heralding our arrival at the Secret Canyon Trailhead.

A driveway leads west from the road to the trailhead parking area, about 100 yards away. The trail leaves the parking area just to the right of the informational sign shown in the below photograph and immediately crosses Dry Creek Wash. Parking is available for six or seven vehicles alongside the driveway near the sign; one spot is also available at the head of the driveway.

Driveway to Secret Canyon Trailhead

The actual trailhead is marked by one of those durable old metal signs (left), used to mark trails several years ago, set among the manzanita growing on the west bank of the wash. A few yards away, was mounted a more recent wooden sign indicating that this was also the way to HS Canyon. We gathered around it for a group photograph (below)

 Left to right (kneeling): Daisy Williams, Donna Goodman, the author;
 (standing): Ruth Frazier, Lila Wright, David Beach, Frank Lombardo,
 Greg Schaffer, Jerry Helfrich and Collene Maktenieks

As we left Dry Creek Wash behind and continued up the trail, we found ourselves traveling up a gentle slope along a well-worn trail that paralleled the wash in Secret Canyon. Looking up the wash we had a view all the way to Little Round Mountain.

Looking up Secret Canyon to Little Round Mountain

We came to the HS Canyon Trailhead sign (right) about 0.7 miles from the parking area. According to the Forest Service description this trail runs west for about 1.8 miles from its start at Secret Canyon Trail and ends in a box canyon at the base of Maroon Mountain. However, I have seen old maps that show it turning north after about 1.2 miles and winding along the slope of Maroon Mountain before reconnecting with Secret Canyon Trail just below the David Miller Trailhead.

Leaving HS Canyon Trail for perhaps another day, we continued on toward David Miller Trail, passing through a forest of manzanita , juniper and oak, with the eponymous red rocks as a background. The manzanitas were already welcoming the spring with a profusion of light pink, shading to white, blossoms.

Juniper, oak and blooming manzanita with a red rock background

A little farther along we came upon a patch of manzanita with unusual dark pink blossoms.

Manzanita with unusual dark pink blossoms – Lila and Donna on the trail ahead

Two miles from the trailhead at Vultee Arch Road, we came to the David Miller Trailhead, marked by another of those old metal signs (left). At this point Secret Canyon Trail turns west while the trail straight ahead becomes David Miller.

The only really steep part of this loop hike is David Miller Trail. It starts in Secret Canyon in a stand of oaks, climbs some 582 feet through a forest of mature manzanitas to cross the high ridge that separates Secret Canyon and Bear Sign Canyon, descends 191 feet by a series of switchbacks into Bear Sign Canyon and ends after 0.9 miles in a stand of ponderosa at Bear Sign Trail.

The below photograph shows a few of the beautiful, mature manzanitas we saw along the way.

Mature manzanitas seen along David Miller Trail

As we continued up David Miller Trail we had a great view down Secret Canyon and on to Capitol Butte in the distance.

Looking back past the twin pines to Capitol Butte from David Miller Trail

Shown below is a section of David Miller Trail as it descends into the ponderosa forest near its end at Bear Sign Trail.

David Beach descending the last switchback on David Miller Trail

We were now at the junction of David Miller and Bear Sign Trails, still a little less than half way through our 6.8 mile loop hike. But the rest of the way would be easy, all downhill along well-developed trails and a short section of dirt road. As we descended the 2.1 mile section of Bear Sign Trail that formed part of our loop, the ponderosa gave way to Arizona cypress.

Arizona cypress trees along Bear Sign Trail

Looking out the mouth of Bear Sign Canyon, we could see Lost Wilson Mountain looming in the near distance across Sterling Canyon. After Bear Sign Trail ended at Dry Creek Wash and we turned to follow Dry Creek Trail in a southwest direction, the mountain was visible to our left.

Lost Wilson Mountain seen from Dry Creek Trail below the Bear Sign Trailhead

Just 0.8 miles along Dry Creek Trail below the Bear Sign Trailhead, we came to the Dry Creek Trailhead (right) at the end of Vultee Arch Road. The road ends here at a circle. Vultee Arch Trail starts here and leads east from up Sterling Canyon for 1.6 miles to Vultee Arch. From there, Sterling Pass Trail leads on up the canyon, through Sterling Pass and down the other side to end at Hwy 89A below Slide Rock State Park.

The rest of our loop hike consisted of an easy 0.9-mile walk down the upper portion of Vultee Arch Road to where we had parked at the Secret Canyon Trailhead.

According to my GPS the distance for the entire loop was 6.8 miles, starting and ending at Secret Canyon Trailhead on Vultee Arch Road. The highest elevation was 5490 feet and the elevation difference was 907 feet. The included map (below) shows the GPS track for the entire Secret Canyon-Bear Sign Loop.