Soldier Pass Trail: How to Find The Hidden Cave & More

Hiking Soldier Pass Trail & Finding The Hidden Cave

Soldier Pass Trail is one of the best hikes in Sedona. It’s probably because it’s so easygoing for all kinds of hikers and has many jaw-dropping sights along the way.

FYI: Since I hiked Soldier Pass Trail from the Soldier Pass Trailhead, the rest of this post will cover how to hike this route.

Devil’s Kitchen Sinkhole

Once you’re at the trailhead, the adventure kicks off immediately. After walking about a quarter mile through a wash, you’ll make your way slightly uphill to the first exciting spot on the trail—the Devil’s Kitchen Sinkhole.

Devils kitchen is an active sinkhole. There have been two significant collapses so far – one in the 1880s and another in 1989. The sinkhole measures 150 feet wide and 50 feet deep. It was formed as water eroded the limestone caverns underground, causing the surface to collapse.

The sinkhole keeps changing and growing, so who knows, it might look different the next time you visit Sedona.

Seven Sacred Pools

Keep going for another 0.4 miles, and you’ll come across the Seven Sacred Pools on the left side of the trail. These are a set of pools in a row along a sandstone ridge.

When I visited, the sacred pools were full, but keep in mind they might dry up during the scorching summer months.

Interestingly, they got their name from Jeep tour guides, who started calling them the “seven sacred pools,” and the name just stuck. Just to clarify, they’re not actually sacred, and there’s no vortex business going on.

FYI: The initial stretch of this hike traces along a Jeep Road commonly used by tour companies, so don’t be surprised if you catch glimpses and sounds of Jeep tours during the first mile of the Soldier Pass Trail.

Finding the Hidden Soldier Pass Cave

Now, let’s move on to the highlight of the trail – Soldier Pass Cave.

Keep on the trail for a little over half a mile after passing the Seven Sacred Pools. You’ll come to an obvious fork in the road where you’ll see two signs.

On the left-hand side, you’ll see a sign that says “Trail.” Do not go left if you want to find the cave. Left takes you to the top of Soldier Pass.

On the right side, you’ll see a National Forest Wilderness sign attached to a tree. Go RIGHT if you want to hike up to the secret cave.

The spur trail that leads to the cave is exactly 1.3 miles from the trailhead.

Follow the trail to the right up to an open mesa. Stay left as you pass over the open mesa and head to the cliff wall up ahead. You might even see the soldier pass arches in the cliff wall from here.

You’ll easily find the well-beaten rocky trail that leads up to the cave once you are over the mesa.

Just a heads up – the climb to the cave is quite steep, and you might need to do some scrambling over loose rocks. Just take your time and watch your footing.

The distance from the turn-off at the fork in the road to the Soldier Pass Cave is 0.5 miles.

The trail ends at the base of the rocky cliff, and you’ll find Soldier Pass Cave nestled behind the trees on the right side. Just look for people waiting for their turn to climb into the cave.

Inside the Soldier Pass Cave

Once you arrive at the cave, you’ll have to carefully climb a pile of rocks through a narrow gap to make your way into the cave.

Going up was surprisingly easy, but be prepared – coming back down can be quite challenging!

Once inside the cave, enjoy snapping your photos. A favored picture spot is within the open archway on the cave’s side.

If you’re feeling more adventurous than I was, you can climb the rock slide toward the back of the cave and pop out on top for some breathtaking views. Nobody was climbing up on the day of my visit, but I’ve read about it and seen pictures from the top. I’m definitely giving it a shot when I return.

The Hike Doesn’t Have to End

You Have a couple of options to finish your hike from here:

Option One: If you only came to see the cave, that’s great. You can just go back the way you came and follow the soldier pass trail back to your car.

Option Two: You can head back to the fork in the road we discussed earlier, but this time, take the trail to the right following the “Trail” sign and continue further up the soldier pass trail, 0.5 miles, where the trail will climb up onto a ridge giving you some pretty amazing views. Then, you can retrace your steps back down the soldier pass trail back to your car.

Option Three: Once you are at the top of the ridge, the Soldier Pass Trail will connect with the Brins Mesa Trail. You can continue on here, taking the Brins Mesa Loop. You’ll hike the Brins Mesa Trail to the Cibola Trail, which then turns into the Jordan Trail. The Jordan Trail ends up back at Devil’s Kitchen on the Soldier Pass Trail. From there, you’ll follow the Soldier Pass Trail back to your vehicle.

If you choose to hike the whole loop, your hike will be 6 miles in total.