Honanki

This short, easy hike leads to perhaps the best Native American ruins in Sedona, dating back to 1100 A.D.

Between 1100 and 1300 A.D., the Southern Sinagua, ancestors of the Hopi, called several areas of the Verde Valley home; evidence of their life and times remains at the Honanki Heritage Site, tucked under Loy Butte to the west of Sedona. While the drive to the Site (managed by the Forest Service) takes a while and is bumpy at times, the hiking trail to Honanki is short, basically flat, and leads to arguably the best ruins in Sedona.

The 3/4-mile roundtrip loop begins with check-in at the ranger’s booth (there’s no entry fee but a Red Rock Pass is required for parking), where you’ll get the lowdown on the area from the ranger on duty. You’ll be reminded to take only pictures, stay out of the ruins and off the ruin walls, and to keep your hands off the petroglyphs, since oils from your skin can ruin the fragile carvings. Setting out from the station, you will hike through pinion pine, juniper, snakeweed, grasses, and prickly pear cactus, making your way toward the towering Loy Butte. On this section of the trail the ruins are completely hidden by vegetation. You will quickly come upon a trail junction – we chose to take the Discovery Trail offshoot but either side of the fork leads to the ruins. The Discovery Trail consists of man-made, red rock steps leading to the first, and most impressive, set of ruins (big picture on the previous pages, and at left, center). Most of the rooms are located at this spot, tucked under Loy Butte for protection against the elements. Look for petroglyphs above the tops of the dwellings to your left – we spotted animal and human shapes as well as the outlines of ancient hands. You will also see evidence of bird’s nests on ledges over the tops of the ruins.

A few yards further along you will find the next set of ruins – you’ll be able to get much closer to these brick walls but they are shorter and the rooms are smaller than in the first group. However, there are more petroglyphs here. Look for geometric designs, animals, human shapes, a large white disk resembling the moon (pictured, lower left), and even a figure that looked like a hunter making a kill. Examine the walls of the ruins for the outline of a door that has since been filled in and the remnants of windows, but stay out of the rooms.

The trail gently slopes back down to meet the original path leading back to the parking lot. Honanki is a popular stop for local jeep tour groups so don’t be surprised if you come upon big groups of people, especially on the weekends. We hiked to the ruins during the middle of the week and practically had the spot all to ourselves, making it easier to imagine what life must have been like for the Sinagua (Spanish for “without water”) hundreds of years ago.

DIRECTIONS: Go south on Hwy 89A and right on Dry Creek Rd. Turn left at the first Stop sign, then left at the second Stop sign on the newly paved FR152C (pavement ends after several miles). Turn right on FR525 and stay on this bumpy dirt road until you reach the parking area. A Red Rock Pass (not sold at the ranger station) is required to park. Follow signs to Honanki (Palatki ruins are also nearby; reservations required). Restrooms are available in the parking lot.

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