Shuttle service proposed for Sedona
Crowding at trailheads a complaint for years
PHOENIX — Visitors and locals wanting to hike two of Sedona’s most popular trails might not be able to park near trailheads come spring 2022.
The idea is to help reduce a problem that has plagued the area for years — complaints about congestion, traffic, and overflow parking frustrations.
Under a plan by the Red Rock Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest, parking lots at Cathedral Rock and Soldier Pass trailheads could close to the public at peak times year-round to accommodate a new shuttle service that would run every 15 to 45 minutes. The hope is to make the experience better for visitors and locals as popular trailheads often surge past parking capacity.
Mark Goshorn, of the ranger district, is overseeing the shuttle plan. He said the project is about more than convenience and public safety concerns. It’s also about preservation.
Pictures taken along the road to access the Cathedral Rock Trailhead show visitors risk parking in ditches and illegally parking along the side of the road, making it tricky for other cars to pass. Parts of the road to get to the Cathedral Rock parking lots are lined with wire to discourage people from doing that.
“We are still on the northern Sonoran Desert, so it’s a very fragile environment as far as rehabilitation from damage and car tracks and things like that,” Goshorn said. “And for people who are parking within neighborhoods, it’s disrupting the quality of life for the citizens that live there.”
Video from the parking area by the popular Devil’s Bridge Trail shows hundreds of cars parked illegally on the side of Dry Creek Road, making conditions dangerous for pedestrians.
There are only 40 spots available at Dry Creek, not including spaces for oversized vehicles, and Goshorn said the lot is constantly full. Devil’s Bridge is another popular trailhead that the shuttle would serve, but the parking lot would not close.
Some Sedona locals are skeptical that visitors will use the shuttle.
“I think it would be a good idea if people will use it because that would take a lot of traffic away from the parking lots,” Sedona resident John Baker said. “People like to drive their cars and stay in their cars, and I think there might be an issue with them wanting to use (other) transportation to get to their trailheads.”
Baker has seen parking issues firsthand. He lives near a trailhead that’s not in the shuttle plan and said people park in his neighborhood all of the time.
“A lot of times, the trailhead parking lots get full. People park on the street, and it’s just been a disaster the last couple of years,” he said. “That’s why I’m here in the morning because traffic is horrendous any time after noon here.”