CairnThe Sedona Index

From the Sedona record

Boynton Canyon and Subway Cave, Sedona

Boynton Canyon Trail No. 47, near Sedona, is a 6-mile out-and-back that the Forest Service rates Moderately challenging, at 2.5 hours one way (read October 9, 2026). Park at the lot just outside the entrance to the Enchantment Resort with a Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful pass; prices are on our Red Rock Pass guide. Start early, carry more water than you think you need and have a backup hike, because the Forest Service warns you may have more company than you hoped for.

Last reviewed . Sources and dates are listed below.

Red sandstone cliffs and spires under a deep blue sky above scrub and juniper on Boynton Canyon Trail, Sedona
Red rock walls along Boynton Canyon Trail No. 47, February 2011. Photo: U.S. Forest Service, Coconino National Forest, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Two names, two places

Most of the confusion starts with the word "cave." Sedona has several rock features that travellers call caves, and two of the most photographed are on two different trails. This is how they line up. Subway Cave — Which trail: A traveller-described spur off Boynton Canyon Trail No. 47 (West Sedona, Dry Creek Road side); What the official page says: The Forest Service Boynton page does not name it (read October 9, 2026); Index guide: This page. Soldier Pass "cave" / arch — Which trail: A spur off Soldier Pass Trail No. 66 (Soldier Pass Road side); What the official page says: The Forest Service names a right-branch spur that climbs "rather steeply for ¼ mile to an arch" (as quoted on our Soldier Pass guide, last reviewed October 5, 2026); Index guide: Soldier Pass Sedona. The Forest Service also lists the two as separate trails. Its Red Rock–Secret Mountain Wilderness page (last updated April 20, 2026) has its own entry for Boynton Canyon Trail No. 47 and another for Soldier Pass Trail No. 66. They have different trailheads, different parking and different pass rules, so plan them as two separate outings, not one.

Boynton Canyon Trail No. 47: what the Forest Service says

Start with the official trail, because the cave only exists as a side trip off it. Everything in this table was read from the Forest Service Boynton Canyon Trail No. 47 page (https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/coconino/recreation/trails/boynton-canyon-trail-no-47) on October 9, 2026. The page footer says "Last updated July 23, 2025." Trail: Boynton Canyon Trail No. 47, Standard/Terra Trail. Managed by: Coconino National Forest (USDA Forest Service). Difficulty: Moderately challenging. Trailhead elevation: 4,525 ft. Elevation gain: 931 ft. Length: 6 miles out and back. Time: 2.5 hours one way. Parking pass: Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Pass required to park at the trailhead. Getting there: Through Sedona to Dry Creek Road at the southwest end of town, north (right) on Dry Creek Road, "follow the signs to Boynton Canyon." The parking lot and trailhead are "just outside the entrance to the Enchantment Resort." Location: "32 miles south of Flagstaff (2 miles west of Sedona) on paved roads". Wilderness: Listed in the Red Rock–Secret Mountain Wilderness recreation group. The Forest Service describes the hike itself in a few plain lines. Boynton is "one of the most scenic of the box canyons that make Arizona Red Rock Country so famous." The trail "starts out by skirting a luxury resort," then "quickly returns to the canyon floor where the walking is pleasant and easy." The page also points out plants and wildlife, "everything from colorful songbirds to bristling, shy whitetail deer." Note the time line. "2.5 hours one way" is the Forest Service's own figure, not a round-trip time, so set aside a good part of the day if you plan to walk the whole canyon and back. We don't add a pace of our own, and we don't break the trail into mile markers the Forest Service doesn't print. For the map, coordinates and the short record of these facts, the Index keeps a trail page: Boynton Canyon Trail No. 47. That record was compiled from the same Forest Service page on August 30, 2026, and it matches what we read on October 9. Use it for the quick numbers. This guide is the place for the questions around the hike.

Subway Cave: what travellers say

Subway Cave is not a Forest Service trail. The official Boynton page does not name it, and travellers consistently describe the way in as an unsigned side path. Here is what they say, in their own words, with sources. All of it is traveller advice, not Index or Forest Service guidance. It's hard to find. On the TripAdvisor Subway Cave listing, karenpammy2016 (visited October 2024, review written January 25, 2025) wrote: "It took nearly four hours for us to actually find the detour to the trail to Subway Cave." The same review says: "…there is not signage indicating the unofficial trail." That is TripAdvisor traveller advice (TripAdvisor, Subway Cave (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g31352-d26839345-Reviews-Subway_Cave-Sedona_Arizona.html)). On the TripAdvisor Boynton Canyon Trail listing, GAK1968 (visited April 2025) wrote: "We opted to go to the Subway Cave, which is not well marked…" On the same listing, Photohoarder (visited November 2025, review written February 10, 2026) noted: "…there is no official sign." Both are TripAdvisor traveller advice (TripAdvisor, Boynton Canyon Trail (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g31352-d109674-Reviews-Boynton_Canyon_Trail-Sedona_Arizona.html)).

What this guide won't tell you about the cave

We don't publish directions to the spur. No official page we can cite marks it, and second-hand landmarks change, get misread, or lead people onto the wrong slope. If you can't find the spur with confidence, the main Boynton Canyon Trail is a full, worthwhile hike on its own. We also don't grade the approach, say who can or can't do it, or promise that any feature is safe. If you go, go with a plan to turn around. Nor do we say whether the cave is open or closed. No closure notice appeared on the Forest Service pages we read on October 9, 2026, so this guide can't tell you either way. Check the Coconino National Forest alerts page (https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/coconino/alerts) the day you go. If anything on the ground is signed, fenced or looks closed, respect it.

Respect for the canyon and its history

Here is what the Forest Service publishes. Its Archaeology & Cultural Resources page (last updated May 2, 2025; read October 9, 2026) says the Coconino National Forest "is home to four heritage sites, which are staffed and open to visitors": Palatki, Honanki, Crane Petroglyph and Elden Pueblo. Subway Cave is not on that list. If seeing cliff dwellings or rock art is the reason you're drawn to the area, those four staffed sites are where the Forest Service invites visitors. Wherever you walk in the canyon, the rule is simple: stay on the trail, leave what you find where you found it, and don't climb on or touch anything that looks built or painted.

Boynton Vista and the vortex

Boynton has a reputation beyond its scenery, and the Forest Service acknowledges it in a belief-neutral way: "Lately it has become even more so, since it developed a reputation as a site of a spiritual energy vortex. Whether or not you follow this belief, you'll no doubt agree the beauty found among these towering buttes, crimson cliffs, and natural desert gardens is divine." (Boynton Canyon Trail No. 47 page, read October 9, 2026.) The Forest Service page we read doesn't name Boynton Vista or describe a route to it, so we leave its distance and route to the people walking it, and we make no claims about what anyone will feel there. Do you need a guide? Our traveller question on Sedona vortex sites (last reviewed September 18, 2026) answers no for the classic sites: "Airport Mesa, Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, and Boynton Canyon sit on ordinary public trailheads / Forest Service land." Guided tours sell interpretation and transport, not exclusive access.

Parking and the Red Rock Pass

The Forest Service is clear: a Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Pass is required to park at the trailhead. The Forest Service Passes Program table (last updated June 17, 2026; read October 9, 2026) lists "Boynton Canyon Trailhead" as Red Rock Pass or ATB. What that means in practice, and what it doesn't: Either pass works here. Boynton Canyon Trailhead is on the Forest Service's Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful list. It is not one of the Coconino Hospitality concessionaire sites, and it is not a state park. One pass, many trailheads. The same Red Rock Pass also covers other trailheads on that Forest Service list, so a single pass can cover a multi-hike day if every lot you use is on it. A pass is not a parking space. Our Red Rock Pass guide quotes Recreation.gov: passes do not guarantee parking availability. Prices, tiers, where to buy, and how online passes attach to your plate are all on our Red Rock Pass Sedona guide (last reviewed October 5, 2026), which maps the four fee families travellers mix up. We keep prices in one place so they're only updated once. If your Boynton day also includes a state park such as Slide Rock, that park charges its own entrance fee, which a Red Rock Pass doesn't cover. See our Slide Rock State Park guide for that fee. We don't publish how many cars the lot holds, when it fills, or where else people park when it's full. None of that appears on the Forest Service page. We'd say: arrive early, have a backup hike, and park only where a sign allows it.

The Enchantment Resort next door

The Forest Service mentions the resort twice. The parking lot and trailhead are "just outside the entrance to the Enchantment Resort," and the trail "starts out by skirting a luxury resort that was recently built here" before it "quickly returns to the canyon floor." That is all this guide will say about the resort. Public hikers start from the Forest Service trailhead and lot.

Crowds, timing and heat

The Forest Service is unusually frank about crowds. Boynton is "conveniently accessible to nearby towns on well paved roads," which is "both good and bad news": "The good news is you don't have to bounce down a dusty jeep track to get to the trailhead. The bad news is you may have more company than you hoped for when you arrive." We don't publish wait times, lot-fill times or a "best hour." Nobody we can cite measures them, and they change by season and day of the week. What we can say softly: Earlier is calmer. That's true across Sedona's popular trailheads, and Boynton's own Forest Service page warns about company. Weekdays beat weekends. Our best time to visit Sedona guide covers seasons, heat and crowds. The cave is the bottleneck. If you reach the spur and it's crowded or the rock is wet, the canyon beyond is still worth the walk. Heat changes the plan. A canyon hike that the Forest Service times at 2.5 hours one way is long on a hot afternoon. Carry more water than you think you'll need, and start early in warm months. For hot-day ideas that don't involve a long hike, see cool things to do on a hot day in Sedona.

Boynton Canyon or Soldier Pass?

If you have time for one longer hike and you're choosing between these two, here is the honest comparison, using only what the official pages publish. Forest Service difficulty — Boynton Canyon (Trail No. 47): Moderately challenging; Soldier Pass (Trail No. 66): Moderate (per our Soldier Pass guide). Length, as published — Boynton Canyon (Trail No. 47): 6 miles out and back; Soldier Pass (Trail No. 66): 4 miles roundtrip in the table (our Soldier Pass guide notes the prose also says 4.5). Elevation gain — Boynton Canyon (Trail No. 47): 931 ft; Soldier Pass (Trail No. 66): 641 ft. The "cave" — Boynton Canyon (Trail No. 47): Subway Cave: traveller-described, unmarked spur, not named by the Forest Service; Soldier Pass (Trail No. 66): An arch on a short, steep right-hand spur, named by the Forest Service. Parking — Boynton Canyon (Trail No. 47): Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful at the trailhead; Soldier Pass (Trail No. 66): A small gated lot with its own calendar, or the free shuttle when it runs. See Soldier Pass Sedona. Feel — Boynton Canyon (Trail No. 47): A box canyon, "pleasant and easy" on the canyon floor after the resort; Soldier Pass (Trail No. 66): Several stops in the first half-mile (Devil's Kitchen, the Seven Sacred Pools), then steeper to the pass. Boynton suits a longer, steadier canyon walk where Subway Cave is optional. Soldier Pass packs its famous stops into the first stretch and has a more complicated access calendar. Neither is a lesser hike. They're different days.

If you want a different shape of day

These are other options, not a ranking. A short, steep climb with a famous view: Cathedral Rock Sedona. The Forest Service calls it more rock climb than hike. Easy, family-friendly red-rock walking: Bell Rock Pathway Sedona. A view you can drive to: Airport Mesa Sedona. Another busy icon, with timing advice: When to hike Devil's Bridge in Sedona. A different canyon, with creek crossings: West Fork Trail Sedona. It uses a different fee system. Creek-level views of Cathedral Rock: Crescent Moon / Red Rock Crossing Sedona. This is also a different fee system. The nearest trail record to Boynton in the Index: Fay Canyon Trail. Every trail record is on Sedona trails. Fitting it into a trip: Plan a Sedona trip covers how many days to allow and what to book first. If your plan depends on the free City of Sedona trailhead shuttle for other hikes, our Sedona Shuttle record (compiled September 26, 2026, from the City's how-to-ride page) lists the five trailheads that fixed-route service serves: Cathedral Rock, Little Horse, Soldier Pass, Dry Creek Vista (with access to Devil's Bridge) and Mescal. Check the City's own page for current days and hours.

Before you go

1. Know which trail you're on. Subway Cave is off Boynton Canyon Trail No. 47, not Soldier Pass. 2. Read the Forest Service page. It rates the trail Moderately challenging: 6 miles out and back, 931 ft of gain, and 2.5 hours one way as published. Read the Boynton Canyon Trail No. 47 page (https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/coconino/recreation/trails/boynton-canyon-trail-no-47) the week you go. 3. Bring a Red Rock Pass or an America the Beautiful pass for the trailhead. Prices and how to buy are on our Red Rock Pass guide. 4. Check alerts on the Coconino National Forest alerts page (https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/coconino/alerts) the morning of, and respect anything signed on the ground. 5. Treat the cave as optional. Travellers report the spur has no official sign. The canyon is worth it without the cave. 6. Start early, carry water, have a backup hike, and turn around whenever it stops feeling right. 7. For the short record and map, see Boynton Canyon Trail No. 47.

What this page will not say

This page doesn't give directions, landmarks or turn-by-turn routes to the Subway Cave spur, or to the vortex offshoot. It doesn't say whether Subway Cave is open or closed, whether anyone may or may not enter, or how hard the approach to the cave is. It doesn't cover the Enchantment Resort's property or guest access. It doesn't claim any shuttle serves Boynton Canyon. It doesn't publish lot counts, fill times, wait times, roadside-parking rules, fines, or any pace or mileage the Forest Service doesn't print. It doesn't print pass prices, which are on the Red Rock Pass guide, or any state-park fee. It doesn't name tour companies or hotels. If the Forest Service pages change, trust those pages. Spot something wrong or out of date? Corrections are free and need no account: report an error.

Sources (dated)

Forest Service pages, read October 9, 2026 (PT): Boynton Canyon Trail No. 47 (https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/coconino/recreation/trails/boynton-canyon-trail-no-47), last updated July 23, 2025; Red Rock & Coconino Passes Program (https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/coconino/passes/red-rock-coconino-passes-program), last updated June 17, 2026; Red Rock–Secret Mountain Wilderness (https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/coconino/recreation/groups/red-rock-secret-mountain-wilderness), last updated April 20, 2026; Archaeology & Cultural Resources (https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/coconino/natural-resources/arch-cultural), last updated May 2, 2025; Coconino National Forest alerts (https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/coconino/alerts). Traveller quotes, checked word for word on October 9, 2026: TripAdvisor, Subway Cave (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g31352-d26839345-Reviews-Subway_Cave-Sedona_Arizona.html), karenpammy2016 (visited October 2024, review written January 25, 2025); TripAdvisor, Boynton Canyon Trail (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g31352-d109674-Reviews-Boynton_Canyon_Trail-Sedona_Arizona.html), GAK1968 (visited April 2025) and Photohoarder (visited November 2025, review written February 10, 2026). Index pages: Boynton Canyon Trail No. 47 record (compiled August 30, 2026); Soldier Pass Sedona (last reviewed October 5, 2026); Red Rock Pass Sedona (last reviewed October 5, 2026); Sedona Shuttle record (compiled September 26, 2026); Do you need a guide for Sedona vortex sites? (last reviewed September 18, 2026).

About this page

Two things travellers struggle with most: finding a spur that has no official sign, and sharing a popular canyon with a lot of other people. This page answers those as honestly as published sources allow. It does not give turn-by-turn directions to the cave, and it does not give parking times, crowd clocks or rules. Check the Forest Service Boynton Canyon Trail No. 47 page (https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/coconino/recreation/trails/boynton-canyon-trail-no-47) before you go, and turn back whenever the rock stops feeling right. This page is not a fitness or medical receipt. Subway Cave is a side trip off Boynton Canyon Trail, not off Soldier Pass. Travellers describe it as an unmarked spur that leaves the main Boynton Canyon Trail (Forest Service Trail No. 47) in West Sedona. Soldier Pass is a different hike from a different trailhead on the other side of town, and the "cave" people photograph there is a separate feature the Forest Service calls an arch. If you were sent to Soldier Pass to find Subway Cave, you were sent to the wrong trail. Our Soldier Pass Sedona guide covers that hike and its own cave-and-arch confusion, so you can see side by side that these are two different places. Here is what the Forest Service actually publishes about Boynton Canyon, read on October 9, 2026: the trail is rated Moderately challenging, runs 6 miles out and back, starts at 4,525 ft with 931 ft of elevation gain, and the page lists 2.5 hours one way. You need a Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Pass to park at the trailhead, which sits "just outside the entrance to the Enchantment Resort." The Forest Service page does not mention Subway Cave at all. Everything this guide says about the cave comes from travellers, and is labelled that way. The dated count this page can honestly print is the trail records this index already holds: As of October 9, 2026 that is 24 trail records and 5 hiking tour records. The comparison pages below are the lists.

What this index currently holds

Trails
24 trail recordsChecked via: Count of compiled, non-sample records in this index
as of October 9, 2026
Hiking tour
5 hiking tour recordsChecked via: Count of compiled, non-sample records in this index
as of October 9, 2026
Last reviewed
October 9, 2026
as of October 9, 2026

More long-form answers and the comparison pages this page points at. Figures on those pages come from the records, not from this map. The full shelf is on guides; the compact list is on traveller questions.

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