West Fork Trail / Call of the Canyon (Sedona / Oak Creek Canyon)

Parking, lot, and arriving

Travellers ask how early to get a parking spot, how Friday afternoons go, how to enter the lot, and how traffic backs up at parking places. From the Forest Service Call of the Canyon page (read September 29, 2026): paved parking lot that fills quickly; during busy periods traffic into Call of the Canyon / West Fork can back up on SR 89A (the Forest Service asks visitors not to linger with questions at the gate — state the Coconino Pass you want and move forward to park); day use only — camping is not permitted; maximum vehicle length 24 ft; no RVs, trailers, buses, or other oversized vehicles. This page offers no highway or roadside 89A parking workaround. If the lot is full, check the Forest Service page that morning or pick a different canyon or mesa stop. Operating hours (read September 29, 2026): April 1 – September 30, 7 a.m. to dusk; October 1 – March 31, 8 a.m. to dusk. The hours change on October 1, so re-check the live page the morning you go. Active-alert banners (including any West Fork temporary area closure language) are on the Forest Service alerts page; check it before you go. Fall foliage packs the lot; mornings and weekdays are the standing traveller tip, per the Forest Service Trail #108 copy — a pattern, not a traffic promise. Recreation.gov lists Call of the Canyon as a day-use point of interest with no reservations through Recreation.gov. If the lot is full or you want a different vibe, see the alternatives under Oak Creek Canyon below.

• Slide Rock State Park (Sedona / Oak Creek Canyon)
• Airport Loop Trail
• Soldier Pass Trail
• Plan a Sedona trip
• Red Rock Pass Sedona

Three fee systems (do not mix them)

These are three separate fees. Coconino Hospitality / Call of the Canyon site fee covers entrance to Call of the Canyon Picnic Site / West Fork trailhead only. Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful (USDA Forest Service / Coconino National Forest) covers many Sedona-area National Forest fee sites — not Call of the Canyon / West Fork. Slide Rock State Park entrance fee (Arizona State Parks) covers Slide Rock only — not Call of the Canyon and not a Red Rock Pass substitute. USFS Passes Program copy: Red Rock Pass and ATB do not include entry to concessionaire-managed fee sites covered by the Coconino Hospitality pass; Call of the Canyon Picnic Site / West Fork is listed there as a Coconino Hospitality site; Slide Rock is listed under State Park Entrance Fee. Fees from the Call of the Canyon and Passes Program pages (read September 29, 2026): day-use per vehicle up to 5 people $15 (cash, check, and credit cards accepted); weekly Coconino Hospitality $25; annual Coconino Hospitality $50 (covers up to 5 people per vehicle at the five concessionaire sites); walk-in / bicycle / bus / extra person $4 per person. The pages disagree: West Fork Trail No. 108 lists weekly $20 (page last updated July 23, 2025) while Call of the Canyon and the Passes Program both list weekly $25. This guide uses the Call of the Canyon and Passes Program figures and asks you to check the weekly price with the Forest Service before you pay at the gate. Coconino Hospitality Annual Passes are purchased in person at one of the five concessionaire sites (cannot be purchased online — Passes Program). Pass and day pacing when stacking canyon stops is on Plan a Sedona trip.

• Slide Rock State Park (Sedona / Oak Creek Canyon)
• Plan a Sedona trip

Trail character (USFS West Fork Trail No. 108)

From West Fork Trail No. 108 (read September 29, 2026): easy for the first 3 miles (maintained / marked); about 3–14 miles depending how far you go; 2–3 hours round trip for the first 3 miles is the agency timing note; trailhead elevation about 5,325 ft; you cross the stream in a number of places — usually stepping stones or a couple of steps in shallow water — wet feet are part of the hike, not a sign something went wrong. Beyond the maintained section, the route becomes more strenuous and eventually forces hiking in the streambed into Red Rock–Secret Mountain Wilderness. This page gives no through-hike plans. Nothing mechanized on the trail (designated Wilderness) — no mountain bikes / bicycles. Dogs must be on leash; owners must pick up after pets and take bags out (USFS language). Trail may close during high fire danger (agency note: usually late June); check before you go. For the map and trail stats, see the West Fork Trail record; this page covers visit logistics. For family creek crossings and early turnarounds, see the kids guide (no age cutoffs are stated here).

• West Fork Trail
• Sedona with dogs
• Sedona with kids under about ten

Season, fall color, and December wet feet

USFS Call of the Canyon copy: the site is especially popular during the peak of fall color season. The Forest Service says the site is especially popular during the peak of fall color season, so expect lot pressure to climb then. Agency Trail #108 narrative calls out winter icicles and lingering snow in cool shadows; crossings still mean water. Plan footwear for wet, cold creek steps; this is not medical advice, and there is no guarantee you will stay dry. Confirm current trail / water notes on the USFS trail page the morning you go. For shade canyon versus heat (not a ranked swim list), see the hot-day guide. For creek, flood and skip-the-canyon decisions in wet weather, see the rainy-day question, and verify conditions on the Forest Service pages and az511.gov.

• Cool things to do on a hot day in Sedona, Arizona
• What can you do in Sedona on a rainy day?

Oak Creek Canyon: Slide Rock and other stops

West Fork and Slide Rock sit on the same 89A / Oak Creek Canyon corridor. The fee systems stay separate: Call of the Canyon = Coconino Hospitality concessionaire fee; Slide Rock = Arizona State Parks entrance fee; many other FS trailheads = Red Rock Pass / America the Beautiful. For the neighbouring stop, see Slide Rock State Park. Travellers weigh one big hike day (Hangover versus Brins Mesa or Soldier Pass versus West Fork); this page does not rank them. Airport Loop offers mesa and sunrise-sunset contrast; Soldier Pass is an alternate red-rock trail day; Plan a Sedona trip covers day pacing when stacking canyon and mesa. This page names no businesses, lodging, restaurants or shuttle brands and gives no advice to park along 89A.

• Slide Rock State Park (Sedona / Oak Creek Canyon)
• Airport Loop Trail
• Soldier Pass Trail
• Plan a Sedona trip

Next steps

Confirm hours, day-use fee, vehicle limits, pets, and active alerts on the USFS Call of the Canyon page the morning you go — especially around the Oct 1 hours change and any temporary closure banners. Do not assume a Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful covers the gate — expect the Coconino Hospitality site fee (check the dollar amounts before you go; the weekly amount differs between Forest Service pages). Plan for wet feet on creek crossings; cold months change footwear math — check West Fork Trail No. 108. If the lot is full or you want a different vibe: Slide Rock, Airport Loop, Soldier Pass, or Plan a Sedona trip. For the map and stats after logistics, see the West Fork Trail record. Corrections are free and need no account. Plan the rest of the day with Best time to visit Sedona, Airport Mesa / Airport Scenic Overlook / Airport Loop, and When to Hike Devil’s Bridge in Sedona. For coffee before the drive up the canyon, the Sedona coffee shops page lists the shops this index holds.

What this page will not say

It does not repeat the West Fork Trail record's map and stats, give fees or hours beyond the dated Forest Service pages, name lodging, restaurants or shuttle brands, advise parking on 89A, or treat Coconino Hospitality as a Red Rock Pass / America the Beautiful or Slide Rock state-park admission. Fee and hour figures are dated from the Forest Service; if the Forest Service pages change, trust those pages.

About this page

This page covers visit logistics from the Forest Service Call of the Canyon, West Fork Trail No. 108, and Red Rock & Coconino Passes pages, not lodging or restaurants. Every dated fee and hour below was read from those Forest Service pages on September 29, 2026; check them the morning you go. It offers no roadside 89A parking workaround and names no shuttle brand; the West Fork Trail record has the map and stats. West Fork Trail starts at the Call of the Canyon Picnic Site in Oak Creek Canyon on Highway 89A — about 9.5 miles north of Sedona (17.5 miles south of Flagstaff). The paved lot is the trailhead; it fills fast, especially at fall-color peak. Arrive with a plan for a full lot, and confirm hours, day-use fee, and active alerts on the Forest Service Call of the Canyon page before you drive. A Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful pass is not Call of the Canyon admission. Those cover many Coconino National Forest trailheads; Call of the Canyon / West Fork is a Coconino Hospitality concessionaire site with its own fee. That fee is also not Slide Rock State Park admission — three different systems on the same canyon corridor. The hike (USFS West Fork Trail No. 108) is an easy stroll for the first ~3 maintained miles, with multiple creek crossings — stepping stones or shallow water, so wet feet are normal. Cold months change footwear math. Confirm trail notes and any closure banners live on the Forest Service pages. The dated counts this page can honestly print are jeep, trolley and trail records this index already holds for a Sedona day — they are not Call of the Canyon fees, which come only from the Forest Service: As of October 9, 2026 that is 24 trail records, 6 jeep tour records and 2 trolley tour records. The comparison pages below are the lists.