Trail #4 "Chapel Loop"

By a margin favorite hike so far and superbly scenic! First, there is no such trail as "Chapel Loop"; instead it was self-designed loop hike that utilizes segments of several trails behind Twin Buttes that are in the backdrop of famous "Chapel of the Holy Cross" on 179 south. Looking at following map:


I did counter-clockwise loop by starting with Chapel trail, continuing to Chicken point via Little Horse then Broken Arrow to Submarine Rock and back via Twin Buttes / Hog Heaven / Hog Wash / Mystic for total distance of ~10km and ~300 vertical. You can trace this route on map above. Vertical profile:



And aerial map view of gps track:


Backside of Twin Buttes is vast wilderness area in front of Munds Mountain, and it has been criss-crossed with 4WD dirt roads. Famous "Pink Jeep" tours in Sedona bring tourists here to couple of slickrock viewpoints and I had lots of fun observing these. It is so funny, they fork out over 100 USD to have their kidneys shaken and stirred, eyes filled with dust while they could simply hike an hour or so and had it all for as long as they wanted. And then they will go back to town, get drunk and when they get home boast about wilderness desert adventure. However, this tour is extremely popular as jeeps I observed were all full; Europeans mostly. Photo story in chronological order:


[Along Chapel trail before Little Horse Junction with great view of Nuns]


[Chicken Point at dusk. This is f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c viewpoint and come here around dusk; jeeps will be gone, you can watch sunset and enjoy what desert is all about]


[Pink Jeep doing its antics near Broken Arrow trail segment]


[Pano from Submarine Rock. Classic Sedona backdrop]


[Dusk pano from "High on the Hog". This is great trail, slick rock that calls for use of hands with superb views throughout!]


[Cathedral Rock, Sedona most famous landmark, at night with sky full of stars]

Finally, word about "Chapel of the Holy Cross". Regardless of your religious affiliation, it is well worth visiting. It blends beautifully with desert and affords phenomenal views from the rocky terrace it is built on. There are 3 parking lots, but they all fill specially on weekend. There is also note that parking is for Chapel only, and not for hiking; there is gate too I believe gets closed after 5 pm. So best is to leave car at Mystic Trailhead as I did along Chapel road. Couple of Chapel photos:


[Classic View of Chapel of Holy Cross from 1st parking lot]


[Angel statue in garden in front of Chapel entrance]


[Chapel Interior]