Oak Creek Homestead

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Information

Nearby Trails

Status:	Partially Open
Typically Open:	Year Round
Length:	6.5 miles
Highest Elevation:	4020 feet
Duration:	About 2 hours
Shape of Trail:	Out & Back
Best Direction to Travel:	South
Nearest Town:	Cottonwood
Nearest Town w/ Services:	Sedona
Official Road Name:	9845, 9845A, 9845H, 9845N
Management Agency:	Cococino National Forest
District:	Red Rock Ranger District

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Highlights

The Oak Creek Trail takes you from Highway 89A (about halfway between Sedona and Cottonwood) almost all the way (you have to hike the last half a mile) to Oak Creek where you'll find the ruins of an old rock-walled house, and a cool stream to soak your feet in.

Video

Weather

7 day forecast for Oak Creek Homestead

Route Information

Technical Rating:
( MODERATE )

Waypoints

1. Trailhead - Red Rock Loop Rd. (0 mi)

This is one of two trailheads into the Oak Creek Homestead area, and is a great place to air-down the tires for a smoother ride, or air them back up when you are done. This section of the trail, up to where it hits the "Y" is more technical than using the other trailhead off 89A (see waypoint 19), with a few small hills with small steps that may require the use of four-wheel-drive.

Directions to Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates: 34.829410, -111.853980

Starting Point: West Sedona, AZ or Cottonwood, AZ

From West Sedona take 89A south to Red Rock Loop Rd. Drive pass Elmersville Rd. then look for the trailhead on the right side of the road about 1350 feet southwest of Elmersville Rd. If coming from Cottonwood, take 89A north to Red Rock Loop, then follow the directions above. Alternately you can use a trailhead directly off 89A that is 8.5 miles north of Cornville Rd. in Cottonwood, or 7 miles south of Sedona Red Rock High School.

Camping

Not allowed

Land Use Issues

Due to Oak Creek being used as a watershed, and issues caused by people driving their vehicles through it, a gate has been placed about half a mile from the creek to prevent motorized vehicles from access it. This was done in the Spring of 2016; however, it had been noted on the forest services maps for a few years prior that the gate is where the trail officially ends. For more information see the Red Rock Ranger District.

More Information

Trail Reviews (3)

Author:	Taylor Kempkes
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	11/09/2019
Rating:

This trail was surprisingly fun and decently challenging. The rocky hill climb at waypoint 13 was probably the most difficult but a fun section of trail that required you to climb some small steps while going up the steep hill. It was also nice to get out and take the short hike down the the creek halfway though the drive.

Author:	S.J. Hollist Official Crew
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	07/23/2016

The road leading up to Oak Creek Homestead area was a little damp from recent rain, and had some mild erosion along the trail. Still it wasn't any more difficult then before. The biggest change to this trail is the gate that was recently installed just a few months ago to prevent people from driving all the way to Oak Creek. Now you have to hike the last half mile or so. From what I understand this is due to the river being a watershed, and people driving through it was a big concern that had been around for a few years. The forest maps have also shown this gate as the end of the trail for a few years as well.

Author:	S.J. Hollist Official Crew
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	01/18/2016

I took a quick trip through the Verde Valley this day, starting along [General Cook National Recreation Trail](http://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/1659-general-cook-national-recreation-trail), then up the 260 from Camp Verde to Cottonwood. As I headed towards Sedona, I took a quick trip to Oak Creek Homestead to get some video of the trail before heading on to [Broken Arrow](http://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/4-broken-arrow). It was a nice day with some left over moisture on the trail from rain and snow the previous week. This also made the creek more active, and some spots a bit slippery along the trail. Parts of the trail appeared to have been recently maintained and were very smooth, but the further in I got the usual rocky road with small steps were still there. Heading back out towards Red Rock Loop Road the trail looked about the same as usually with plenty of small obstacles.

Questions & Answers (1)

Q: The Cliffhanger section is plenty wide enough for a stock full-size pickup truck? Looks a bit narrow at spots, with no extra room to dodge problems.

–Doug Begley (04/29/2018)

–S.J. Hollist (04/30/2018)

Writer Information

S.J. Hollist

Mapping Crew - Arizona and Florida

I've been writing for TrailsOffroad since August 2015. Before that, I had been off-road in places like central and northern Utah, east and west Texas, and central and northern Arizona. I've even driven off-road on an island in the Caribbean (the one time I've driven a Jeep off-road). I joined TrailsOffroad because it combines my three favorite hobbies: Off-roading obviously; I've also been blogging for most of my life - even before it was done on the internet (ever heard of a dial-up BBS?) - and even wrote a political column for Examiner.com for a few years; I also have experience with building websites and promoting on social media. These experiences made writing for Trails Offroad a good fit for me, and I've been enjoying it very much. When I'm not working at my IT job, or playing with my kids, I go on runs with a group of people who like to collaborate on [AZFJ.org](http://azfj.org), and run my own online marketing and web content company (my wife calls it my hobby business) [The Rotisory Foundation](http://rotisory.spaldam.com) (named after a BBS I used to run back in High School and College before the Internet became overwhelmingly popular). I'm a big Toyota fan. I've owned two 4x4 Tacomas, an older 4x4 Toyota pickup, and I'm now on my second FJ Cruiser (the first was a TRD SE 6 speed, that I got rid of after my twins were born). You can learn more about my adventures at [SJsAdv.com](http://sjsadv.com).

My Trails Offroad

Cottonwood, Arizona (Coconino County)