So you’re planning a trip to Sedona soon and you are looking for ALL the hidden trails. With all that research you’ve probably stumbled upon the newest one. That new one you’ve been seeing all over social media has been deemed “the hidden subway hike” in Sedona. By who? I have no idea. Firstly I just want to say that I highly recommend using a GPS so you dont run your phone battery down. This is importation especially going off the main trail onto social trails. I’ve had the Garmin entry level GPS unit I linked below for awhile and love it.
The Hidden Subway Hike in Sedona is not an official trail. At the time I’m writing this it doesn’t exist on the AllTrails App. Most Sedona Hikers have kept it a secret. So how is everyone finding it?
Lots and lots of research.
Leave No Trace
Before I tell you where the hidden subway hike is let me just ask you to promise me one thing.
Yes outloud right now I need you to say, “Rachel I promise I will leave no trace, I will leave the area better then I found it and I wont touch or sit or stand on an ancient ruins.” This is a really big deal because a lot of people don’t like to share locations of things because the general public destroy them . So if you have found my post please leave it better then you found it.
How I find Hidden Hiking Trails
Google is your best friend. I Google search Like crazy, lots of times terms that you wouldn’t even think of will find you really obscure hikes. Like if you’re looking for rainbow mountains and you know what state or country it’s in literally search rainbow mountains in that state and country and you can find images or like really old blogs from before when social media was really big and use that to kind of help narrow your search down for where exactly you want to be.
Once I figured out the state or the city or specific area that I’m looking in I go look at Instagram. It may not be geotagged but there might be a hashtag that someone has previously put on that spot and with a little luck clicking through hashtags on things I almost always find what I’m looking for . It may not be what you think it’s called and it also might have five different names but between Google and Instagram there is almost nothing on this world that’s really truly hidden .
My third technique would be using Pinterest. Pinterest that really just finds me pictures and then sometimes I can find a few keywords that I can then go search on Google or Instagram but Pinterest is very hit or miss and normally my last resort . You will find a goldmine in blogs from prior to social media being really big . People have Maps they’ll give you coordinates and directions and there are a lot of hikers out there that love sharing what they know.
How I found the Hidden Subway Hike
So this is how I found the hidden Subway hike. Remember, it doesn’t exist. So I knew from geotags on Instagram is was in Boynton Canyon. So I went on All Trails and looked at ALL the recent trip reports, photos, routes, etc. until I found one with the photo of the infamous viewport. I then downloaded their route and took it with me out on the trail. From there I just followed other hikers headed the same direction, crossed the stream bed at the large tree and constantly referenced my map. You can do the exact same thing.
I highly recommend turning GPS on whether it’s your phone or GPS unit. There are a lot of social trails in Boynton Canyon and I got lost twice coming back in the dark.
If you are using your phones GPS you should definitely bring a battery pack so you dont lose power. This is my favorite one to pack on any trips:
Looking for more Sedona content? Check out my 9 tips for hiking in Sedona.
I hope this helps! Happy Hiking and consider subscribing if you found this useful. I post new travel and adventure content every week. If you have specific questions, feel free to DM me on Instagram.
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