Capitol Butte is a 2.8 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Sedona, Arizona that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as difficult. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from April until September.
April 12, 2021I loved the views from the very top, but the last two-thirds of the hike felt really dangerous and I lost the trail more times than I can count. If you are trying to summit, you should be an extremely experienced hiker. I’m 22 and in the best shape of my life and there were honestly a couple times that I feared for my life... Again though, great views at the top :)
April 12, 2021Amazing views. Stopped just shy of the top. Way more climbing than we were ready for lol
April 12, 2021From the road it looks steep. It is.
April 6, 2021We did this hike in the afternoon and saw no one on the trail the whole time! We only made it a little over halfway up but the views are amazing! It’s easy to get off trail so make sure you are paying attention. Well worth the climb!
April 4, 2021Great trail, no crowds, first one on trail at 0700. Crazy parking situation since trailhead is near the Devils Bridge trail. Found a spot on the street. Trail can be hard to follow at times, Thank you cairns for leading the way. Lots of scaling the side of the cliff but well worth the views. Didn’t quite make it to the top, husband got a little wobbly. But didn’t mind. Great trail with a good amount of elevation. Take your time, go slow, be smart. Definitely a cool spot.
March 30, 2021Amazing adventure, summited on my second attempt. I’d argue there are better views around, but the journey up made it all worth it. Trail is easy to lose at points, but take your time, pay attention and you’ll be ok. I’d say coming down makes you appreciate the effort it took to go up. Stay safe.
March 28, 2021Excellent trail. Can’t get much better views of the whole Sedona Valley from up on top. Stunning. Although the parking is swamped from all the Devil’s Bridge tourists, there was nary a soul on the hike until we got back to the trailhead on a beautiful Sunday.
March 27, 2021Very challenging hike!! I would NOT recommend this without AllTrails GPS as we had to check ourselves numerous times. There are many places where you can see footprints heading in two directions. On the map you will see what looks like a S / switchback at ~5400 feet. This is beautiful viewpoint/lunch spot. The next section of trail gets a bit sketchier until you reach the final climb. Lots of scrambling here. The final climb appeared to be basically rock climbing - perhaps we were not on the best route up the rocks. We turned around at this point, and us 50 somethings felt better when a 20 something young lady did the same. If you like scrambling/bouldering, this is your hike. Note that the parking for this hike is shared by Devils Bridge, so be prepared for a potential parking challenge.
March 22, 2021Beautiful at the top and a view good lookout points on the way up. Very steep and tricky to navigate. Advanced only.
March 13, 2021nice views even though tou can see the road and town most the way up. fun hike but if you go in the snow cover come prepared lol
March 10, 2021Trail is a little hard to follow in spots and easily has some class 3-4 rock scrambling. We only saw one other person on the trail the entire time. Views were incredible the whole route. I’d only recommend this for very experienced hikers
March 6, 2021March 4, 2021great hike, we missed the trail ...but managed to find it back :-) ..
March 2, 2021Awesome trail, one of my favorites in Sedona! Great for fun climbing/ hiking. Follow the All Trails map, and at the climb, on the 2nd half of the trail, follow the Cairns to make it up and down safely. The views were incredible.
February 28, 2021February 25, 2021February 24, 2021Mission aborted. Didn’t feel comfortable by myself. Will def try again. I don’t want to scare anyone away, was just catching a vibe today wasn’t the day. Beautiful views on the way up though.
February 10, 2021It starts out as a trail, but as you get higher and higher it becomes more of a suggested route for climbing a mountain outlined by cairns. In total, the distance was about 4 miles, and it took us (experienced hikers in decent shape) 4.5 hours round trip (including a 30-min lunch break at the top). The route has 3 predominant sections: the warm up, the traverse, and the climb. The warm up is mostly on red dirt on the north side of the butte - nothing too scary there. The traverse is along the South side of the butte on an off-camber rock layer that can be slippery and take some balance. The climb goes up the South nose of the butte and requires some scrambling skills. You will need to use your hands, feet, and brain to get up this part. Views at the top are incredible, and due to the route difficulty there were very few other parties on the trail.
February 7, 2021Amazing!!! What a challenge in all the right ways! Definitely prepare to scale some rock walls but well worth it !
February 7, 2021February 7, 2021February 6, 2021hell of a way to start Saturday morning. I made it up in an hour 20 minutes just as the sun was peaking over the distant mountain right before 8:00. the trail isn't too hard to follow just have good trail intuition direction and watch for the cairns.
January 21, 2021January 19, 2021awesome views read the reviews and expected way worse. in reality it was a pretty easy hike. didnt encounter anything remotely sketchy. some of the reviews make no sense. for example ive never heard of a class 4.1 scramble. the trail can be hard to follow in the start but has cairns marking all along the way. downloaded map but never used it
January 19, 2021Overall I loved this trail!! It’s not for the faint of heart (which I’m not) I think it’s definitely longer than the description eludes to, but totally worth it! The views all along the way are breathtaking and the trail itself is cool, fun, and lined with cairns so it’s easy to find your way! Highly recommend this trail and hope to do it again sometime.
December 27, 2020Don't do this alone unless you are experienced. I suggest having the all-trails map up and follow that. There is not one set trail, but it generally brings you to the same place. I would say the ending of this hike is a class 4 or 4.1 scramble.
