Slide Rock, Sedona

Imagine the fun of being whooshed down natural slides, into deep pools, and then down some more slides. That is the fun you'll have at Slide Rock in Sedona. Towering over you will be Oak Creek Canyon's red ridged walls, which provide shade most of the day. The slide is a slippery creek bottom that has formed slick natural chutes. The force of the water pushing you down is quite strong! The air may be roasting but the water is ice cold! On weekends, huge crowds of people will join you, which mostly adds to the fun! You can escape the crowds by walking up towards the top of slide rock where less people hang out. One word of warning: don't wear a regular swimsuit. The first time I went, I was wondering why people were sliding down in jeans, and thinking that they'd forgotten their swimsuits. No, they were the smart ones! I slid down in my swimsuit, oblivious to the violence that was happening to me because the ice cold water had numbed my legs. Ow! Guess who couldn't sit down for a week after that?!

Also, don't fall and hit your noggen! It is very slippery, and we saw young people limping like old folks after gaining a little too much momentum while walking around and "sliding" when they hadn't really been planning to. Yikes!
On your walk out, notice the Pendley Homestead apple farm and the little cabins where tourists who visited Slide Rock used to stay over a hundred years ago.
A gorgeous hike nearby is the Sugar Loaf Trail.

Directions

Call (602) 542-0202 before you go to check on the water quality. It is tested daily.
Take Highway 89A north from Sedona. After 7 miles, turn left into the parking lot off Hwy 89A, and pay at the pay booth. Fee is $20 per car for the day in the summer and $10 per car in the winter. Fee is $30 per car on summer weekends and holiday Mondays.
There is a massive amount of parking here. But the park fills up quickly on holiday weekends. Then you must wait a long time for someone to leave before you can enter.
There are restrooms and a market at the beginning of the paved trail that leads to Slide Rock. There are also restrooms at the slide.
Open Feb-April 8am-6pm, May-Aug 8am-7pm, Sept/Oct 8am-6pm, Nov-Jan 9am-5pm. Last entry is half an hour before closing.
Click "satellite" on the map, and zoom in. The red tab is on the parking lot. Just north of there you will see the green water gushing through sandstone rocks that is Slide Rock!

Click on map for interactive view