Dark Sky Hike

What if you could experience Sedona after the crowds have disappeared and the landscape has taken on an entirely different character? As Sedona’s original night hiking tour, this private two-hour adventure invites you to step outside your comfort zone and discover Red Rock Country after dark. Beginning around sunset, your guide will lead you into a carefully selected landscape where you can watch the final light illuminate the sandstone before continuing beneath a darkened desert sky.

This is not simply a daytime hike that happens to continue after sunset. It is an entirely different way to experience Sedona.

Watch Sedona Transform

The adventure begins while there is still light, giving you the opportunity to experience the landscape as the sun begins to disappear behind the red rocks. As the last colors of sunset fade, your surroundings gradually transform. Familiar formations become silhouettes. The desert becomes quieter. Your senses become more engaged with every sound and movement around you.

Eventually, your headlamp becomes part of the journey as you venture farther into the darkness. That transition — from sunset, to twilight, to complete darkness — is one of the most memorable aspects of the experience.

Discover Sedona After Dark

Night changes the way you experience the desert. With fewer people on the trails and significantly less activity around you, the experience provides an exceptional opportunity to escape the crowds and enjoy a more intimate connection with Red Rock Country. The route can be customized around your group’s interests and abilities, with options including scenic loops, summit hikes, vortex areas, wilderness access, and sunset starts. 

The distance and elevation can also be adjusted to create an experience ranging from easy to challenging. Whether you're visiting Sedona for the first time or have already explored its daytime trails, the darkness offers an entirely new perspective.

A Nighttime Wildlife Experience

One of the most exciting aspects of hiking after dark is discovering how active the desert becomes when the sun goes down. Our guides bring specialized equipment that allows you to experience wildlife in ways that aren't possible during an ordinary daytime hike. A high-powered thermal and night-vision monocular can help locate animals at considerable distances, while an ultrasonic bat detector allows you to listen for the echolocation used by bats moving through the night. Black lights provide another fascinating way to search for nocturnal creatures, including glowing scorpions, while powerful headlamps illuminate the trail and surrounding terrain as you navigate safely through the darkness.

Wildlife sightings can never be guaranteed, but the combination of nighttime activity, specialized equipment, and quieter trails creates an excellent opportunity to encounter the desert’s nocturnal inhabitants.

Up to 50 Ways to Experience the Night

Although the experience lasts two hours, it doesn't have to look the same for every group. We can create up to 50 different adventures within this duration, allowing your guide to customize the outing around your interests, fitness level, preferred pace, and desired experience. You might choose a relaxed scenic hike focused on sunset and wildlife. You could climb toward a summit for elevated nighttime views, explore a vortex location after the crowds have gone, or venture into a quieter wilderness setting. The goal is to create a nighttime adventure that feels appropriate for your group rather than forcing everyone into the same predetermined route.

Step Outside Your Comfort Zone

There is something uniquely meditative about navigating a desert landscape after dark. Without the ability to constantly look across the horizon, you become more aware of your surroundings and introspective. You hear things you might otherwise overlook. You begin paying attention to the sounds of the desert and the changing environment around you. For many guests, that becomes one of the most memorable parts of the experience.

You don't need to be an experienced night hiker. Your guide provides the equipment, professional route knowledge, and guidance necessary to make the experience approachable while still giving you the feeling of doing something genuinely adventurous.

A Sky Filled With Stars

When conditions are favorable, Sedona's dark skies provide another spectacular dimension to the adventure. As artificial light fades, the stars become increasingly prominent. On clear nights, you may see the Milky Way stretching across the sky and experience the remarkable sensation of standing beneath an immense field of stars while surrounded by silent desert. 

However, the night sky is not the entire experience — and clouds don't have to ruin the adventure. Your guides are focused on creating an engaging nighttime hiking experience rather than providing an astronomy tour. Even when clouds obscure the stars, the darkness, wildlife, solitude, sunset, and unique atmosphere remain central to what makes the outing special.

The Experience That Started It All

Since the formation of our company, this has remained our most popular tour and has earned our highest ratings. Its appeal comes from offering something that is difficult to replicate on a conventional Sedona vacation. You're not simply seeing another red rock formation. 

You're experiencing the desert at a time when most visitors have already gone home. You're watching the landscape change from glowing sandstone to shadow. You're listening for bats, searching for wildlife, walking beneath the stars, and allowing yourself to experience Sedona in a completely different way.

If you're looking for a private Sedona night hike, wildlife adventure, sunset hike, or an experience that takes you beyond the ordinary sightseeing itinerary, this is an opportunity to make your visit genuinely different. 

Leave the crowds behind. Watch the sun disappear. Turn on your headlamp. Listen to the desert come alive and discover what Sedona feels like when the lights go out.

Outings Include

• Private Hiking Guide
• Red Rock Pass
• Sedona Resort/Airbnb/VRBO Transportation (Sedona, Village of Oak Creek, Oak Creek Canyon)
• Healthy Packaged Trail Snacks
• Bottled Water
• Ultima Electrolytes
• Osprey Daylite Hiking Backpack
• Trekking Poles (By Request)
• 500 Lumen Black Diamond Headlamp
• Thermal & Night Vision Scope for Viewing Animals 600 Yards Away!!
• Ultrasonic Bat Detector to Hear Bat Echolocation 
• Black Lights for Photographing Scorpions
• Gloves, Beanies, Neck Gaiters (During Winter Months)  
• UPF 50 Sun Hoodies  
• Disposable Rain Ponchos  
• Micro Spikes for Snow (If Needed)  
• Osprey Poco Plus Kids Carrying Pack (By Request)  
• Kids Car Seats & Booster Seats (By Request)
• Full List of Supplies Included

Sedona Moonlight Hike Start Times

• January: 5PM 
• February: 5:30PM
• March: 6PM
• April: 6:30PM
• May: 7PM
• June: 7PM
• July: 7PM
• August: 6:30PM
• September: 6PM
• October: 5:30PM
• November: 5PM
• December: 4:30PM

Logistics

• Duration: 2 Hours of Hiking & 1 Hour of Logistics (3 Hours Total)
• Distance: 1 - 3 Miles
• Elevation: 100ft - 500ft
• Capacity: 1 - 14 Hikers
• Vehicles Used: 1 Vehicle
• Sites Visited: 1 Hike
• Maps of Hikes: A) Two Hour: Dark Sky Hike (Easy), B) Two Hour: Dark Sky Hike (Moderate), C) Two Hour: Dark Sky Hike (Upper Moderate)
• Types of Hikes Available (Custom Hike): Summit Hike / Scenic Loop Hike / Vortex Site / Sunset Start / Wilderness Hike
• Start Time: Custom to About One Hour Prior to Sunset (See Above)
• Upcoming Availabilities: Dark Sky Hike Calendar
• Cost: $175 + Tax/Hiker (Private Group) & $325 + Tax (Private Solo Hiker)

*PRIVATE ONLY TOURS: TWO PERSON MINIMUM FOR PRIVATE GROUPS OR PLEASE REFER TO SOLO HIKER PRICING

**WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND CONSIDERING PEEK PROTECT COVERAGE AND REVIEWING OUR CANCELLATION POLICY BEFORE BOOKING YOUR RESERVATION

***WE REQUIRE ALL HIKERS/ATTENDEES TO HAVE MEDICAL INSURANCE TO ATTEND ANY OF OUR OUTINGS OFFERED