Trail Stats
- Distance3.8 mi RT
- DifficultyEasy-Moderate
- Elevation Gain~400 ft
- Trail TypeOut-and-back
- Parking~50 spots, fills by 9 AM weekends
- Pass RequiredYes — Red Rock Pass
- TrailheadLittle Horse TH, SR-179
- Trail UseHikers Only
- Not permit-free on the Broken Arrow side. Little Horse itself needs only a Red Rock Pass. But if you cross the Chicken Point saddle and descend into the Broken Arrow drainage, you are in the permit zone. Stay on the Little Horse route and return the same way.
- Not a summit. Chicken Point is a wide slickrock bench, not an elevated peak. Views are lateral across the Lee Mountain and Submarine Rock corridor. Dramatic, but not vertical.
- Not empty at midday. Pink Jeep tours reach Chicken Point by 10:30 AM. The overlook fills with tour vehicles and their passengers. Hike to be at Chicken Point before 10 AM or after 2 PM for a quieter experience.
- Not a loop. The standard route is out-and-back. The Llama Trail offers an alternate return but adds distance and requires route-finding. First-timers should return the same way.
Trailhead and Parking: Little Horse on SR-179
Little Horse Trailhead sits on the west side of SR-179, approximately 6 miles south of the Sedona Y junction (the intersection of SR-179 and SR-89A). From the Y, drive south on SR-179 through the Village of Oak Creek corridor. The trailhead entrance is on the right (west) side of the road, 0.5 miles south of the Chapel of the Holy Cross turnoff. The paved lot holds approximately 50 vehicles with a clearly marked kiosk at the entrance for Red Rock Pass purchase.
A Red Rock Pass is required: $5 per day or covered by an America the Beautiful annual interagency pass. On spring and fall weekends, the lot fills between 9 and 9:30 AM. Arriving by 8 AM gives you comfortable odds. On high-traffic spring weekends (late March through mid-May), aim for 7:30 AM. Overflow parking on SR-179 is not permitted and is ticketed. The Bell Rock Pathway trailhead approximately 1.5 miles south has a larger lot and connects to the broader trail network if Little Horse is full.
Unlike Broken Arrow Trail, Little Horse requires no vehicle permit reservation. The trailhead is accessible by any passenger vehicle via SR-179, which is a paved state route. No high-clearance vehicle is necessary. The approach is direct from the main highway corridor, making it one of the most straightforward trailhead accesses in the Red Rock District.
Pink Jeep Timing: How to Own Chicken Point
Chicken Point is the shared endpoint of Little Horse Trail on foot and Pink Jeep Broken Arrow Tours by vehicle. The tours run continuously from approximately 8 AM and arrive at the overlook in predictable waves: around 10:30 AM, 12 PM, and 2 PM on weekdays and weekends. Each wave brings 4 to 8 vehicles carrying 12 to 30 people. The overlook is large enough to accommodate both hikers and tour groups simultaneously, but the atmosphere shifts significantly when a full tour wave arrives — it becomes a guided narration event rather than a quiet backcountry moment.
The optimal window for hikers is to be at Chicken Point before 10:15 AM or to arrive in the gap between the 10:30 and 12 PM waves (roughly 11:15 to 11:45 AM). The early window is achievable if you leave the trailhead by 8 AM and hike at a moderate pace. The midday gap is tighter and less reliable. The 2 PM wave is followed by fewer additional tours, making the late-afternoon window (after 2:45 PM) reliably quiet — and it has the best light if you want west-facing photographs of Lee Mountain and Submarine Rock.
For trail conditions before you go, check the current Sedona trail conditions report. Chicken Point slickrock becomes dangerously slippery when wet. The Coconino National Forest recommends avoiding the trail 24 to 48 hours after any significant rainfall, and that applies doubly to the final pitch to the overlook.
Trail Breakdown: Mile by Mile
Trailhead to Chapel View Junction
Gentle sandy trail departing the paved lot, heading south-southwest through open pinyon-juniper. The Chapel of the Holy Cross is visible to the north from the first quarter mile. The trail is wide and well-worn. Minor grade. Junction with Chapel Trail at approximately mile 0.6 — stay left (south) on Little Horse to continue toward Chicken Point.
Bear Wallow Corridor
Trail enters the Bear Wallow drainage corridor, a wider sandy wash flanked by red sandstone outcrops. The grade begins to climb gently. Terrain alternates between packed sand and small slickrock crossings. Views of the red rock formations to the south open progressively. This section is shaded in the morning by the canyon walls.
Open Slickrock Benches
The trail emerges onto open slickrock benches with the widest views of the hike. Lee Mountain rises to the south. Submarine Rock and the Broken Arrow drainage are visible to the southeast. Follow cairns across the smooth red rock. This is the most photogenic section for landscape shots before the Chicken Point descent crowds arrive.
Final Pitch to Chicken Point
The steepest section of the hike: a short slickrock pitch with approximately 80 feet of gain in 0.2 miles. Hands may be useful on the final push. No ropes or technical gear required for a healthy adult. The trail emerges at the Chicken Point overlook — a broad flat slab with 270-degree views across the Lee Mountain, Submarine Rock, and Twin Buttes corridor.
Return via Same Route
Return the same way for the standard 3.8-mile round trip. The Llama Trail offers an alternate return looping north back to the trailhead but adds approximately 0.5 miles and requires some route-finding. Recommended for experienced hikers only on the first visit. Total RT from lot: 3.8 miles.
Best Season and Nearby Trails
Little Horse Trail is open year-round. The best windows are October through April, when temperatures stay under 75°F and the open slickrock sections are comfortable. May and September are doable with early starts — at the trailhead by 6:30 AM. June through August, the full-sun exposure on the slickrock benches creates heat-trap conditions; midday rock surface temperatures exceed 130°F. Dogs should not be taken on slickrock in summer midday heat regardless of air temperature. If you are visiting in summer, the forested sections between miles 0 and 0.9 provide some morning shade.
The SR-179 corridor has several natural pairings. Bell Rock Trail (1.8 mi RT, easy) is 1.5 miles south on SR-179 with a large lot that rarely fills before 9:30 AM — a good warm-up or cool-down option. Courthouse Butte Loop (4.0 mi, easy-moderate) adjoins Bell Rock and gives a full half-day if you want more mileage than Little Horse delivers. For the area's hardest option, Cathedral Rock Trail (2.1 mi RT, hard) is north on SR-179 and involves genuine scrambling on exposed slickrock.
Red Rock Pass logistics: see the permits and passes guide for purchase options including the America the Beautiful annual pass (covers all Coconino NF trailheads and replaces individual daily passes). If you are hiking more than two days in the Red Rock District, the annual pass pays for itself.
Pink Jeep and Chicken Point Tours from Sedona
If you want to experience Chicken Point with a local guide narrating the geology and formations, Pink Jeep and competing Sedona jeep operators offer tours covering the Broken Arrow corridor. Viator lists available departure times and current pricing. Tours handle all logistics including the vehicle permit for the Broken Arrow vehicle zone.
Find Sedona Pink Jeep Tours on Viator →Affiliate link — we earn a small commission at no cost to you.
Editorial note: Trail researched Spring 2026 by The Lowdown Guide editorial team. Trailhead lot capacity (~50 vehicles) and fill time (9–9:30 AM weekends) verified on-site. Pink Jeep tour wave timing confirmed from operator schedules and field observation. Mile-marker terrain descriptions field-verified. Broken Arrow permit comparison sourced from Coconino National Forest recreation.gov listings.