The awesome and adventurous Broken Arrow Trail is our favorite off-roading Jeep trail in Sedona. It’s a unique, technical and exciting 4-mile drive leading to Submarine Rock and Chicken Point Overlook, and on the way down you get to take on adrenaline pumping obstacles including The Traffic Circle, The Slide and The Stairs. After driving 9 Jeep trails in Sedona, we think Broken Arrow is the most unmissable route in town.
In this guide we walk you through everything you need to know about driving Broken Arrow OHV Trail in Sedona, based on our experience.
Trail Details
- Roads: Morgan Road
- Distance: 4 miles roundtrip
- Elevation Gain: 220 feet
- Difficulty: Challenging
- Time Required: 2 hours
Broken Arrow is the only Jeep trail in Sedona involving serious technical driving, which you shouldn’t take lightly. If you’ve never driven a Jeep off-road before, we highly recommend you drive other trails in Sedona before taking on Broken Arrow. We had so much fun navigating the obstacles on Broken Arrow, but it was definitely a good test of our driving skills!
READ: 9 awesome Jeep trails in Sedona
Hiring A Jeep In Sedona
In order to drive Broken Arrow and many other exciting off-road trails in Sedona, you’ll need to either have your own high clearance vehicle or you’ll have to rent a Jeep in town. We hired a Jeep for 3 days with Barlow Adventures because they had excellent reviews and the vehicles on display looked spotless. From start to finish we were very impressed with the entire service, from customer service to help with planning which trails to drive.
Our maroon Jeep (Amy) turned out to be fantastic. We were able to explore the hidden gems of Sedona, get away from the crowds and drive amazing off-roading trails like Diamondback Gulch and Schnebly Hill Road.
It’s important to know that hiring a Jeep isn’t cheap. We were lucky to get a big discount because we visited in December which is considered as low season, although it didn’t feel like it was particularly quiet! We paid $500 for 3 days, and it was worth every cent.
Broken Arrow Trail Walkthrough
Once you have your Jeep or high clearance vehicle ready, it’s time to hit the trail. Next, we’re going to show you how to drive Broken Arrow Trail based on our experience.
1. Navigate To Broken Arrow Trailhead
Broken Arrow Jeep Trail is located around 7-8 minutes south of Uptown Sedona at the end of Morgan Road. From Sedona, head south on AZ-179, turn left at the third roundabout onto Morgan Road and you’ll arrive at the 4WD trail after half a mile.
Here’s the exact Google Maps location for Broken Arrow Jeep Trailhead so you can see where the off-roading section starts. Open it into your maps app and set directions for the quickest route to the trailhead. You’ll know you’ve arrived once you see a small dusty car park to your left side.
Note: Morgan Road is a residential area within Sedona so you must drive slowly and quietly, especially if you do Broken Arrow Trail early in the morning or later in the day.
2. Speed Bump
Before you start the Broken Arrow Trail proper, you have to get your Jeep over a fairly sizable speed bump, which doubles as a road block to stop other non high clearance vehicles entering.
At this point, stop your Jeep, reset the trip odometer to 0.0 and shift into 4L ready for the speed bump. Take it at walking speed and let the Jeep pull you over. You’ll remain in 4L the entire way around Broken Arrow Trail.
3. Princess Rock
After the speed bump you’ll drive 0.2 miles on a flat but very tight and narrow two-way road leading to the beginning of Broken Arrow’s technical track. You may need to use small pullover spots to allow other Jeeps and tour groups to pass.
You’ll know you’re at the start of the trail when you turn right and see a steep rock blocking your path. This is your last chance to turn around if you don’t feel comfortable and confident about the drive.
Slowly approach the rock and let the front wheels pull you up until you can see clear blue sky through the windshield. The back wheels will follow shortly after and you’re now officially driving the awesome Broken Arrow Trail in Sedona.
4. Devil’s Dining Room Sinkhole
Drive across the long and angled boulders, taking care with thick cracks in between. After 0.1 miles you’ll reach a split in the trail with a sign showing straight ahead to Chicken Point but no indication of what’s down the right turn.
Take the right turn to Devils Dining Room Sinkhole, which is similar to Devils Kitchen Sinkhole on the Soldier Pass Cave hiking trail in Sedona, but much smaller and less impressive. This short spur trail dead ends and you’ll need to quickly spin the Jeep around 180 degrees to head back out onto the main trail.
5. One Way Section
Turn right after Devils Dining Room to rejoin the main trail. You’ll drive a narrow, winding and muddy track for 0.3 miles before reaching a one-way split. Stay right at the split, following the small brown sign and white arrow pointing right.
At the next split you must stay straight, as opposed to turning right. A right turn here would lead you to the bottom of The Stairs, but you’re only permitted to go down the stairs. So best case you’d have to turn around, worst case you could end up getting hit by a Jeep coming down The Stairs. Do not turn right!
6. Submarine Rock
Very soon after you’ll reach another split. This time you should definitely take the left turn onto road 9868, before dropping down to a flat section at the base of a steep hill.
Climb up the extremely uneven and rocky hill but take it slowly and let the Jeep crawl up. Use grooves in the road for direction and enjoy the feedback you’ll get from the Jeep. Park at the top and prepare to stretch your legs. This fun section is just a warmup for what else is to come.
We thought Submarine Rock was the best overlook and viewpoint over Sedona on the entire Broken Arrow Trail. If we were to drive it again, we’d spend more time there.
Take your time walking out to the cone shaped rock in the distance. Climb the formation carefully and you’ll be rewarded with truly striking 360 degree views over Sedona’s stunning red rock landscape.
7. Chicken Point Overlook
After rejoining the main trail it’s a straight shot directly up to Chicken Point. When you hit the only fork, make sure you turn left otherwise you’ll miss the high summit overlook. There are lots of short but sharp turns on this narrow section, so be aware of other vehicles coming in the opposite direction and be ready to stop if necessary.
Chicken Point is a flat shelf-like expanse with close up views of Christianity Spire and Praying Sisters rock formations as they tower into the sky directly ahead. Look at the contours of the formation on the left side to reveal a white line running left to right. This narrow ledge is in fact a mountain bike trail and we hope you get to see a biker riding it!
There’s plenty of space to walk around on the mesa, and the views from Chicken Point Overlook are awesome. Walk all the way out to the end of the flat expanse for the most far reaching views over red rocks, cliffs and green desert vegetation.
When you’re ready to leave, drive back down the same way you just came up until you reach a fork in the road. This is the most important split on the trail because it’s here you’ll decide whether or not you want to take on the most exciting obstacles. A right turn takes you back down to Submarine Rock and eventually the trailhead.
8. Traffic Circle
Take the left turn instead onto the one-way road. This is where the real fun begins! You’ll instantly notice an obvious change in the topography and you’ll reach the first of the three main attractions on Broken Arrow Trail called The Traffic Circle.
It’s a formation shaped like an upside down mushroom, with a smooth disc-like circle and a short rock tower in the middle. Our photo above doesn’t make it look too unsettling, but that’s because you can’t see the sharp drops around three-quarters of the circle.
We crawled up graded rocks leading to the mushroom rock, before driving slowly around the circle in an anti-clockwise direction. We stayed close to the rock but not so close that we’d risk scraping the Jeep.
It’s important to know that you don’t have to drive around the circle. Instead, you can stay behind the formation and continue to the left side so you avoid it completely.
9. The Slide
Just seconds after leaving the traffic circle with your heart in your mouth, you’ll drive straight up and around to the left. Stop here, look behind you to reveal The Slide, and feel your heart drop for a second time in quick succession!
It’s impossible to miss The Slide because you can clearly see a gradual incline to the right side of a dome-shaped rock and a steep drop to the left side of the same dome-shaped rock. It will make more sense when you’re there.
We drove up to the edge slowly and hit the breaks as we approached the point of tipping forward. Next, we very slowly let off the breaks and allowed the Jeep to point 45 degrees down the steep descent. The actual slide itself is a bit of a blur because it goes so quickly and before you know it you’re horizontal again, but you’ll certainly get that theme park rollercoaster ride feeling.
Again, The Slide is totally optional. You can simply continue driving right by it, but we encourage you to give it a try because it’s what makes Broken Arrow the best off-roading trail in Sedona. You can drive The Slide in circles as many times as you want before moving on with the one-way route. We did it 3 times the first time we drove around the one-way loop.
10. Panorama Point
The trail becomes hard to follow after leaving The Slide because the rocky expanse is wide open, exposed and there’s no obvious path. Our advice is to go as straight as you can before veering off gently to the right side. A tip if you can’t figure out the route is to simply wait for a Jeep tour to drive past so you can follow them.
You can jump out of the Jeep to soak up views from Panorama Point, but in truth we didn’t think it was as scenic as Submarine Rock. Anyway, the drive is too much fun at this point to stop.
11. The Stairs
The next 0.3 miles are relatively uneventful and you’ll probably enjoy the brief respite from oddly shaped rock formations. Then all of a sudden you’ll reach the top of an eyebrow raising decline as the trail effectively disappears from underneath you.
Are you ready for the grand finale? The Stairs is a dream come true for thrill seekers and we have to say it was our favorite part of driving Broken Arrow Trail. It was definitely the most nerve-racking obstacle the first time we dropped down, but it ended up being so much fun.
We stopped at the top, slowly crept over the edge to tip the Jeep and eased down gently. The Jeep naturally slid into smooth grooves, skidded a few feet, caught traction, skidded again and so forth until we reached the bottom.
Take it slow, use your breaks and don’t worry if you lose control for a split second because it just naturally happens. This is the moment we said it was well worth spending all that money hiring a Jeep on our trip to Sedona.
12. Go Again Or Return To Sedona
Right at the bottom of The Stairs you’ll rejoin the main trail. At this point you can either turn right to go back around the one-way loop with the obstacles again, or you can turn left and head back into Sedona. We absolutely turned right here!
No matter how many times you loop the Broken Arrow Trail, you’re eventually going to turn left at the bottom of The Stairs to exit the route. Remember to stay right at the short one-way section before Devils Dining Room and allow others to pass in the narrow sections.
Pros And Cons
Pros:
- Very close to downtown Sedona
- Short, sweet and packed full of adventure
- Excellent viewpoints along the route
Cons:
- Very busy trail with lots of tours
- Certain parts may be intimidating
- Trail can be hard to follow around Panorama Point
Our Top Tips For The Drive
Broken Arrow is by far the most heavily trafficked Jeep trail in Sedona. You’ll be sharing the trail with other people who have hired Jeeps, constantly circling Jeep tours and even people who have driven their own 4WD vehicles to Sedona. Here are some important tips to remember:
- Take things slowly and always err on the side of caution
- Be confident and decisive but respectful of others
- Always pull over to let tour groups pass because they are on the clock
- Consult the trail instructions provided upon hiring your Jeep
- Plan to walk around both Submarine Rock and Chicken Point Overlook
- Respect your Jeep and be sensible with your driving
Broken Arrow Trail Map
We created the map above to show you exactly what to expect when you drive Broken Arrow Trail. You can see that all the adventure elements are on the one-way loop road (green line) which you don’t have to take if you don’t feel up to it.
Map key:
- Blue – Broken Arrow Trailhead to Chicken Point
- Purple – Spur trail to Devils Dining Room
- Red – Spur trail to Submarine Rock
- Green – One way adventure section with obstacles
Driving Your Jeep In Sedona
Sedona’s off road trails are awesome. But they are very different to driving your every day car and there are a few things you need to know:
- You’ll frequently shift into 4L and 4H. Instructions on which gears to use on specific trails will be given to you upon hiring the vehicle and it’s important to follow them.
- You must respect the Jeep, the trails and other drivers on the trails. Enjoy driving but be courteous and considerate.
- Watch out for ATV’s flying by and kicking back loose stones which might hit your Jeep windshield. There’s not much you can do, just pull over to the side and let them pass.
- You will get mud and dust on your Jeep. The key is to have a blast but at the same time be safe and respectful of the vehicle. The place you rent from will know how you treat the Jeep with one look.
Broken Arrow Jeep Tour
An alternative way of experiencing Broken Arrow Trail is to take a Jeep tour. We don’t often recommend tours but off-roading Jeep tours are a big deal in Sedona. In fact, if you hire a Jeep, you’ll pass by far more tour groups than you will other hired Jeeps.
Broken Arrow is the most popular Jeep tour on offer in Sedona. We personally would prefer to drive it ourselves, but there are two major benefits to taking a tour instead of driving it yourself:
- It’s much cheaper overall to take a one-off tour than to hire a Jeep
- You can enjoy the adventure without having to drive it yourself if you don’t feel confident
You can book a tour of the trail with Pink Jeep Tours.
READ: The top rated tours in Sedona
Best Time To Drive Broken Arrow Trail
We recommend starting your drive right around sunrise or leaving it until much later in the day once the tours have mostly ended. Both times will be quieter on the trail. We began driving Broken Arrow Trail at around 10:00am, after we’d just hiked Devils Bridge for sunrise. But by that time there were already plenty of Jeep tours entering and leaving, so we were later than we’d have liked.
Spring and fall are the two busiest seasons in Sedona. More people in town means more Jeeps and more tours on the trails. Plus, prices for Jeeps are going to be at peak. Summer is slightly quieter and winter is much quieter. There are very few instances during the calendar year in which Jeep prices are temporarily slashed to accommodate for low seasons, but if you can catch one you’ll save a lot of money.
We drove the trail on a Monday morning during our visit to Sedona in December and we were surprised at how many others were on the trail. So we can only imagine what it would be like in peak season.
More From Sedona
- The best Jeep trails in Sedona
- Awesome hikes in Sedona
- 5 great Sedona ruins to visit
- Amazing Sedona sunrise and sunset spots
- How to find the hidden caves in Sedona
- Best places to stay in Sedona
- 1-5 day Sedona itinerary ideas
Want more Arizona content? Head over to our Arizona travel guides to explore the best of Grand Canyon, Sedona and beyond.
We hope our Broken Arrow Trail guide helps with planning your visit to Sedona!
Please let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.
Happy Travels,
Mark and Kristen
Was this post helpful? Pin it for your visit!
Note: This article contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase using one of these affiliate links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
All Rights Reserved © Where Are Those Morgans, LLC. Republishing this article and/or any of its contents (text, photography, maps, graphics, etc.) in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.
Mark and Kristen Morgan are travel, hiking and photography experts. Over the last 6 years traveling full time, they have explored more than 40 countries and 30 US states.
Where Are Those Morgans has been featured in USA Today, Gestalten, Get Your Guide, CityPASS and Condé Nast Traveler along with various other publications. Read more about us.