Trip report
Feb 14, 2026 — This hike links three Sedona summits with just enough route-finding to keep things engaging all day, paired with nonstop, classic Sedona scenery. It’s rare to land even one standout desert peak, going three for three in a single outing feels exceptional. While Sedona summits often come with a fair amount of bushwhacking, this route largely avoids it thanks to social trails and stretches of slickrock. What remains is the best of Sedona peakbagging: fun, ledgy scrambling on unique, winding lines, all with constant, expansive views.
Boynton Canyon is a wildly popular trail that winds through beautiful scenery beneath steep sandstone walls, eventually passing through forest before ending at an imposing sheer face. Today, it served as our gateway to the peaks on either side of the canyon. With it being a busy Saturday, we were happy to treat it as a highway, using it for access, then quickly leaving the Valentine’s Day crowds behind. Much like Matt and I had done ourselves, leaving our valentines back home and choosing each other for the day instead.
We started up the Boynton Canyon Trail with Ruin Butte looming above, immediately scanning for a weakness through the cliffs. Once we spotted it, we left the trail and headed up slickrock toward a Class 3 break via social trail, through a gully and above the first major band. From there, we contoured north beneath the next wall until a large gully allowed us to continue upward.
A convenient ledge let us escape the gully, and just around the corner we hit the first real obstacle, a short Class 5 headwall with a few moves up a seam. Normally, Matt is the one to scramble up scary things without a single care and then drop me a line, but for some reason this one spooked him and I was thrilled to be our little hero for once. Above it, the terrain eased briefly before forcing a decision at a steep slab. Other reports suggested heading right and ascending using exposed sandstone, but that didn’t sound appealing, so we opted for a sneak chute on the left. It went at Class 4 with exposure, but felt far more reasonable. It was back on Matt to drop me a line, my heroism not lasting long. A few more Class 3 slabs led us to the summit of Ruin Butte, with big views stretching toward Deadman’s Peak and its surrounding amphitheater of cliffs.
After dropping back to the Boynton Canyon Trail, we picked up a well-defined social trail heading toward Sky Island. This was surprisingly well-defined, a not-so-secret side trail leading to a feature known as Mushroom Rock. The trail wrapped beneath a cliff band along an extended finger before reaching the layered walls guarding the summit. The route wound its way left across a wide sandstone ledge, then up a gully up to Mushroom Rock.
Above Mushroom Rock, we worked through ledges with idyllic Sedona subway-like overhangs, contouring northwest with amazing views. The ledge narrowed into slabby terrain, and we had to keep traversing until a weakness appeared. There was one Class 3 move, apparently more airy than I realized at the time. From there, we pushed all the way to the west ridge and followed it along fun Class 3/4 terrain to the summit of Sky Island. More direct options up the slope to gain the crest (Class 2/3) were available, and is what I included on my attached map/track.
Back on the Boynton Canyon Trail, we turned our attention to Boynton Island, heading up a drainage on its southeast side. A faint social trail helped, though it came and went. Just below a saddle, we picked up a key ledge, and unexpectedly found a series of well-preserved ruins tucked along it.
From there, the route steepened. We climbed a Class 4/5 section aided by a fixed line, then continued up a steep Class 3 slab before entering a brushy slope. At the top of the slope, a tree-assisted move led to another ledge, which opened onto a broad slickrock slope that we ascended for 100+ feet to gain the south ridge. The ridge itself was a mix of Class 2 and 3, with one small cliff easily bypassed, plus a variety of other interesting obstacles. Before long we were standing on the summit of Boynton Island, looking out over the canyon and back toward our earlier climbs. We could see and hear hikers on their way to the head of Boynton Canyon below.
Rather than return to the busy main trail, we chose a quieter exit, which allowed us to form a loop. We headed back past the ruins and ascended briefly to a saddle to the west. A social trail continued west and then south, contouring for a few miles above cliffs with constant ups and downs. It was definitely less efficient than taking Boynton Canyon, but the solitude made it worth it, and neither of us had been this way. We wondered who built/maintained this trail. We passed another ruin as we neared the road. Eventually the trail faded, or maybe we just lost it, shortly before reaching the road.