Honanki Heritage Site Near Sedona: Can You Get There by ATV or UTV?

Step by step from Sedona

From the traffic circle in west Sedona, take SR 89A west for 9.6 miles. Turn right onto Forest Road 525, also signed Loy Butte Road, and stay on it for 6 miles. Turn left and go 1.2 miles, then turn right and continue 3.1 miles to the site.

A second approach uses Dry Creek Road, Boynton Pass Road (FR 152C) and FR 525. This way is generally passable to passenger cars when dry, which makes it a good fallback for a rental sedan.

Check conditions before you ride

The Red Rock Ranger District has posted flood damage with closures on some routes, so check the Forest Service OHV page or call the district at 928-203-2900 before you set out. The Forest Service lists 11 OHV routes in the district, and FR 525 country is the classic easy-to-moderate end of that range.

Bear House under the cliffs

Jesse Walter Fewkes of the Smithsonian studied the site and gave it the Hopi name Honanki, meaning Bear House. The Sinagua occupied the area roughly from 1130 to 1280 CE, and a wooden beam in the structure carries a tree-ring date of 1271. Honanki and its sister site Palatki were the largest cliff dwellings of the Red Rock country between AD 1150 and 1350.

The dwelling held about 72 rooms and was home to roughly 200 people. Later Yavapai and Apache groups left their own marks on the walls between 1400 and 1875 CE.

What you see on the loop

The self-guided loop starts at the trailhead at 4,720 feet and gains only 48 feet. You walk under the cliff line past the dwelling rooms and a wall of pictographs and petroglyphs. Most pictographs are Sinagua work from 900 to 1300 CE, and some pigment may date back as early as 5000 BC.

A booth staffed by a forest service employee or volunteer gives a brief orientation before you go in. Take water, because there is none at the site.

Self-drive versus rental versus guided tour

In your own high-clearance rig you pay the pass and fuel. A full-day side-by-side rental runs $575 per vehicle on the Vortex ATV Rental: Full-Day Side-by-Side Rental in Sedona and Cottonwood page. A guided option is $229.59 per person for the Arizona ATV Adventures Guided ATV Tour of the West Sedona Backcountry, which rides the same west Sedona backcountry where FR 525 lives.

Hours, closures and reservations

The Forest Service lists hours of 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week, closed Thanksgiving and Christmas. The site closes when temperatures pass 100°F or when roads become impassable, which matters in summer. Reservations are not required, unlike at Palatki. Arrive by early afternoon so the orientation booth and the loop fit inside the window.

There is a vault toilet at the site and no water. Pets are not allowed.

Honanki versus Palatki

Palatki is open to the public from the same period and pairs well with a Honanki run, but it needs advance timed reservations through Recreation.gov or 1-877-444-6777. Guided tours there are capped at 14 people and last 75 minutes. Honanki lets you walk the loop on your own schedule within opening hours.

Both were the largest cliff dwellings of the Red Rock country between AD 1150 and 1350. If you have one afternoon, Honanki is the simpler pick. If you can reserve ahead, do both on the same ride.

Your three options

The classic choice is a Pink Jeep Tour, which covers the rough road for visitors in ordinary cars. If you want the wheel time, a guided ATV tour such as the West Sedona backcountry run keeps you on the throttle while the operator handles the machines and the route. A full-day side-by-side rental is the middle path, since FR 525 and the Loy Butte country are exactly what those vehicles are made for and you drive yourself.

Weather is the deciding factor on any of these. Summer highs near Sedona average 97°F in the warmest month, and Honanki itself closes above 100°F, so a morning start is the sensible plan. Winter lows around 30°F mean layers and possible icy patches on shaded stretches of the road.