Do You Need a Red Rock Pass for a Sedona ATV Tour?

Why tour riders are covered

A Red Rock Pass is required when recreating on National Forest land in Red Rock Country and must be displayed in the windshield of the parked vehicle, or bought online at recreation.gov with your license plate entered instead. Your tour vehicle is the operator's, parked at the operator's base.

One exception: if you drive your own car to a fee site such as Palatki before your ride, a Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful pass is required there in addition to the timed ticket, and a Red Rock Pass can be bought on site.

If you rent a machine instead of taking a guided tour, ask the rental company how it handles the Arizona OHV decal. The state rules page does not say whether rental or tour vehicles are covered, so whether a rented UTV already carries the decal must be confirmed with the operator.

What it covers and what it does not

The pass covers parking at the 19 listed day-use sites in Red Rock Country. A Red Rock or America the Beautiful pass covers everyone in the vehicle, and the cardholder must be present.

The pass is not valid at national parks or Arizona state parks, which charge their own entry fees. Red Rock State Park near Sedona charges separately, and it is a different place from the National Forest red rock country where you ride.

The money goes back into the area. 90 cents of every dollar from the program funds conservation and visitor services.

Prices at a glance

Buy the weekly $15 pass if you plan three or more fee-site visits in one trip, since it beats three daily passes.

Which sites require the pass

The pass is required at 19 listed day-use sites. These include Bell Rock Pathway/Vista, Cathedral Rock, Courthouse Butte, Doe Mountain, Fay Canyon Trailhead, Midgley Bridge and Yavapai Vista.

A pass is not required for incidental stops of approximately 15 minutes or less, so a quick photo stop is fine. The Forest Service pass page says a pass is required when you leave your vehicle at a fee site, and it does not say whether driving through without stopping needs one.

Many popular trailheads are also served by the free Sedona Shuttle park-and-ride, which covers Cathedral Rock, Little Horse, Soldier Pass, Dry Creek Vista and Mescal, running roughly 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Leave the car in the lot and no pass is needed for the shuttle itself.

In person or online

Passes are sold at kiosk fee machines, the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, and the Red Rock Visitor Center. The visitor center sells daily and weekly passes only, not annual.

Online passes are bought on Recreation.gov, which is the booking platform for federal agency passes and permits. On Recreation.gov your license plate is recorded instead of a printed pass, so enter the plate carefully.

Practical tip for tour day: if you want to hike Cathedral Rock before your afternoon ride, buy online the night before with your rental car's plate, or stop at a kiosk on the way.

Red Rock Pass vs America the Beautiful

The accepted alternatives are the America the Beautiful Interagency Pass, Golden Age or Golden Access. The America the Beautiful annual pass costs $80, per the Forest Service, and can be used instead of a Red Rock Pass at many Sedona-area sites, so it pays off if you visit several federal sites across a year.

The same display rule applies. Show it in the windshield and have the cardholder present, since a pass covers everyone in the vehicle only when the cardholder is there.

For a one-week Sedona trip with an ATV tour and a couple of hikes, the $5 or $15 Red Rock Pass is the cheaper call. The $80 pass only makes sense on a longer road trip.

How seniors show eligibility

Visit Sedona lists Golden Age and Golden Access passes alongside the America the Beautiful pass as acceptable substitutes when recreating on National Forest land in Red Rock Country. Display it in the windshield the same way a Red Rock Pass would be displayed.

If a senior traveller has no federal pass, the standard prices apply, which is $5 for the day at a fee site. Note that Honanki day-use, reached by a rocky road where a high-clearance vehicle is recommended, uses the same Red Rock Pass prices sold at the on-site machine.

How to stay clear

The rule covers vehicles parked on National Forest land in the red rock area without a valid pass. Rangers patrol the 19 fee sites, and a windshield with no pass is easy to spot.

The fix takes two minutes: use the kiosk at the trailhead, buy online at Recreation.gov with your plate, or carry an accepted federal pass. If you would rather avoid the whole question, book a tour such as the Arizona Safari Jeep Tours Outlaw Trail Off-Road Jeep Tour and leave the parking to the operator.

Three different red rocks

Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas is a separate conservation area in Nevada. It charges $20 per vehicle entry, per the Red Rock Canyon Las Vegas fee page, requires Scenic Loop timed reservations from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the cooler season, and sells a yearly pass for $80. None of that applies in Sedona.

Red Rock Pass in Idaho is a mountain pass in the southeastern part of the state, the spillway of ancient Lake Bonneville, with no connection to Sedona or its permits.

For your Sedona ATV day, the only relevant permit is the Coconino National Forest pass described above, and a guided tour does not need it.

Rules that shape your ATV day

Three rules matter most. Parked cars at the 19 fee sites need a pass in the windshield. The Soldier Pass OHV route, 2.5 miles round trip, requires a permit booked at least 72 hours ahead on Recreation.gov. Casner Mountain, 6.75 miles one way, needs a free permit limited per year, by calling the Red Rock Ranger Station, whose office is at 8375 State Route 179, Sedona, phone (928) 203-7500.

The Sedona Shuttle trailhead routes serve Cathedral Rock, Little Horse, Soldier Pass, Dry Creek Vista and Mescal from free park-and-ride lots, roughly 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Using the shuttle removes the pass question for those trailheads.

Forest rule for riders: do not drive off an open and authorized road, and obey speed limits and minimize noise in neighborhoods. Also check conditions before riding, since the Forest Service OHV page reports severe flooding with many closures in the Red Rock Ranger District.