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How to get to Subway Cave Sedona, AZ used to be a lot harder than it is today. In fact, just a few years ago it was trickier than it is now. And while there are many guides on how to get to Subway Cave, and this will be a complete guide to, there’s actually just one little thing you need to do to find it.
Before I dive into the details of hiking the Subway Cave in Boynton Canyon, I’m going to straight forward and tell you, the map with the trail to the Subway Cave exists on a free offline map app, Maps.Me.
Map of Subway Cave Sedona Hike
Maps.me is an offline map app we have used for over a decade. It’s safe to say we love this app. You download the map of the region you’re visiting, in this case Sedona, and then you can use the map offline — super important for inside Boynton Canyon.
And while we love the pinning capabiliites on maps.me, for getting to the Subway Cave in Sedona, you don’t even need the pinning.. the exact trail is on the map! Just search for “Boynton Subway” once you have the Sedona region downloaded!
A Deeper Look | We’ve done a post all about maps.me where we show you how to pin and how we use this app.
How To Get To Subway Cave Sedona, Arizona
Step 1 | Parking For Boynton Canyon Subway Cave
- Parking Lot Coordinates | 34.907356, -111.848582
- Parking Fee | $5 in parking lot or free on road or with national park pass
- Free Parking | On Boynton Pass Road
The Boynton Canyon Trailhead parking lot gets full really early. In fact, when we arrived to the trailhead at 9:00AM in the off-season, the parking lot was already full.
There is free parking for Boynton Canyon Trailhead back on Boynton Pass Road if you don’t want to pay or the parking lot is full.
At the trailhead, you’ll find a pit toilet (bring hand sanitizer) and a trash bag usually inside the pit toilet door.
Step 2 | Take The Boynton Canyon Trail
- Boynton Canyon Trail Coordinates | 34.907678, -111.849075
- Kachina Woman Vortex Guide | Hiking to the vortex in Boynton Canyon
From the parking lot, take the Boynton Canyon Trail. This trail crosses a dry creek and comes to a “T” pretty quickly. At the “T”, take a left up into Boynton Canyon. You’ll pass by the Kachina Woman Vortex (found on the Boynton Vista Trail), and go up and around the Enchantment Resort on the left.
Continue up Boynton Canyon trail as you go in and out of tree coverage for about two miles.
Most other guides say to turn at the alligator juniper tree, but honestly, who even knows what that is until you’ve been there… and even then, we weren’t too convinced that’s a good direction when talking about how to get to Subway Cave Sedona, as there’s lots of alligator juniper trees around!
Step 3 | At 2 Miles, Exit Boynton Canyon Trail To The Right
- Subway Cave Trail Coordinates | 34,927791, -111.861644
Right at two miles into the hike from the Boynton Canyon Trailhead parking lot, you’ll find a big open area to the right of the trail with trees surrounding it.
This is the turn off for the Subway Cave.
There are no trail markings here. Nothing to tell you this is the turn off.. so it’s important to make note of the two miles in, or the exact coordinates above.
It’s worth noting here, that sometimes with this trail there are logs across this access point. Ignore the logs. Locals put them there to deter people from hiking up to the Subway Cave.
Alternatively, as a reminder, this turn off and the trail exactly to the Subway Cave is on Maps.Me.
Step 4 | Cross the Creek & Stay High to The Artifact Sign
From the turn off from Boynton Canyon, you’ll almost immediately cross a dry creek. The trail here is very obvious.
After crossing the creek, do not go back across it. You want to stay high on the trail, without crossing the creek again.
The trail will take you up to the base of the red rocks, through trees. You’ll know you’re in the right place when you come across a white forest service sign explaining it’s illegal to take artifacts from the archilogial site you’re about to see.
As you continue on this trail, you’ll likely begin hearing people talking. Voices coming from above you, in front of you, all around you!
It’s a weird thing, but it lets you know you’re in the right place! Keep going, you’re almost there!
Step 5 | Get Up Into The Subway Cave
- Boynton Canyon Subway Cave Coordinates | 34.932365, -111.862797
At the base of the cave, there’s another sign and a camera. You’ll see those, but again also probably hear and see people in the cave, letting you know you’ve made it.
To get into the cave, you should not be afraid of heights, and know, getting down is trickier than getting up! There are two options for getting into the Subway Cave.
You can either climb up the steep slant of the cave itself. This is the best way to get inside the cave, or rather at the mouth of it. Again, remember it’s slippery, we saw a couple people slide right back down trying to get up.
The alternative way would be to climb up the rocks to the left of the cave. This is a total rock scramble, and you’ll have to walk along a ledge with a scary drop to get into the cave from here.
However, this rock scramble is a much easier approach in my opinion, at least for getting to the Subway Cave ledge. And there are some pretty sweet cliff dwellings with Sinagua Ruins and smaller caves on this side.
Use extreme caution if hiking up this way and hoping to get into the mouth of the cave. There are no good hand holds right at the mouth, and slipping could lead to serious injury or death.
Congrats, You’ve Made It To Boynton Canyon’s Subway Cave in Sedona
That’s it! You did it! Hiking to the Subway Cave in Sedona is easier than you think.. it just takes a bit of awareness of your surroundings.
I think the main turn off from Boynton Canyon Trail is the trickiest part, becuase it is easy to miss. Just remember it’s exactly two miles in. And you’ll be good to go!
It goes without saying, but this hike is completed at your own risk. You are hiking off of main trails, and climbing up into a cave with serious risk of life. ArboursAbroad and those who run it are not responsible for any injury caused from this hike.
Two Must-Have Items For Hiking to Subway Cave in Sedona
We strongly recommend you invest in some grippy trail shoes when hiking in Sedona. These are the trail shoes that both of us have, and you can find them for under $100 USD.
READ MORE | The Best Trail Shoes for Sedona + What Else To Pack
Secondly, we also strongly suggest you bring a headlamp with you if hiking at sunrise or sunset. If you stay at the Subway Cave for sunset, you’ll have no more daylight for your hike back. Having a headlamp allows you to light up the path while keeping your hands free to do the rock scrambles.
Check out this post for more gear recommendations and a complete list of what to pack for Sedona.
TOP RECOMMENDATION | Download the maps.me app before hitting the trail. Then you simply just have to follow the trail!
More on Sedona Travel
We spent an extensive amount of time in Sedona over the years. We’ve clocked countless miles on the hiking trails, secret social trails in the area, and mountain biking trails too.
And with Sedona being a place that’s completely on public land, we want to share it all with you.. even the “secret trails in Sedona”.
You’ll find all our Sedona Travel Guides in one place here, that way you can pick what interests you the most.
