Getting Oriented
Llama sits in the Bell Rock network at the south end of Sedona's Red Rock Country, about 38 miles south of Flagstaff and a few minutes from the Village of Oak Creek. It runs between the Little Horse Trail and the Templeton Trail, and its main job is to carry mountain-bike and foot traffic around the Bell Rock Pathway, the wide, smooth main path that draws most of the crowds. The junction with Little Horse is marked by a large dead pinyon pine.
The area packs several trails into a small footprint, and the boundaries matter. The Munds Mountain Wilderness sits next to the network, and the nearby Courthouse Butte Loop passes through it. Bikes are not allowed in the wilderness, so riders linking trails here have to know where that line falls.
The Trail
The Forest Service lists Llama at 2.8 miles with about 200 feet of elevation gain and a moderate rating; Trailforks grades it blue, or intermediate. Most of it flows over red dirt and sandstone shelves through open juniper, with a few rock ledges toward the southern end that give the trail its technical interest. Riders often combine it with the Bell Rock Pathway and Little Horse for a loop of roughly six miles. The 2.8-mile figure is the Llama segment itself, not the full loop.
The trailhead sits around 4,270 feet, so conditions stay warm and dry for much of the year.
Access and Permits
Parking at the trailheads requires a Red Rock Pass or an America the Beautiful pass. The Red Rock Pass runs $5 per day, $15 per week, or $20 per year, and covers Coconino National Forest day-use sites in the Sedona area. It is sold online through Recreation.gov, at kiosk machines at the recreation sites, at the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, and at the Red Rock Visitor Center (daily and weekly only). An America the Beautiful pass works in place of the Red Rock Pass at these sites. The pass does not cover concessionaire-run sites such as Crescent Moon or Grasshopper Point, which use the separate Coconino Pass.
Know Before You Go
- The Munds Mountain Wilderness is closed to bikes. The Courthouse Butte Loop crosses into it, so plan bike routes to stay on Llama, Little Horse, Templeton, and the Bell Rock Pathway.
- Summer afternoons are hot and exposed, with little shade on the open sections. Carry more water than the short mileage suggests.
- The monsoon brings afternoon storms from roughly July into September. The washes can flash and the sandstone turns slick, so check the forecast and avoid the low crossings during storms.
- Bikes, hikers, and horses share the trail. Bikes yield to both, and everyone yields to horses. Sightlines around the rock and brush are short in places.
- Pack out what you pack in and stay on the marked tread. The red soil and biological crust off-trail are slow to recover.
Using It as a Basecamp Side Trip
For a trip built around Red Rock Country, the Village of Oak Creek and Sedona put Llama within a few minutes' drive of most lodging and the dispersed options on the surrounding national forest. It pairs well with a morning on the longer Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte routes, walked rather than ridden where the wilderness closes the loop to bikes, and an afternoon on Llama and Little Horse. The Red Rock Ranger District visitor center on Highway 179 is the place to confirm current conditions and closures (928-203-2900).
