West Fork Trail #108 is closed through Oct. 31 under a Coconino National Forest order. It is the canyon's best-known autumn walk, the one the Forest Service's trail guide describes as "ablaze with color, with red and gold leaves floating in clear reflecting pools." The season outlasts the closure. According to the Coconino's own fall colors guidance, the deciduous trees in Oak Creek Canyon "continue to display stunning hues well into November." The leaves will still be turning after the closure date. For the rest of October, they are worth finding somewhere other than Call of the Canyon.
The closure clock and the leaf clock
The West Fork closure is narrower than it might sound from town. Order 03-04-00-26-007 took effect Sept. 26 and runs through Oct. 31 unless rescinded. It covers National Forest land within 100 feet of the West Fork drainage, from Forest Road 231 east to the wilderness boundary, plus the full length of Trail #108 inside the wilderness. The stated reason is rockfall and flood debris after rain in a watershed the Pocket Fire burned harder than the rest of the canyon.
Everything else along the creek reopened Thursday, Sept. 17. A Burned Area Emergency Response team found that only a small share of the Oak Creek watershed burned. On that basis, the Forest Service said flood risk on the main creek is now what a normal monsoon storm would bring.
| What the source says | Date that matters | |
|---|---|---|
| West Fork closure | Trail #108 and the drainage are closed | Through Oct. 31, unless rescinded |
| Call of the Canyon | Listed as closed due to the Pocket Fire on the Coconino fall colors page | No reopening date posted |
| Fall color timing | Starts in late September, peaks through October, higher elevations turn faster | Oak Creek Canyon holds color "well into November" |
The bottom row matters most for planning. The upper end of the canyon, near the rim, turns first. The lower stretch closest to Sedona tends to hold color longer. The open sites below are spread along that whole range of elevation.
Start at the top, where the color arrives first
Oak Creek Vista is open year-round. At 6,437 feet, it looks straight down the canyon from the rim. Since higher trees turn faster, this is the first place in the canyon to look in October. From here you can also see the whole canyon at once, which no trail at creek level gives you.
Farther down, the east-rim trails cover the same ground from the side. Thomas Point Trail #142 is the southernmost of the three trails that climb to the east rim. The Forest Service says it has the broadest views of the three, looking across the canyon at the cliffs of West Fork Canyon, one of Oak Creek's largest tributaries. Thomas Point wasn't on the summer closure lists, so this month it is the trail that still looks into West Fork. Thomas Point is also the hottest and longest of the three climbs, so go early.
Sterling Pass is the maple hike this year
If you walk West Fork for the maples, the closest substitute is Sterling Pass Trail #46. The Forest Service describes a steep climb through big orange-barked ponderosa pines, with plenty of dwarf canyon maples that "turn scarlet and peach in the fall." The trail crosses a saddle into Sterling Canyon in the Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness. From there it joins Vultee Arch Trail, and about 100 yards to the right a rock outcrop looks out on the arch.
Sterling Pass was not among the trails the Forest Service named in its summer Pocket Fire closures. Those were Bear Sign, David Miller, Dry Creek, HS Canyon and Secret Canyon, and that list was set to expire Oct. 1. The same Sept. 14 release warned that monsoon storms had hit many wilderness trails, so sections may be washed out or hard to follow. Before driving up, check the Coconino's alerts and plan for rougher footing than you remember.
The lower creek, where the season runs latest
The easiest fall walk in the canyon this year starts at Grasshopper Point. It is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Oct. 31, then 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Nov. 1. Allens Bend Trail #111 starts at the kiosk by the covered picnic table. The trail is close to level and mostly in full shade under what's left of an old orchard and native streamside trees, and it ends at the Casner Canyon Trailhead for a round trip of about a mile. Short side paths lead down to the creek, and the Forest Service warns about poison ivy along them. The trail is probably named for Charles R. Allen, a photographer who homesteaded where Junipine now stands, farther upstream.
This lowest stretch is the most likely to still have color in November. Here is a lower-canyon outing that works now and into next month:
- Midgley Bridge Observation Site is open as a picnic area and trailhead. Wilson Canyon Trail #49 starts at the picnic ramada and runs about 3 miles round trip to a saddle with a view.
- Grasshopper Point for the Allens Bend walk. Arrive before the 6 p.m. close.
- Halfway Picnic Site, listed as open, with creekside scenery and trails nearby.
Skip Banjo Bill. Under a separate Forest Service order unrelated to the fire, that picnic site is closed for rockfall through Jan. 27, 2027.
Slide Rock is open, with three changes
Slide Rock State Park is open for hiking and picnicking. Its fall is different this year in three ways. The swim area is closed for high water. There is no apple picking in fall 2026. And entry is by vehicle only, with no walk-in, bicycle or drop-off entry. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Nov. 20, then 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. starting Nov. 21.
Without the apple harvest, the orchard is simply part of the scenery this year. Arizona State Parks lists Emory and Gambel oak, willow, box elder and sycamore among the park's trees, in both the dry upland and the streamside zones. The park's Fall Fest was Oct. 3, according to Sedona Red Rock News, so it's over for the year. Slide Rock Market's own site lists daily hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from March through November, and the park's facility page gives different weekday and weekend hours. Call ahead if the market is part of your plan.
Why the canyon is open at all this fall
The fire behind all of this was close. The Forest Service placed the Pocket Fire about seven miles north of Sedona. It was reported June 19 and fully contained July 30 at 27,393 acres. Sedona Red Rock News reported that suppression cost $64.1 million and that the cause was still undetermined, with lightning considered likely. SR 89A reopened July 13, according to the same paper.
The creek itself stayed closed for a while after the flames were out, as a precaution before monsoon. The Forest Service says the July and August storms washed ash, sediment and burned material through Oak Creek, which made sediment and log dams much less likely to form. The same rain helped grasses grow back across the burn area. That's why the main creek is open this October while West Fork, the most heavily burned drainage, is not. KNAU and the Arizona Daily Sun both covered the September reopening.
The canyon's own tables and porches
A fall drive up 89A comes with places to eat and stay, and their websites are taking bookings this fall. Check hours before you go. Indian Gardens Cafe & Market has its menu and carry-out ordering on its site. The lodge long known as Garland's now goes by Orchard Canyon on Oak Creek, and its booking calendar is open for October and November 2026. Junipine lists lunch and dinner on site. Don Hoel's Cabins has a coffee house on the property. Briar Patch Inn is taking cabin reservations. For locals hosting fall guests, a night in the canyon puts them close to the color.
What happens after Oct. 31
The West Fork order runs through Oct. 31 unless the Forest Service rescinds it early. If the trail reopens on schedule, it reopens during the part of the season the Forest Service says lasts longest in Oak Creek Canyon. Before you go, check the order page and the Call of the Canyon listing, which still showed the picnic site closed on the Coconino's fall colors page. Until then, the scarlet maples on Sterling Pass are the nearest match for West Fork's autumn color.
At Cindy Chapman Group, we keep track of canyon changes like these because they shape everyday life for neighbors up and down 89A. If you own in Oak Creek Canyon and want to talk about how this season fits into your plans for the property, schedule your complimentary Sedona home consultation, and we'll start with what's open along the creek right now.