Honanki Heritage Site

Honanki is the wilder, less visited half of Sedona's great pair of Sinagua cliff dwellings. Together with Palatki, a few miles away, it was one of the two largest cliff dwellings in Red Rock Country between about AD 1150 and 1350, when the Sinagua, ancestors of the Hopi, lived here and hunted, farmed and gathered wild plants in the canyons around. The dwelling's masonry rooms are built directly against the base of a tall red sandstone cliff, and the rock faces around them are covered in rock art, petroglyphs pecked into the stone and painted pictographs, some of which may be far older than the dwellings themselves. The name came from the Smithsonian archaeologist Jesse Walter Fewkes, who described the sites in the early 1900s and gave them Hopi-derived names: Honanki, Badger House, and Palatki, Red House. The Forest Service notes that the Hopi themselves have no specific names for these places. Unlike Palatki, Honanki does not require a reservation. The site is open seven days a week from 9:30am to 3pm, closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and it closes when temperatures exceed 100 degrees or when the roads are impassable. A Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful pass is required for every vehicle; daily and weekly passes are sold at a self-serve machine on site. There is a vault toilet but no drinking water, and pets are not allowed beyond the parking lot. Site stewards are often on hand to answer questions along the short walking loop.

Getting there is part of the adventure. Drive SR 89A through West Sedona and continue about five miles past the last traffic light, then turn right just past mile marker 365 onto Forest Road 525. Follow FR 525 for about 9.5 miles, bearing left after the Loy Canyon trailhead cattleguard. The Forest Service says the road is generally passable by passenger car when dry, but it is not regularly maintained and has rough, rocky stretches, and a high-clearance vehicle is recommended. Allow extra time, drive slowly, and do not attempt it after heavy rain or snow, when the road can become impassable and the site may close. Given the storms that hit the Sedona area in autumn 2026, it is especially wise to confirm conditions before setting out. Many visitors leave the driving to a guided jeep tour that includes Honanki in its itinerary.

What you will see. A short loop trail leads from the parking area to the dwelling and along the cliff, with views of the remaining walls, the rock art and the alcoves where people lived and stored food. Look closely and you will find handprints, animal figures and abstract designs. Stay on the trail, never touch the walls or the art, and do not enter the rooms; oils from hands and even brushing contact damage the pigments and masonry. Allow about an hour on site.

Honanki or Palatki? If you can only do one, Palatki offers ranger and steward-led programs and requires a timed reservation, which makes it more structured, while Honanki is drop-in and generally quieter. Both use the same rough approach road, so many visitors combine them on one trip, booking Palatki and adding Honanki before or after. Pair the day with a picnic and a sunset drive back past the red rock buttes. For travelers without a suitable vehicle, a guided tour is the stress-free option. Whatever you choose, pack as if for a backcountry outing: plenty of drinking water, snacks, sun protection, a paper map or offline directions, since phone signal is unreliable along FR 525, and a full tank of gas before you leave West Sedona.