United States Canyon

Oak Creek Canyon

720 m of rock, cut by the Oak Creek.

Coconino National Forest · Public domain

The cut

720 metres, to scale.

A slice through Oak Creek Canyon where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.

Standing on the floor, to scale: Great Pyramid · 139 m · Empire State · 443 m

Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is.

720m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

6.4km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

36°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

1,334m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

5 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 34 °C on the floor, against 30 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in April and in October. The rim freezes at night from November to March. The wettest months are from July to August and in December.

rim · 2,102 mfloor · 1,334 m

11°6°Jan
13°8°Feb
18°13°Mar
22°17°Apr
27°22°May
34°29°Jun
34°30°Jul
33°28°Aug
30°25°Sep
23°18°Oct
17°12°Nov
10°5°Dec

Hike: Apr, OctFrost on the rim: Nov–MarWettest: Jul–Aug, Dec

Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.

River gorge located in northern Arizona between the cities of Flagstaff and Sedona

Oak Creek Canyon is a canyon in United States, cut by the Oak Creek. The relief model measures 720 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 6.4 km wide where the cut was taken.

Getting there.

Sedonanearest town · 5.7 km in a straight line
Parking 190 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
Oak Creek Vistanearest viewpoint · 0.8 km from the floor
Flagstaff Pulliam Airport (FLG)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 26 km in a straight lineCar hire at FLG airport (Flagstaff)Discover Cars · sponsored link
In April and in Octoberbest months to hike (estimate)

Plan the visit

Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.

Car hire at FLG airport (Flagstaff)Discover CarsSee prices

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The river

The Oak Creek runs highest from January to March.

The Oak Creek carries about 0.81 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from January to March. It is lowest from May to June.

2.3 m³/sJan
3.0 m³/sFeb
2.7 m³/sMar
1.5 m³/sApr
0.6 m³/sMay
0.1 m³/sJun
1.3 m³/sJul
2.0 m³/sAug
1.5 m³/sSep
1.1 m³/sOct
1.1 m³/sNov
1.4 m³/sDec

From about 0.14 m³/s in the lowest month to 3.0 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 566 km².

Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.

From the sky.

The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.

Oak Creek Canyon seen from above (Sentinel-2)

N 4 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

6viewpoints within 5 kmCanyon Overlook, Oak Creek Vista, Sedona Overlook and 3 more
24marked hiking routes within 4 kmVultee Arch Trail #22, Brins Mesa #119, Jordan #186 and 21 more
2swimming spots within 3 km
3car parks within 3 km
1information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
4campsites within 8 kmManzanita Campground, Chavez Crossing Group Campground, Schnebly Hill Road Dispersed and 1 more
36hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmJunipine, Sky Ranch Lodge, Sky Rock Sedona, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel and 33 more

via ferrata routes within 4 km
climbing crags within 3 km
footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
named waterfalls within 4 km
caves within 3 km
bus stops within 2 km
restaurants and cafés within 4 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Towns nearby

Sedona5.7 km in a straight line
West Sedona8.7 km in a straight line
Village of Oak Creek (Big Park)15 km in a straight line
Big Park15 km in a straight line
Mountainaire20 km in a straight line
Kachina Village21 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Oak Creek Canyon.

The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.

Peakyas30 mountains within 15 km

Wilson Mountain · 3.9 kmBrins Mesa · 4.4 kmLost Wilson Mountain · 6.4 kmTwo Nuns · 6.7 kmCapitol Butte · 6.8 kmCathedral Rock1,514 m · 9.2 kmEast Pocket Knob · 10 kmBear Mountain · 14 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Month by month

The weather, at the floor and at the rim.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Afternoon · floor	11	13	18	22	27	34	34	33	30	23	17	10
Afternoon · rim	6	8	13	17	22	29	30	28	25	18	12	5
Night · rim	-6	-6	-3	0	5	11	14	13	9	3	-3	-7
Rain (mm)	47	48	33	18	15	6	69	68	37	31	33	51
Rainy days	7	7	6	4	4	2	14	16	8	5	4	6
Sun hours/day	7.6	8.6	10.3	11.6	12.7	13.7	10.2	9.8	10.4	9.7	8.7	7.0
Snow on the ground (cm)	10	8	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	9

	Afternoon · floor	Afternoon · rim	Night · rim	Rain (mm)	Sun hours/day
Jan	11	6	-6	47	7.6
Feb	13	8	-6	48	8.6
Mar	18	13	-3	33	10.3
Apr	22	17	0	18	11.6
May	27	22	5	15	12.7
Jun	34	29	11	6	13.7
Jul	34	30	14	69	10.2
Aug	33	28	13	68	9.8
Sep	30	25	9	37	10.4
Oct	23	18	3	31	9.7
Nov	17	12	-3	33	8.7
Dec	10	5	-7	51	7.0

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (1,334 m) and the rim (2,102 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

00 1009 Oak Creek Canyon - Arizona (USA) — W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0

2014 Arizona Sedona Oak Creek Canyon 03 — Nicholas Hartmann · CC BY-SA 4.0

Fall Color in Oak Creek Canyon (November 8, 2017) (24414381628) — Coconino National Forest · Public domain

Recent years

Wet years, dry years.

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2020	17%	59%	344%	158%	29%	0%	39%	39%	3%	5%	49%	12%
2021	201%	22%	151%	44%	27%	114%	227%	96%	130%	114%	8%	164%
2022	15%	41%	91%	3%	0%	490%	132%	151%	143%	162%	65%	114%
2023	244%	118%	409%	7%	158%	29%	44%	107%	66%	20%	43%	26%
2024	60%	184%	221%	122%	11%	410%	57%	118%	21%	126%	19%	0%
2025	12%	44%	172%	180%	102%	271%	48%	56%	160%	226%	308%	38%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Compare with the neighbours.

Oak Creek Canyon

United States

720 mDepth
6.4 kmRim to rim
—Length
36°Steepest wall

Grand Canyon

United States · 139 km

1,413 mDepth
11 kmRim to rim
446 kmLength
56°Steepest wall

See the guide

Canyon Diablo

United States · 82 km

145 mDepth
23 kmRim to rim
—Length
10°Steepest wall

See the guide

Antelope Canyon

United States · 224 km

144 mDepth
11 kmRim to rim
—Length
10°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and length	Wikidata (Q723393) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model	Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basin	HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
Climate	NASA POWER, 1991–2020
Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby	Coastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas