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I am going to have to start with a few disclaimers here: 1) DO NOT attempt this trail with a hangover, or you will likely die. The name of the trail refers to hanging over cliffs much of the way! 2) You WILL get lost more than once. 3) Don’t attempt to find this trail on a map from the visitors’s center. 4) Do NOT start after 1pm or you may be wandering in the dark, next to a cliff. 5) Do NOT attempt on a bike unless you are one of those crazy-in-the-head downhillers. If you ARE a downhiller… take your cross-country bike, because there’s not much actual downhill… just cliff-hanging. 6) Do NOT drive a low-clearance car to the trailhead.
The Hangover Trail in Sedona, Arizona was built by the kind of bikers who think normal single track trails are too boring for them…. thrill-seekers or “downhillers.” I have to admit that I followed some of them on this trail a few years ago, and carried my bike most of the way after tetering too close to a cactus-laden cliff. I would never recommend this trail to a biker, but what an amazing hike or run!
There are no signs marking this trail. To get there from downtown Sedona, go south towards the first round-about. Turn left there onto 179. At the next round-about, take a sharp left onto Schnebly Hill Rd. Where the pavement ends, there is a paved parking lot. If you have someone to pick you up, this would be the place for them to wait. After you do the loop, you can ride downhill an extra mile to this parking area.
If you are being dropped off by a shuttle driver, I would recommend starting at Cow Pie trail. On your way up Schnebly Hill Rd, you will see the buttes in the photo that you will be going aroun, on your left. Keep going up Schebly hill Rd for almost 3 miles until you see a very rocky parking lot on your right (paved naturally by sandstone). The cow pie trail starts on the opposite side of the road. If your vehicle’s clearance is not high, good luck getting into this parking area without losing your exhaust pipe… but maybe you can find a small pull-out nearby.
Once on the cow pie trail, you will come to a huge sand-stone area where you will lose the trail. Do NOT go left, as you will only find drop-offs into a canyon. Instead, go straight upward towards the high cliffs, looking for 2 huge groupings of boulders that sort of mark the way. You should soon stumble across the trail that will get you around the deep canyon, and there the trail will turn left. You will be following the base of the cliffs for about a mile, losing the trail every now and then, until the cliffs end, and you can cross over a large sandstone saddle. Over the saddle on the opposite side, head to the left where you will find a great single-track trail that hugs the cliffs, in the treeline, all the way to the south-west side of the buttes. Then, all of a sudden, your trail is no longer easy to follow. You will take a u-turn to the right, get onto some sandstone for a ways, then you will lose the trail, but basically just go straight down a ways until it’s time to go back toward the left towards another large saddle. Cross the saddle, and then you will find a great trail again, that will roller-coaster down and around for another mile. When you get down by the creek bed, you will run into the Munds Wagon trail that follows the creek. If someone is waiting for you at the main paved parking area below, turn right to head towards the main parking area. Or, turn left, and it’s all uphill toward the parking area by the Cow Pie trail. The trail will cross the road a couple times.
If you want to do the hike backwards, or if you don’t have a shuttle driver, I might recommend the other direction, and starting at a closer parking area. Go about 2 miles after Schnebly Hill Rd turns into dirt, looking for a large dirt parking area that is shaped like a circle driveway. From here you will cross the creek bed to find the Munds Wagon Trail that follows the creek. (Memorize some landmarks here, so you will be able to figure out where you parked when you get back). Go downhill for about 2/10th of a mile, looking for the unmarked trail that goes up the steep hill to your left. You will see bike skid marks if you’re at the right place. The trail upward will be easy to follow for the mile up to the sandstone saddle. Then just stay on the sandstone as you hug the butte to your right, working your way around. When the petrified sandstone or “slickrock’ comes to an end, look for the ”trail” going straight up to your right…. up, up, up…. to the right for a ways, u-turn to the left, and then the trail is easy to follow after that. It will hang on the edge of the cliff in the treeline until you reach the saddle on the opposite side. Crossing that sandstone saddle, do NOT head downhill looking for a shortcut, as you will only find cliffs. To need to find the best trail possible to the left, and go that way for about a mile until you can get around the huge canyon below you. Then you will be on a huge sandstone area where you can’t see the trail. Stay to the left a bit, looking for the huge piles of boulders to mark your way, then the trail goes to the left, then through the trees it’s a straight shot toward Schebley Hill Rd. Go down the road a ways until you see a trail on the right side. This is the Munds Wagon Trail, and you will follow it less than a mile to where you are parked…. but watch out for your vehicle…. as you might pass by and not see the parking area through the trees.
If you are the romantic type, you might want to explore this trail with your sweatheart around Valentine’s Day, as there are heart-shaped rocks hidden along the way. 
This is a perfect time of year to get out of cold of Flagstaff and hike in perfect mid-60′s weather.
If you want a map, head south from downtown Sedona on 89 for about 1.5 Miles. Look for a small bike shop called Over The Edge on your left. They are always updating their map, and every obscure bike trail is marked…. but it will cost you 6.95 for a photocopy. Don’t listen to the guy’s mileage estimates……he rides Hangover in 1.5 hours. Took us 4 hours or so to hike it, which included stopping for a picnic and taking lots of pictures, and getting lost. He said it’s maybe 3 1/2 miles…. I’d say at least 5 if you don’t have a shuttle driver. Hard to say though. I couldn’t find a scale on his map!
Good luck….and don’t forget lots of water and a camera!
