Getting Oriented
Forest Road 9904 sits about a mile north of uptown Sedona in the Red Rock Ranger District of Coconino National Forest. It shares its name and its corridor with the Soldier Pass hiking trail (No. 66, a 4-mile roundtrip that leads into the Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness), but the motorized road and the hiking trail are separate things. The road is short. The draw is the red-rock scenery and a few technical spots, not the distance.
Access and the Permit
The road requires a Recreation.gov Motorized Use Permit (#4251901). The Forest Service issues 12 permits per day, one vehicle per permit, for day use between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. The reservation costs a $6 non-refundable fee with no separate recreation fee.
Two gates control access. The first is a homeowners' association electronic gate, open 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; Thursday through Sunday it stays closed and the combination printed on the permit opens it. The second is a Forest Service combination padlock, also keyed to the permit. During Spring Break, roughly mid-February through April, the HOA gate stays closed seven days a week. Print the permit in advance so the gate combination is in hand. Day use only; no overnight stays.
The Drive
The Forest Service states the requirement plainly: a high-clearance 4x4. A go/no-go rock sits just past the parking area and screens out underbuilt vehicles early. Farther along, a ledged downhill section known as "The Steps" has no bypass. Tight, ledgy stretches run through the roughly one-mile route.
Difficulty ratings disagree. onX Offroad lists it a 7 of 10 (difficult); many drivers who have run it put it closer to a 4 or 5, and the Forest Service describes the corridor as moderate. The honest read is a short, scenic route where reading a few obstacles correctly matters more than raw clearance.
What You Pass
Devil's Kitchen is an active sinkhole about a quarter mile in. It collapsed further in 1995 and runs roughly 150 feet long and 50 feet deep. The Seven Sacred Pools, a chain of seasonal sandstone potholes, sit about half a mile in; they hold water after rain and snowmelt and often dry out in summer.
The Soldier Pass Cave and the arches above it are reached on foot, not by vehicle, and the motorized permit does not cover parking at the Soldier Pass hiking trailhead. Plan the cave and arches as a separate hike with its own parking.
Know Before You Go
No fires. No toilets. Pack out everything brought in. The road closes temporarily in wet weather, when the sandstone turns slick. The corridor is shared with hikers, mountain bikers, and other vehicles, so keep speeds low near Devil's Kitchen and the pools. Sedona has full fuel, water, and supplies a few minutes south. For current conditions, call the Red Rock Ranger District at 928-203-2900 or the Red Rock Visitor Center at 928-203-7500.
