West Fork Trail No. 108, the hike most of us picture when someone says "fall in Oak Creek Canyon," is closed for the rest of October. The canyon's color keeps going after that. The Coconino National Forest's closure order is set to end at 11:59 p.m. on October 31, and the same agency says the canyon's deciduous trees hold their color well into November. From Forest Highlands, the canyon starts a few minutes down SR 89A. So this year the window to plan around is the first three weeks of November, and the creekside sites between the gate and Sedona are open now.
The trail that closes through Halloween
The Forest Service extended the West Fork closure under Order 03-04-00-26-007. It runs from September 26 through October 31, 2026. The order covers all of West Fork Trail No. 108 and Forest Service land within 100 feet of the West Fork drainage between FR 231 and the wilderness boundary. The stated reason is rockfall and flood debris after rain in the part of the watershed that burned in the Pocket Fire.
The rest of the creek has been open longer. In a September 14 release, the Forest Service lifted the general Oak Creek closure as of September 17. That reopened the creek and nearly all recreation sites along it. West Fork was held back because that watershed had a higher share of fire damage. The same release said a Burned Area Emergency Response team found that only a small part of the Oak Creek watershed burned. It put the creek's flood risk back at about what a normal monsoon storm would bring.
Call of the Canyon, the picnic site and trailhead lot for West Fork, is less clear. The September 14 release said it would stay closed until October 1. The Forest Service fall colors page, last updated September 22, still lists it as closed because of the Pocket Fire. When it reopens, the site page lists October through March hours of 8 a.m. to dusk. The fee is $15 per vehicle per day for up to five people, or $4 per walk-in, bicycle or extra person.
The color runs later than the order
The Forest Service's own seasonal guidance makes the case for November:
"Many trees in the higher elevations of Flagstaff reach their prime in early October, but views are still beautiful throughout the season... deciduous trees in the Red Rock Ranger District's Oak Creek Canyon continue to display stunning hues well into November."
The elevation gap matters here. The aspens around Flagstaff peak early in the month. The canyon below the Forest Highlands gate turns on its own later schedule. The West Fork order is set to end October 31, unless the Forest Service changes it, and the canyon's color lasts into November. That gives a likely few weeks where both are open at once. Check the order page before heading out on November 1, since the September 25 extension is the newest notice so far.
The road down is already clear
This spring, the drive down was the bigger hurdle. ADOT's SR 89A guardrail replacement flyer laid out work on mileposts 387 to 390 near Oak Creek Vista. Work ran Monday through Thursday and Friday until noon, with alternating one-way traffic and a 12-foot vehicle-width limit. Completion was expected in fall 2026. Then the Pocket Fire closed the highway altogether. ADOT reopened SR 89A between Sedona and I-17 on July 13.
The guardrail work finished earlier than planned. The City of Sedona's July 2026 roundup, posted August 13, reported that the guardrail project in Oak Creek Canyon was complete after a summer of work. That stretch is the first one you drive on the way down from Forest Highlands, and it no longer has a weekday schedule.
What's open between the gate and Sedona
The Forest Service status banners and fee listings below are current as of late September and mid-October 2026. Fees differ more than you'd expect for sites so close together.
| Site | Status | Day-use cost | Hours and season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Creek Vista | Open year-round, barring maintenance; closed Thanksgiving and Christmas | Not listed | Info booth generally runs April through November, weather permitting |
| Halfway Picnic Site | Open | $5 per vehicle per day; Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Pass | 8 a.m. to dusk |
| Encinoso Picnic Site | Open | Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Pass | Year-round, 8 a.m. to dusk |
| Grasshopper Point / Allen's Bend | Open | $15 per vehicle, up to five people; $4 per walk-in | 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Oct. 31; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Nov. 1 |
| Slide Rock State Park | Open; swim area closed | $20 per vehicle for 1 to 4 people, $5 each additional | 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Nov. 20 |
| Banjo Bill Picnic Site | Closed for rockfall and flooding | $5 per day when open | Not applicable |
| Cave Springs Campground | Banner says temporarily closed; booking feed shows openings | $30 per site | Peak season runs through Oct. 24 |
On fees, Halfway costs a third of Grasshopper Point for a carload. Halfway charges $5 a day, $15 a week, or $20 for a year on a Red Rock Pass. One annual pass costs about the same as four day-visits there, or a little more than one day at Grasshopper. Halfway is one of four easy-access picnic areas in the canyon, each with trails and creek pools nearby, according to the Forest Service. If you plan several November trips down the canyon, those two sites are the cheap ones.
Grasshopper Point is where the Forest Service sends hikers for the Allen's Bend trail, so it pairs a creekside walk with the parking lot. It also switches to later winter opening hours on November 1. Two campgrounds sit in the middle of the canyon. Pine Flat shows as open, with its peak season ending October 24. Manzanita is listed as an open, year-round creekside campground.
Slide Rock is a different trip this fall. Arizona State Parks lists the swimming area as closed because of high water, with no apple picking for the fall 2026 season and entry by vehicle only. Since July, the park has kept hiking, picnicking and the historic homestead open while the swim area stays closed. Without swimmers or the orchard harvest, a Slide Rock visit this year is mostly a walk past the homestead and the creek.
Where the fire actually was
The Pocket Fire started June 19 and burned 27,393 acres, according to Sedona Red Rock News. The Forest Service announced 100% containment on the morning of July 30. KNAU reported in June that the fire was over the canyon wall from Forest Houses Resort, near the A.B. Young Trail that climbs to East Pocket. A.B. Young was closed during the July fire orders. It was not on the list of exceptions when the creek reopened in September. In the September 14 release, the Forest Service warned that monsoon storms washed out trails in the nearby Red Rock Secret Canyon Wilderness in places. Hikers should expect stretches that are hard to follow.
Several canyon businesses have current offerings on their websites. Indian Gardens Cafe & Market has a current menu and carryout ordering online, along with a thank-you to the fire crews. Junipine Resort promotes on-site lunch and dinner. Don Hoel's Cabins promotes its coffee house, and Briar Patch Inn is taking reservations for its creekside cabins. Late-season hours change, so call ahead before planning a stop around any of them.
The late-fall calendar, in order
Dated plans from here to Thanksgiving week, starting with this weekend:
- Sunday, October 25, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Coconino National Forest and its partner Ecoculture host a volunteer tree planting in fire scars.
- Sunday, October 25. Red Rock State Park holds an ethnobotany hike, one of several guided walks on top of its daily 10 a.m. nature hikes.
- Saturday, October 31. The West Fork closure order is scheduled to end at 11:59 p.m.
- Sunday, November 1. Grasshopper Point moves to its 9 a.m. winter opening.
- Sunday, November 8. Red Rock State Park holds a geology hike.
- Saturday, November 14. The Oak Creek Collaborative Cleanup is based at Slide Rock. Volunteers must register by November 13.
- Sunday, November 15. Red Rock State Park holds an archaeology hike.
- Friday, November 20. This is the last day of Slide Rock's 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. schedule. Winter hours start November 21.
- Sunday, November 22. Red Rock State Park holds its second ethnobotany hike.
The first weekend of November is the first chance to have West Fork open, if the order expires as scheduled, while the canyon's trees still have color. The Forest Service lists both the current conditions and the order itself, and both are worth checking the morning you go.
Fall in the canyon is part of why the top of 89A is a good place to live, and part of the case for owning here, and I'm glad to talk through either. If you're weighing a home near Forest Highlands and want a local read on how the seasons shape daily life, Blake Cundick is happy to help. Let's Connect.
