Boynton Subway

Boynton Canyon

Useful Information

Location:	525 Boynton Canyon Rd, Sedona, AZ 86336. 9 km northwest of SR 89A through West Sedona, at Layla's Bakery-Cafe turn right on Dry Creek Road, turn right FR 152B to Enchantment Resort. (34.9324597, -111.8630917)
Open:	no restrictions. [2026]
Fee:	free. [2026]
Classification:	Erosional Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Boynton Subway, Tel: +1-
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

Boynton Subway aka Subway Cave is an erosional cave in the red sandstone, which is the result of erosion by water and wind. The place where the erosion is strong is obviously a band of softer sandstone. Starting point of the erosion was a double vertical crack, which obviously also moved, so there is additionally a tectonic involvement in cave formation. The result is a strange tunnel, which actually resembles a subway tunnel, as it is more or less a tube but there is, similar to the railroad tracks, a sort of gap in the middle, forming a straight, about 1 m wide gap.

The cave is named Subway Cave because of its form, unfortunately such names are quite popular and so there are numerous subway caves and there is always the danger of mixing them up. The obvious solution is adding the location, in this case Boynton, to make the name unique. The site is located in Boynton Canyon, which is quite famous for numerous cliff dwellings and numerous small caves. They can be seen on the hike to subway cave, which definitely is the most spectacular of the caves. Right below, along the track ascending to the cave are the Alcove, the Arch, and the Kachina Tree Cave. One of the caves actually contains ancient ruins, but most pueblos are located further down, around the Enchantment Resort. The Boynton Canyon Road from Sedona ends at this resort, which is more or less a small village. It’s pretty weird that the whole area is National Forest, only this resort is excluded. However, it’s close to the Subway cave, the trailhead is at the end of the road at the turning circle.

The cave is reached on a short hike from the end of the road through Boynton Canyon. Wear good walking shoes, bring sun protection and enough water. A lamp is not necessary.