Devils Head is a small chunk of dacite visible from downtown Flagstaff, just east of, and at almost the same elevation as, the Devil's Chair. Viewed from the west at sunset, the features on it's west/northwest face resemble a redish orange dragon with it's wings held up. A horned Devil's Head can also be seen looking up between the raised wings(perhaps the origin of the Devil's Head name given to the lower western peak of Mt Elden). Devils Head/Red Dragon currently hosts fourteen sport climbs, all about 50 to 60 feet tall. The cliff is shady until 1pm, and can be very windy, especially on the more exposed, upper section of the wall. Summer mornings are good, but when it is cold, afternoon is better. It's a more adventurous sport cliff with a steep approach and some good exposure on the upper routes.

Park at the end of Paradise Road, same as Gloria's Rocks parking. Hike the most direct path to Glorias.

From Gloria's rocks, the crux is getting to the beginning of the climbers trail, which begins at the edge of the biggest drainage/gulley that curves down the face of Elden below the Devils Chair and Red Dragon. From Glorias, follow the obvious trail east along the base of the mountain. At each trail intersection, follow the trail that leads most directly toward the cliff seen high above.

After a steep section that climbs out of a smaller gulley, ignore the trail going up left and down right(neither heading toward the cliff above), and head straight across and up an open grassy area to the rim of the big gulley mentioned earlier.

A trail skirts the edge of the big gulley. Scan back and forth along this section of trail looking for the beginning of the climbers trail, which angles down right into the gulley. A cairn should be present where it starts, and more cairns mark the climbers trail from then on. You should reach two good size(climbable)boulders in the bottom of the drainage. Even if you find these boulders accidentally, they are your last chance to get on the right track to the cliff, and save yourself from a horrendous bushwack.

Pass the two boulders on their southern side. Continue up the steepening trail. You will first arrive at some short rocks at the lower end of the cliff band. Follow cairns up the vague path along the base until you reach the bigger chunks higher up. You will eventually reach a flat landing/staging area under some big pine trees. Two 5.10s(warm-ups)are located here. 45 minutes. Continue further up to find the other routes.

ALTERNATE APPROACH-

Devil's Head can also be approached from the top of N 4th street. This provides a slightly shorter and more straight forward approach with much better parking options.

Park at the Trinity Heights Church parking lot, there is a public trailhead at the NE corner of the lot behind the building. Head straight north on a faint path crossing many braided trails (see GPS track on Area page to help with this maze). Most of the main trails go east-west here, but hold true north for about 10 minutes.

Before the trail steepens at the base of the mountain, it will fade slightly left, cross a small drainage, and go up a large erosion slope at the base of the Devil's Head canyon. You are now on the well worn Devil's Chair trail.

Follow this main trail until it begins to steepen. At a dusty straight away with a nice view of cliffs out left, watch for cairns on a rotting stump. Cut right down the hill here and cross a sharp drainage. Two large boulders will greet you on the other side. Go left around the boulders and straight up the gully behind them.

A minute up this gully, one last small drainage is encountered. Cut slightly right to drop in and across this drainage to find a well cairned climber's trail up the slope. The trail is fairly obvious following switchbacks that diagonal slightly left up the hill. Near the crag, small cliffbands interrupt the switchbacks but can be bypassed without scrambling. Catch the toe of the crag and diagonal left along the base to get to the Crown Jewel alcove. To get to routes left of Wings and Change, traverse at a slab band to find a low angle corner with a fixed rope. There is a comfy ledge at the top of this rope to crag off of.

The original name I gave this crag is Red Dragon. I’ve decided to change it to Devils Head in honor of Flagstaff history. I always wondered why the name “Devils Head” was given to the lower of the two Elden summits. Turns out the lower mountain was named after a peculiar west facing rock wall that appears like a horned devils head peering up into the sky. Red Dragon and Devils Head are two interpretations of the same beautifully colored rock wall overlooking Flagstaff. The photo section for this area shows the Devils Head clearly.