By Alice Hafer
North of Sedona, on Highway 89A, the desert fades, and the hills unanticipatedly turn alternative. A small huddle of cars pulled onto the shoulder, trunks open, and people hauling jugs back and forth from a stone structure built into the rock sit there in that climb as the canyon walls close in and the road begins to turn around toward Flagstaff.
For what is thought to have been centuries before emerging from a stone springhouse on the side of the road, there is a free, obviously flowing spring known as Harding Spring, where water from mountain snowmelt filters through rock.
Read on to learn how to find the spring for yourself.
Where Can I Find a Harding Spring?
On State Route 89A, tucked into Oak Creek Canyon just before the road’s great switchbacks up to Flagstaff, Harding Spring is located about eight miles north of Sedona. On the highway shoulder, the water comes directly from a stone springhouse. There is no hike or trail. Just pull through and walk quickly off to it.
Locals almost interchangeably refer to it as” Harding Spring” and” Sterling Spring,” because there is a similar stone springhouse along the same stretch of 89A. Both names typically point to the exact location.
Is Drinking Is Safe to Drink?
Normal springs don’t come with labels. The U.S. Forest Service intervened and conducted an established analysis when a nearby resident conducted his own water tests and received troubling readings. The results, which were released by the Arizona Daily Sun, were unaltered, with no lead found at all and arsenic levels below national limits.
But, springs aren’t continually tested like municipal water is, and the weather can change after a significant storm or spring runoff. Not necessarily a reflection of the spring’s source, but it serves as a great reminder that “natural” doesn’t always mean “untouched” when the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality flags portions of Oak Creek itself for E. coli, which are most likely linked to outdoor use and runoff somewhere in the watershed.
Our sincere assessment is that people have been drinking this water without incident for years, but anyone who wants more peace of mind shouldn’t test a sample or boil it after a storm.
Where Does The Water Truly Come From?
Conscious Sedona claims that the water that eventually appears at Harding Spring was created by rain and snow falling on the mountains north of the canyon, maybe centuries ago. Before it actually reaches daylight, it slowly filters along through the rock. The land that receives the spring is generally undeveloped forest, which is one of the reasons it has remained as clear.
Why Do People Travel So Far to Get Free Water?
In 2020, Ivy Ciolli, a contributor to Green Living, initially wrote about the spring because she was drawn to its reputation as a source of pure, about spiritual water.
It’s not always about the water quality for the average person. Some people find it to be about no purchasing another plastic bottle. Some people have described driving up to two hours round trip to fill five-gallon jugs, partly out of principle or simply for the taste. It’s only the better water, five minutes away, for those in Sedona or Flagstaff.
It’s a moral journey for some, too. Some visitors associate the spring with vortexes and beneficial energy qualities, claiming that the water has a sense of vitality or “life force,” which is a theme shared in Masaru Emoto’s writings on water and consciousness.
Driving for two hours has its unique footprint, particularly in a gas-powered vehicle. With a strong home filtration system and less driving, it could be accomplished if reducing plastic waste is the goal.  ,
Important Information for Traveling to Harding Spring
The spring operates continuously. There are no costs. There are no permits needed. Standard are BPA-free jugs. Parking on the shoulder is permitted. Although there may be a line frequently, weekday mornings typically result in a shorter wait.  ,
At the very least, the water will speak for itself.
