By Alice Hafer

There’s a stretch of Highway 89A north of Sedona where the desert fades, and hills unexpectedly turn green. Canyon walls close in; the road starts switchbacking toward Flagstaff. Somewhere in that climb sits something a little odd for the middle of nowhere: 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.

That’s Harding Spring, a free, naturally flowing spring where water filters from mountain snowmelt through rock for what’s thought to be centuries before emerging from a stone springhouse on the roadside.

Read on to see the complete guide to finding the spring for yourself.

Where to Find Harding Spring

Harding Spring sits about eight miles north of Sedona on State Route 89A, tucked into Oak Creek Canyon just before the road starts its big switchbacks up toward Flagstaff. The water comes straight out of a stone springhouse on the highway shoulder. There is no trail or hike. Simply pull over and take a short walk up to it.

It’s called “Harding Spring” and “Sterling Spring” by locals almost interchangeably, since there’s a similar stone springhouse a little further south along the same stretch of 89A. Either name tends to lead to the same place.

Is It Actually Safe to Drink

Natural springs don’t come with a label. When a local resident ran his own water tests and received concerning readings, the U.S. Forest Service stepped in and conducted an official analysis. The results, reported by the Arizona Daily Sun, came back clean with arsenic below federal limits and no lead detected at all.

However, springs aren’t tested constantly the way municipal water is, and conditions can shift after a big storm or spring runoff. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has flagged sections of Oak Creek itself for E. coli, mostly tied to recreational use and runoff elsewhere in the watershed — not necessarily a reflection of the spring’s source, but a good reminder that “natural” doesn’t always mean “untouched.”

Our honest answer: people have been drinking this water for years without issue, but testing a sample or boiling it after a storm isn’t an overreaction for anyone who wants extra peace of mind.

Where the Water Is Actually Coming From

According to Conscious Sedona, the water that eventually surfaces at Harding Spring started as rain and snow falling on the mountains north of the canyon, sometimes centuries ago. It filters slowly down through rock before it ever reaches daylight. The land feeding the spring is largely undeveloped forest, part of why it’s stayed as clean as it has.

Why People Drive So Far for Free Water

Green Living first wrote about the spring in 2020, when contributor Ivy Ciolli described herself as a self-proclaimed “water snob” drawn to the spring’s reputation as a source of pure, almost mystical water.

For regulars, it’s not always about water quality. For some, it’s about not buying another plastic bottle. Some have described driving up to two hours round trip just to fill five-gallon jugs, partly for the taste, partly out of principle. For those in Sedona or Flagstaff, it’s just the better water, five minutes away.

For others, it’s a spiritual journey. Certain visitors associate the spring with a reputation for vortexes and positive energy qualities, believing the water carries a kind of vitality or “life force,” tied to ideas popularized by Masaru Emoto’s writing on water and consciousness.

Driving two hours has its own footprint, especially in a gas-powered car. If reducing plastic waste is the goal, it could be accomplished with a solid home filtration setup and far less driving. 

Key Details for Visiting Harding Spring

The spring runs around the clock. There are no fees. No permits are required. BPA-free jugs are the standard. Parking on the shoulder is allowed. There may often be a line; weekday mornings tend to mean a shorter wait. 

The water, at the very least, will speak for itself.

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