Multiple Monuments

Katelynn Adams
Jan 6, 2024
5 min read

The State of Arizona has 18 National Monuments - the most of any state in the country! I've been to a handful now, but they will all be gathered here in this one post. So don't expect this shared until my adventure here is done. I will share them in the order that I visited them though just to keep you and more importantly - myself organized!

1.) Montezuma Castle N.M.

Montezuma Castle was my first stop of my first road trip - I wasn't quite sure what to expect here especially since I've only ever visited National Parks. And while vastly different than I initially expected - it ended up being the perfect introduction to National Monuments! While this monument was rather small - it provided a lot of background information about early settlers and the composition of the area when they settled there.

At its peak this 20 room castle held anywhere from 30-50 individuals for almost two hundred years from 1125-1300 AD but they said that civilizations were thought to have occupied Verde Valley as early as 700 AD.

2.) Walnut Canyon N.M.

Walking along Walnut Canyon NM was a very different experience simply because the community that once lived there was much larger than that at Montazuma Castle.

While the Island Trail was only partially open when I went - it still allowed visitors to get about 90% of the way around The Island. The Island was a large rock formation that stretched into the middle of the Canyon and allowed for ancient settlers to settle on both the Sunny and Shady side of the rock formation. This formation was found to be a large key to their survival as the sun warmed half the island during the day while shading half - this allowed the peoples to alternate to the warmer side during the winter months and the shady side during the warmer months.

There is a second Island shown in the middle photo that also held many Cliff dwellings as well - it shows just how the main Island formation would've provided both sun and shade. The left and right photos above show how the settlers used the large overhanging rock as a roof and overhang for their dwellings!

Being able to walk in and among these rooms gave me just a small insight of what life on the Main Island might have been like. It was an incredibly humbling experience to say they least!

3.) Wupatki N.M.

Now this National Monumnet was different from the others in that had various different types of dwellings you could walk through, and they were all spread out throughout the surrounding areas. It was said that the influx of settlers in this area was due to an eruption of nearby Sunset Volcano in the early 1100s. That eruption blanketed the surrounding area in ash and inadvertently increased the amount of nutrients in the soil and altered the grounds' ability to absorb water. Which means that better agricultural growth in this area would support a larger number of individuals! That very fact made this Monumnet much larger and offered a lot more pueblos and kivas to see.

The first thing you notice that is different from the earlier dwellings is the use of red brick! Every single dwelling used it and the contrast between it and the surrounding landscape is stunning! The main dwelling behind the visitor center is the largest and was said to be known for hosting large community gatherings! It had multiple rooms, a gathering area for socializing, and even a ball court out back! The visitor center said that families used to walk from over two miles away to gather here as it was the village center of sorts. See below for the panoramic view of the main dwelling. And below that for some additional close

Due to the ample soil in the area many families settled in the surrounding hills - those remaining pueblos and kivas were also available for visitors to walk through.

4.) Sunset Crater and Volcano

After visiting Wupatki National Monument and learning about the impact that the neighboring volcano had on early settling in the area - I of course had to check out that as well! Also, a Volcano in Arizona? I mean how could I not be intrigued? Let alone one that was covered in snow.

The roads between these two monuments are simply one large loop. So to do one without the other would have been a waste regardless. The fact that during this scenic loop drive the terrain changed so much though was very shocking!

One of my favorite photos is the lower middle one - mainly because never in my life did I expect to find any view like that in Arizona!

5.) Chiricahua National Monument

Way out in the middle of what one would refer to as "nowhere" there is yet another national monument in Arizona! In the southwest corner of the state we find pinnacles, columns, spires and balanced rocks of the Chiricahua National Monument. While the weather out this way did not cooperate with my plans for my weekend adventure - I still got to explore a bit of this surreal environment.

Once again I found views in this crazy desert state that I did not even begin to imagine possible out here. Heck! It even snowed while I was out there (hence my shortened visit).

Given my shorted timeframe allotted to visit this gorgeous area - I started and ended my venture at Maasai Point. See below for some of the views I found for myself there and along the scenic drive on the way in.

6.) Tonto with Mom and Dad

This national monument visit was entirely unplanned and impromptu! Whilst driving around with my parents over near Superior and Globr we visited the Boyce Thompson Arboretum - and on our way back into Phoenix I decided to take a quick right turn when I saw a Brown Road Sign!

I didn't know then just how perfect the timing would be for our visit! Not only did we get to drive along the coast of Theodore Roosevelt Lake (and bring we are from Michigan; we're big lake people) but the other side of the road consisted of the Four Peaks Mountain Range (which were even still snow capped at the time)! The view below is from our way up to the ruins but you can see the elevation changes and the lake!

Upon arriving at the National Monument we found that they were only allowing visitors up to the ruins for about another 10-15minutes! So we scurried in and made it with time to spare! The ranges said once we were on the trail to the ruins we were allowed to take our time, we just had to start within the remaining timeframe! And so we did!

The walk up to the ruins was perfect: short and scenic! There's truly no better combination except when the flowers are blooming - which as you can see blow we had too!

7.) Canyon de Chelly

This National Monument was incredibly high on my Arizona bucket list and because of that it actually has its own separate post! It was gorgeous and an absolute joy to explore! I'll attach a few photos below to maybe pursuance you to visit my other post!

Here is the conclusion of this post! One of my lengthier ones but there was just so much to share about the many monuments found in Arizona! Until my next adventure y'all!