You all might have read about the world’s seven natural wonders in primary classes. Do you remember any one of them? Let’s forget about the seven wonders, and I hope you all will be familiar with the name Grand Canyon. Yeah, it’s a popular site in Arizona, U.S.
Well known as the Grand Canyon state, Arizona is the sixth largest state in the US, situated in the country’s southwestern part. But wait, it’s not just limited to it. All four deserts of the US, the Great Basin Desert, the Chihuahuan Desert, the Mojave Desert, and the Sonoran Desert, fall in arid Arizona.
Northern Arizona has pine forests, the Colorado Plateau, and houses the two major natural wonders, the Grand Canyon National Park, and the Petrified Forest National Park. Southern Arizona, known for its desert climate, is rich in the landscape of xerophyte plants like cactus. The Saguaro National Park falls in the southern part.
However, in this article, I’ll tell you about the popular national monuments in Arizona. They are not just magnificent but are a perfect spot to make your holidays worthwhile. So let’s begin:
1. Canyon De Chelly National Monument
One of the most attractive tourist destinations. Canyon De Chelly National Monument is located around 100 miles southwest of Four Corners in northeast Arizona. This monument includes the floors and rims of de Chelly, del Muerto, and Monument Canyon spread over 83,840 acres.
If you are interested in knowing the history of Native American tribes, from the Ancestral Puebloans to the Navajo, visit Canyon de Chelly as it has preserved the ruins of these longest-inhabited tribes. The National Park Service maintains the site, but the people of the Navajo Nation completely own it, so you cannot enter it without a Navajo guide or park ranger.
Do not forget to stop at the overlooks on the north and south rims on a self-guided tour. Spider Rock, 750-foot-high sandstone spire, Mummy cave ruins, and Antelope House are the distinctive geological features of this site. The scenic drives will introduce you to the exciting ruins, caves, and petroglyphs.
If you want to go on a hike deep into the Canyon de Chelly National Monument and get insights into the Indigenous culture of the inhabited tribes, get along with a Navajo guide on a jeep or horseback tour.
2. Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Casa Grande ruins are the collection of one of the largest prehistoric ruins of the Sonoran Desert farming community villages in North America. There is not much detail about the existing Casa Grande archaeological structures, so it’s one of the most mysterious sites on the continent.
The first prehistoric and cultural reserve of the US is located northeast of the city of Casa Grande between Phoenix and Tucson. The Hohokam Cultural Site has a visitor center and restrooms available for visitors. The National Park Service administers these Casa Grande ruins as National monuments. Prehistoric times farming methods and trade connections are noted on this site.
3. Chiricahua National Monument
Chiricahua National Monument presents eye-catching scenes of marvelous rock formations like the Balanced Rock Formation for all geology freaks. Believe me, you’ll be amused by the awesome rock structures there. A visitor center about 2 miles away from the Chiricahua National Monument exhibits the area’s history, and a park ranger provides trail guides and information to the hikers.
I’ll tell you the story behind these formations. The volcanic rock formations in the Chiricahua Mountains in southeast Arizona resulted from the Turkey Creek Caldera eruption 27 million years ago. The siliceous ash and pumice that came out of the eruption got mixed, and rock called rhyolitic tuff formed, which eventually eroded into spires and present-day formations.
Oh yes, one more thing. The historic Faraway Ranch, a memory of the lives of Swedish immigrants; Neil and Emma Erickson, is also present inside the monument’s area. You can plan camping and birding while visiting the Chiricahua National Monument.
4. Grand Canyon- Parashant National Monument
It is situated in extreme northwestern Arizona on the northern edge of the Grand Canyon. Here, the undeformed and devoid vegetation of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rock layers will provide you with the geologic history of the Colorado Plateau.
You will find part of the Shivwits Plateau watershed for the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. During your visit, you will also get a chance to look at the desert flora, deep canyons, clear night sky, and biological and historical values.
let me warn you that the area is remote with dangerous and rough roads, poisonous reptiles and insects, the danger of heat and flash floods, etc. That’s why very few people visit to this beautiful site. If you love adventure, you can go for it safely.
5. Montezuma Castle National Monument
This national monument is a historic site of ancient cliff dwellings of the pre-Columbian Sinagua people who resided here 600 years ago. The architectural wonder of cliff dwellings stands about 90 feet above a steep limestone cliff in Camp Verde, Arizona. The five-story high apartment with 20 rooms is the major structure among the several ancient cliff dwellings of the Montezuma Castle National Monument. I’m sure you’ll love this place with many attractions.
- There is Montezuma Well, a limestone sinkhole some 11 miles north of Montezuma Castle, which provides a view of the irrigation system used by the Sinagua people.
- Montezuma Castle has a visitor center that includes a museum and bookstore. There are modern restrooms for the visitors and some picnic areas too.
- The National Park Service maintains these best-preserved cliff dwellings and the surrounding area of Montezuma.
6. Navajo National Monument
It’s located high on the Shonto plateau within the northwest region of the Navajo Nation territory. Navajo national monument houses three ancient cliff dwellings of the ancestral Puebloans; Keet Seel (Broken Pottery), Beta takin (Ledge House), and Inscription House built of sandstone and plastered with mud and mortar.
I must inform you that this native American site includes a visitor center with a museum, three short self-guided trails, two small campgrounds, and a picnic area. If you want to traverse the cliff dwellings of Beta Takin and Keet Seel closely, opt for a ranger-guided tour.
This National Park Service-managed monument’s rooms were used to store grains showing their sustainable way of life.
7. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
The Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is situated in extreme southern Arizona bordering Sonora of Mexico. Let me tell you it’s a UNESCO-designated international biosphere reserve and home to various desert flora native to the Sonoran Desert. And surprisingly, this is the only place in the US where you will see the organ pipe cactus and the Senita growing wild. The wilderness area has a similar landscape to Saguaro National Park.
- You can have the amazing experience of exploring several scenic drives like the 21-mile Ajo Mountain Drive, where you can view desert landscapes.
- Several hiking trails get you close to the wide mountains and wilderness of desert flora and fauna.
- If you want to go camping, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument gives you many RV parks and campgrounds in a place where not many visitors come every year, and thus you can have a good lonely time in the arms of a clear desert and sky.
- You can even find museums and art galleries and enjoy the wild organ pipe cactus sightseeing through backcountry camping if desired.
8. Pipe Spring National Monument
Next on my list is the Pipe Spring National Monument in Mohave, which depicts the Ancestral Puebloans, Kaibab Paiute Indians, and Mormon pioneer history. The National Park Service-managed national monument has a visitor center and museum giving glimpses of Kaibab Paiute lives.
You can go on a tour of Winsor Castle; see the summer demonstrations, historic forts, garden, and orchard, and explore the Ridge Trail. The half-mile trail makes you understand the life patterns of American Indians in the Old West.
9. Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Situated in north-central Arizona is the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument protecting the cinder cone of the Sunset Crater. It’s basically an extinct volcano of the Colorado Plateau’s most recent volcanic eruption.
This Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument will provide you the sight of the rising 1000-foot crater volcano above its surrounding undeveloped arid landscape. You can see the small islands of pine and aspen trees that support wildlife habitat. Though the sunset crater is closed for hiking, you can go hiking on the rugged lava flow trail or the Lenox Crater. Don’t miss to view the sunset crater or hike the other craters from there. A visitor center, picnic, and campgrounds are present in the park.
On scenic drives to the national park, the two volcanic features, squeeze-ups, and hornitos, among the many features, will definitely mesmerize you.
10. Tonto National Monument
Now again comes one of the cliff dwellings sites, the Tonto National Monument. It preserves the cliff dwellings of the Salado culture in central Arizona in the Superstition Mountains of Gila County. The national monument also includes some wilderness areas.
You can go on a self-guided hike to the lower cliff dwellings but I recommend a guided tour to the upper cliff dwellings. The museum at the visitor center displays artifacts like intricately woven textiles and flamboyant polychrome pottery made by the fine Salado craftsmen. If interested in cliff dwellings then you must visit them and camping can also be done.
11. Tuzigoot National Monument
One of the best-preserved pueblo ruins of the Sinagua people in Verde Valley, Tuzigoot National Monument, is located in north-central Arizona, 120 feet above the Verde River floodplain. If you want to get into the agriculturist Sinagua culture that existed thousands of years ago, I suggest you may come here.
The national monument is a stone masonry complex with a central or tower room standing above the other rooms; there are 110 rooms. There are two trails, Ruins Loop and Tavasci Marsh Overlook trail allowing the tourists to visit the structures. There is a museum displaying the artifacts of the Sinagua culture, also operating as a visitor center. There are many nearby hiking trails available, like Mingus Mountain.
12. Walnut Canyon National Monument
Another one is a site of Sinagua culture cliff dwellings named Walnut Canyon National Monument on the Colorado Plateau southeast of downtown Flagstaff, Arizona. The single-story ancient dwellings in the national park are built on canyon walls, some of the rooms of which can be entered. I must say this one will also keep you engaged all the time.
Hike the one-mile Island trail, and the whole park is covered. One of the distinct characteristic features of the Walnut Canyon National Monument is the Rim Trail which allows viewing the overlooks of the cliff dwellings. Walnut Creek is also one of the remarkable things to see.
Let me tell you this interesting fact. The walnut in the name of the Walnut Canyon National Monument signifies the canyon floor, which provides a home to the species of walnut trees.
13. Wupatki National Monument
Wupatki National Monument near Sunset Crater National Monument is a historic site of red sandstone pueblo remains in the painted desert landscape located in north-central Arizona. It is different from the remaining cliff dwellings of the Sinagua culture as they are open grassland pueblos.
Wupatki Ruin is the largest settlement with over 100 rooms on this territory. It would help if you also visited the Wukoki and the citadel Pueblo. There are ranger-guided hikes and short self-guided hikes for visiting the pueblos. The visitor center has museum exhibits of the Sinagua culture.
14. Vermilion Cliffs National Monument
This site protects the Paria Plateau, Vermilion Cliffs, Coyote Buttes, and Paria Canyon. It is situated on the Colorado Plateau in northern Coconino County of northern Arizona. The Vermillion Cliff is made up of sandstone, siltstone, limestone, and shale, which have deeply eroded, displaying the white and orange colors of the rock strata.
It is a site of colored rock formations, which makes you enjoy the scenic views of the high cliffs and deep canyon. The famous honeymoon trail used by the Mormons runs below the Vermillion cliffs. This monument site is one of the most rugged sites, so a careful tour must be planned.
15. Sonoran Desert National Monument
We already know about the Saguaro National Park, a site of wild cactus. But, among the national monuments in south-central Arizona, the Sonoran monument site has a wide range of saguaro cactus forests and a variety of desert landscape beauties.
The three wilderness areas have trails for horseback riding or hiking. There are also areas for camping and hunting in this beautiful arid region. The three mountain ranges, the Maricopa, Sand Tank, and Table Top Mountains, are included in 496,400 acres area. The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail winds through this site.
16. Ironwood Forest National Monument
The Ironwood Forest national monument in the Sonoran Desert in south-central Arizona, containing the richest amount of Ironwood trees, is spread over 129,055 acres. You will find more than 200 Hohokam archaeological sites in the Ironwood Forest National Monument. Silver Bell, Waterman, and Sawtooth, the three desert mountain ranges, are present in the monument’s area.
There are various flora and fauna in this desert ecoregion providing the visitors with a great wildlife viewing experience. You will also get a chance to see the spring wildflowers in this area. Camping is allowed by the Bureau of Land Management which manages the site.
17. Hohokam Pima National Monument
Housing one of the largest Hohokam villages, Snake Town, a National Historic Landmark; Hohokam Pima National Monument is quite different from the others. It is located in the Gila River Indian reservation near Sacaton, Arizona.
One can get the best knowledge about the Hohokam culture from this ancient village site. The Hohokam people were initially farmers growing crops in this sandy soil and had a trading affinity. Various archaeological remains like red-on-buff pottery and oval-shaped bowls have been found.
18. Agua Fria National Monument
Located north of downtown Pheonix, Agua Fria National Monument is a prehistoric site comprising two mesas and the canyon of the Agua Fria River. The area is mainly semi-desert grassland containing riparian stands of cottonwoods and willows tied to the river. Pueblo la Plata is the famous prehistoric site of this national monument.
The site is full of Puebloan ruins like stone pueblos, petroglyphs, and numerous artifacts depicting the rich human history of southwest Arizona. There is also a wide variety of wildlife and vegetation in the monument’s territory. Back-country vehicle traveling, camping, hiking, and hunting are permitted.
There are more than the mentioned above National monuments and National Parks in Arizona. These are the famed ones that make Arizona a tourist spot, having unique, heartbreaking, and eye-catching wonders. So, catch them whenever on a visit to Arizona.
