Walnut Canyon National Monument
HIGHLIGHTS
Go inside the cliff dwellings of the Sinagua and experience the wonderment of this incredible ancient canyon.
WHERE TO CAMP
Verde River RV Resort & Cottages
TRAVEL BACK IN TIME 700 YEARS TO THE CLIFF DWELLINGS OF THE SINAGUA
Cliff dwellings of ancient peoples are a wonder of the world. Just imagine the toughness and ingenuity required of their creators to survive and thrive in such harsh landscapes. Visiting Mesa Verde and Montezuma Castle provides a sense of the awesomeness and building skills the ancestral inhabitants of these lands possessed. Walnut Canyon National Monument, goes further, taking you up close and personal to over two dozen cliff dwellings. When we say up close and personal, we mean inside. The Island Trail is a mile-long winding, paved trail down into the canyon alongside these dwellings, and around the majestic island of rocky cliff overhangs. Peer across the canyon to the walls opposite the island, and you’ll find more cliff dwellings. They can be seen under virtually every overhanging rock of the canyon walls.
Walnut Canyon will fill you with wonder, amazement, and curiosity. Your imagination will run wild with vivid pictures of a vibrant and socially connected society. Picture a moonless night, each dwelling with its hearth ablaze. The canyon walls twinkle with firelight through the dwelling’s chimney, under a sky full of stars. These are the thoughts that filled our minds as we traversed the edge of the Island through the canyon. What remarkable people they must have been. It’s truly a place you must visit to understand and appreciate. Visiting Walnut Canyon National Monument has also prompted us to seek out more of these national parks without national name recognition. While we love our famous national parks, we have learned to appreciate the lesser-known national monuments, memorials and historic sites.