Arizona--Montezuma's Castle

While in the Verde Valley, just north of Campe Verde on Interstate 17, we found signs for Montezuma's Castle and of course were curious. We found an amazing National Monument.

Montezuma's Castle National Park is an "outdoor classroom".

We learned that the Sinagua Indians had created cliff dwellings in the the limestone that is found throughout the Verde Valley.

These cliff dwellings are a beautiful example of prehistoric preservation. We parked and approached the entrance.

The rattlesnake warning didn't deter us for a moment. We had lunch at the large, canopied picnic area we found and then proceeded into the park. Info for the park is as follows: entrance fee: $3.00 per person, children 16 and younger are admitted free of charge. Golden Passports are honored. The monument is open every day of the year, including Christmas.

The visitor center has the following hours: summer 8:00 am to 7:00 PM, winter hours: 8:00 am to 5:00 PM. The visitor's center also contains a gift shop and a small museum displaying artifacts.

Rich and I followed along the self-guiding trail describing the cultural and natural history of the area. The trail is paved and just over 1/3 of a mile in length. There were stops all along the way, with signs informing us of what we were seeing. The five-story stone and mortar dwellings contain 20 rooms and once housed about 50 people. A natural overhang shades the rooms and shelters them from rain. Another part of the cliff wall bears the marks of an even larger dwelling, which has not survived.. A diorama/audio program shows the interior view of the Castle. We did observe that the entire display is handicapped accessible.

There are a variety of motels available in nearby Campe Verde and in Sedona. We also found signs for camping nearby. The Verde River flows though this National Monument and was the primary reason for the Sinagua Indians establishing their village there.

The trail along the river was beautiful and a true oasis in the middle of so much desert. We saw many beautiful trees and flowers.