John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints

Walnut Canyon National Monument, Arizona

Location

Northern Arizona, east of Flagstaff. From Flagstaff take I-40 East. About eight miles east of Flagstaff take the clearly signposted exit to the National Monument, which lies about three miles south of the Interstate.

Size

3.5 square miles.

What to See and Do

Walnut Canyon National Monument preserves about three hundred ruins, including 87 cliff dwellings dating from the period 1100AD to 1300AD.

The parking area and visitor centre are located on the rim of the canyon. From the visitor centre a series of 250 steps leads down to a circular and relatively level path which passes by the cliff dwellings, some of which can be entered. The climb back up to the visitor centre is exhausting, especially in summer when it is hot. However, the steps have railings and there are quite a number of seats on which to recover during the ascent. The climb is nearly all by means of steps which hardly any sloping paths.

It is possible but difficult to make out some of the cliff dwellings from the rim at the visitor centre.

A trail, presumably fairly flat, runs along the rim. It may be that better views of the cliff dwellings can be had from this trail. Unfortunately we didn't take this trail due to lack of time.

Entrance Fee

$3 per person (Apr-01).

Some Ideas for Places to Stay

In the Area

Arizona

Colorado Plateau

Desert Southwest

Historical Places

National Monuments

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As with all the other pages on this personal web site, all the information on this page is solely the opinion of the author, who has no connection whatsoever with any of the companies and organisations mentioned other than as an actual or potential customer.
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Most recently modified 29-Mar-02