Arizona Parks and Recreation Areas - Page 2

For over a thousand years, prehistoric farmers inhabited much of the present-day state of Arizona. When the first Europeans arrived, all that remained of this ancient culture were the ruins of villages, irrigation canals and various artifacts. Among these ruins is the Casa Grande, or Big House, one of the largest and most mysterious prehistoric structures ever built in North America. Casa Grande Ruins, the nation's first archeological preserve, protects the Casa Grande and other archeological sites within its boundaries. read more...

Phone: 520 723-3172   Price Range: $0 - $3   Open Season: N/A   Camping: No
Nearest Popular City: Coolidge   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Monument   Activities: Birding, Wildlife Watching, Interpretive Programs   Details Provided By: Casa Grande Ruins

Hike down into Walnut Canyon and walk in the footsteps of the people that lived here over 900 years ago. Under limestone overhangs, the Sinagua built their homes. These single story structures, cliff dwellings, were occupied from about 1100 to 1250. Look down into the canyon and imagine the creek running through. Visualize a woman hiking up from the bottom with a pot of water on her back. Imagine the men on the rim farming corn or hunting deer. Think of a cold winter night with your family huddled around the fire... read more...

Phone: (928)526-3367   Price Range: $0 - $5   Open Season: N/A   Camping: No
Nearest Popular City: Flagstaff   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Monument   Activities:   Details Provided By: Walnut Canyon National Monument

Rainbow Bridge is the world's largest natural bridge. The span has undoubtedly inspired people throughout time--from the neighboring American Indian tribes who consider Rainbow Bridge sacred, to the 300,000 people from around the world who visit it each year. Please visit Rainbow Bridge in a spirit that honors and respects the cultures to whom it is sacred. While Rainbow Bridge is a separate unit of the National Park Service, it is proximate to and administered by Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. For additional information about services and facilities connected with Rainbow Bridge. read more...

Phone: 928-608-6404   Price Range: N/A   Open Season: N/A   Camping: No
Nearest Popular City: Page   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Monument   Activities: Backpacking, Hiking   Details Provided By: Rainbow Bridge National Monument

Tumaccori National Historical Park in the upper Santa Cruz River Valley of southern Arizona is comprised of the abandoned ruins of three ancient Spanish colonial missions. The Park is located on 360 acres in three separate units. San Jose de Tumacacori and Los Santos Angeles de Guevavi, established in 1691, are the two oldest missions in Arizona. The third unit, San Cayetano de Calabazas, was established in 1756. Visitation to the Guevavi and Calabazas units is available only by reservation during monthly tours guided by the Park staff. All visitor services and Park operations are based out of the Tumaccori unit. read more...

Phone: 520-398-2341   Price Range: $0 - $3   Open Season: N/A   Camping: No
Nearest Popular City: Tumacacori   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Historic Park   Activities: Birding, Hiking, Nature Walks, Interpretive Programs   Details Provided By: Tumacácori National Historical Park

Nestled into a limestone recess high above the flood plain of Beaver Creek in the Verde Valley stands one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America. The five-story, 20-room cliff dwelling served as a high-rise apartment building for prehistoric Sinagua Indians over 600 years ago. Early settlers to the area assumed that the imposing structure was associated with the Aztec emperor Montezuma, but the castle was abandoned almost a century before Montezuma was born. read more...

Phone: 928-567-3322   Price Range: $0 - $3   Open Season: N/A   Camping: No
Nearest Popular City: Camp Verde   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Monument   Activities: Birding   Details Provided By: Montezuma Castle National Monument

Well-preserved cliff dwellings were occupied by the Salado culture during the 13th, 14th, and early 15th centuries. The people farmed in the Salt River Valley and supplemented their diet by hunting and gathering native wildlife and plants. The Salado were fine craftsmen, producing some of the most exquisite polychrome pottery and intricately woven textiles to be found in the Southwest. Many of these objects are on display in the Visitor Center museum. read more...

Phone: (928) 467-2241   Price Range: $0 - $3   Open Season: N/A   Camping: No
Nearest Popular City: Roosevelt   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Monument   Activities: Birding, Hiking, Nature Walks, Interpretive Programs   Details Provided By: Tonto National Monument

Pea Ridge National Military Park is a 4,300 acre Civil War Battlefield that preserves the site of the March 1862 battle that saved Missouri for the Union. On March 7 & 8, nearly 26,000 soldiers fought to determine whether Missouri would remain under Union control, and whether or not Federal armies could continue their offensive south through the Mississippi River Valley. Major General Earl Van Dorn led 16,000 Confederates against 10,250 Union soldiers, under the command of Brigadier General Samuel R. Curtis. Van Dorn's command consisted of regular Confederate troops commanded by Brigadier General Benjamin McCulloch, and Missouri State Guard Forces commanded by Major General Sterling Price. The Confederate force also included some 800 Cherokees fighting for the Confederacy. The Union army consisted of soldiers from Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Ohio. Half of the Federals were German immigrants. The park also includes a two and one half mile segment of the Trail of Tears. The Elkhorn Tavern, site of bitter fighting on both days, is a NPS reconstruction on the site of the original. The park is one of the most well preserved battlefields in the United States. read more...

Phone: 479-451-8122   Price Range: $0 - $3   Open Season: N/A   Camping: No
Nearest Popular City: Garfield   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Military Park   Activities: Hiking, Horseback Riding, Wildlife Watching, Auto Touring, Interpretive Programs   Details Provided By: Pea Ridge National Military Park

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument celebrates the life and landscape of the Sonoran Desert. Here, in this desert wilderness of plants and animals and dramatic mountains and plains scenery, you can drive a lonely road, hike a backcountry trail, camp beneath a clear desert sky, or just soak in the warmth and beauty of the Southwest. The Monument exhibits an extraordinary collection of plants of the Sonoran Desert, including the organ pipe cactus, a large cactus rarely found in the United States. There are also many creatures that have been able to adapt themselves to extreme temperatures, intense sunlight and little rainfall. Acreage: 330,688.86; Federal: 329,316.31; Non-federal: 1,372.55. Wilderness area: 312,600 read more...

Phone: 520-387-6849   Price Range: N/A   Open Season: N/A   Camping: Yes
Nearest Popular City: Ajo   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Monument   Activities: Backpacking, Biking / Bicycling, Birding, Hiking, Horseback Riding, Wildlife Watching, Auto Touring, Nature Walks, Star Gazing   Details Provided By: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Fort Bowie commemorates in its 1000 acres, the story of the bitter conflict between the Chiricahua Apaches and the United States military. For more than 30 years Fort Bowie and Apache Pass were the focal point of military operations eventually culminating in the surrender of Geronimo in 1886 and the banishment of the Chiricahuas to Florida and Alabama. It was the site of the Bascom Affair, a wagon train massacre, and the battle of Apache Pass, where a large force of Chiricahua Apaches under Mangus Colorados and Cochise fought the California Volunteers. read more...

Phone: 520-847-2500   Price Range: N/A   Open Season: N/A   Camping: No
Nearest Popular City: Bowie   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Historic Site   Activities: Birding, Hiking, Wildlife Watching   Details Provided By: Fort Bowie

Pipe Spring National Monument, a little known gem of the National Park System, is rich with American Indian, early explorer and Mormon pioneer history. The water of Pipe Spring has made it possible for plants, animals, and people to live in this dry, desert region. Ancestral Puebloans and Kaibab Paiute Indians gathered grass seeds, hunted animals, and raised crops near the springs for at least 1,000 years. In the 1860s Mormon pioneers brought cattle to the area and by 1872 a fort; Winsor Castle, was built over the main spring and a large cattle ranching operation was established. This isolated outpost served as a way station for people traveling across the Arizona Strip, that part of Arizona separated from the rest of the state by the Grand Canyon. It also served as a refuge for polygamist wives during the 1880s and 1890s. Although their way of life was greatly impacted, the Paiute Indians continued to live in the area and by 1907 the Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation was established, surrounding the privately owned Pipe Spring ranch. In 1923 the Pipe Spring ranch was purchased and set aside as a national monument. Today the Pipe Spring National Monument - Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians Visitor Center and Museum explains the human history of the area over time. Daily tours of Winsor Castle, summer living history demonstrations, an orchard and garden, and a half-mile trail offer a glimpse of American Indian and pioneer life in the Old West. read more...

Phone: 928-643-7105   Price Range: $0 - $5   Open Season: N/A   Camping: No
Nearest Popular City: Fredonia   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Monument   Activities: Birding, Hiking, Nature Walks, Interpretive Programs   Details Provided By: Pipe Spring National Monument