Montezuma Castle National Monument

27May18

Whenever I revisit a national park site, I attempt to do something different. I visit different sites, hike a previously unseen trail or watch a video at the visitor center.

At Montezuma Castle National Monument, I had a really easy decision.

There are actually two different units at the national monument. Both lay north of Phoenix off I-17. There are two cliff dwellings in the area at Montezuma Castle, but one has deteriorated badly over the years and it’s really hard to make out.

But that’s not the case with the main attraction at Montezuma Castle. This five-story, 20-room cliff dwelling was built by Southern Sinagua famers sometime between 1100 and 1300. The structure was constructed underneath a cliff and is quite impressive. Unlike other cliff dwellings in this part of Arizona, you can get rather close without a lot of effort.

There is a nearby creek you can quickly walk to where the Sinagua farmers found a reliable water source. A visitor center with exhibits on the Southern Sinagua people who lived in this area round out this section of the national monument.

I saw all of this when I made my first trip to Montezuma Castle over 15 years ago. It was a last-minute excursion when my plane back to Ames was delayed several hours and I was pushing it just to drive up and see this site, let alone the other area attractions.

So I made it a point this time to visit the second unit of Montezuma Castle National Monument. Montezuma Well is a limestone sink formed thousands of yeas ago and is about 30 minutes from my previous stop.

As you pull up to Montezuma Well, you are greeted by scenery typically for this part of Arizona – well honestly, most of Arizona. You’re in a desert but I was surprised at this small pond’s lush vegetation and bright blue water that continues to be fed by the area’s flowing springs.

As you can imagine, this was an important locale for the Southern Sinagua farmers as they used Montezuma Well to irrigate their crops. There is another dwelling dug inside the walls of the pit but it’s not nearly as impressive as the cliff dwellings down the road.

A short trail leads you to Montezuma Well, which looks above the water. If you have time (I didn’t) you can continue your hike down and get up close and personal with the bright blue water.

If I ever make it back to Montezuma Castle National Monument that will probably be on my to-do list.

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