This Arizona National Monument Is A Quick Day Trip From Flagstaff For Ancient Canyon Views

Arizona features some of the most iconic landscapes in the entire United States. The Grand Canyon might be the state's most famous and is definitely among the must-visit national parks to add to your West Coast bucket list. However, Arizona is actually home to over two dozen national parks, monuments, historic sites, historic trails, and other National Park Service sites. Another attribute that makes Arizona exciting is how close some of these destinations are to popular cities.

An easy 15-minute drive from Flagstaff is Walnut Canyon National Monument. A simple creek carved this 20-mile-long canyon 60 million years ago. Not only are the sights amazing here, but they are also incredibly historic. As you follow the trails, you'll see multiple Puebloan cliff dwellings in the shallow sections of the canyon. There are 13 federally recognized indigenous tribes in this part of Arizona, and these dwellings in Walnut Canyon were built by ancestors of the Hopi tribe between 1100 and 1250. Their fascinating craftsmanship is on full display even centuries later.

While the dry and rocky territory does not look ideal for living, Walnut Canyon National Monument can show you how these people accessed water and food resources to make it work. The Walnut Canyon cliff dwellers were called the Sinagua people. Although this term means "without water," the little water that did come their way naturally trickled into shaded pools ready to use. The Sinagua also created dams from rocks to collect water. They hunted deer and sheep and even grew crops like beans, corn, and squash.

At Walnut Canyon National Monument's visitor center, check out artifacts from these Puebloan civilizations, and get some perfect canyon views. The visitor center can also help you navigate Walnut Canyon's Island Trail, which gets you close to the cave dwellings. Don't miss Rim Trail either, along which you can walk among juniper and pine trees, leading to more canyon views. Both trails are paved and one mile or less, making Walnut Canyon something the whole family can enjoy in Arizona. Kids can enjoy Walnut Canyon's Junior Ranger Program too, where they'll learn even more about the canyon's geology, archeology, and vital local wildlife from mule deer to birds of prey.