Arizona's nickname is the Grand Canyon State, and this eponymous national park attracts nearly 5 million visitors a year and is one of the most popular national parks in the country. But the canyon is just one of the many natural wonders of this southwestern state. In fact, with protected petrified forests, stunning rock formations, volcanic cinder cones, cacti-infested deserts, and Anasazi Cliff dwellings, Arizona is a very diverse place to visit – especially for road trips.
So, how many national parks are there in Arizona?There are 24 attractions – including national monuments such as Chirikawa and Casa Grande Ruins, national monuments, national historic sites, and of course, three national parks: the Cactus, the Petrified Forest, and the Grand Canyon. No other state in the country can boast so many national parks and monuments. Here's a guide to the 12 best national parks in Arizona, including world-famous national parks and national parks that have yet to be discovered by the masses.
At 277 miles long, the Grand Canyon lives up to its name;It is the largest canyon in the United States and one of the largest in the world. The numbers don't do justice to this place – its sheer size is awe-inspiring, but it's also an amazing time record. For millions of years, the Colorado River has cut the landscape into steep rock faces, taking on a number of layered colors, each marking a different geological era. Whether you're hiking on historic trails like Angel of Light, Hermit, or Kaibab, or enjoying the sunset or sunrise from the edge, you'll feel like you're seeing the depths of the earth.
Most visitors to Petrified Forest National Park come to visit the ancient tree trunks that have been preserved by the minerals they absorbed after they submerged in the riverbed nearly 200 million years ago. Over time, the huge logs transform into solid, sparkling quartz that takes on a rainbow of colors – the yellow of citrine, the purple of amethyst, the reddish-brown of jasper.
The majestic cactus is a world-recognized symbol of the desert and can live up to 250 years, reaching a height of 50 to 60 feet, growing slowly, and a 10-year-old plant may be as tall as two inches. These ancient survivors only emerge naturally in the Sonoran Desert, which straddles the southwestern United States, and thrive in their eponymous park.
You can see many of the top attractions of Shelley Canyon from the edge road, but with a Navajo guide, you'll get a deeper understanding of its importance on a jeep or horseback riding tour. Half-day and full-day tours traverse the rough river bottom and take you up close to ancient ruins, caves, and petroglyphs. If you don't have time to tour and can make a vertiginous descent, the only self-guided walking tour, the White House Trail, winds 600 feet down (and then up) to the spectacular White House Ruins.
Like Shelly Canyon, Monument Valley is located on the lands of the Navajo Nation and is still inhabited by families who have lived here for centuries, but this park is entirely managed by the Navajo Nation. You'll need to rent a jeep or high-headroom 4WD vehicle to experience all that the park has to offer;Learn Xi cultural background of ancestral Pueblo cliff paintings, remote sandstone arches, and window rocks with the Navajo or Hopi people. Experience the time of sunset and sunrise here.
You don't have to go to Hawaii to experience the thrill of climbing a volcano. The spectacular jet-black lava flows and towering cinder cones at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, half an hour's drive north of Flagstaff, are the remains of an active volcano that last erupted 1,000 years ago, not so far off in geological time.
A great companion to the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, an hour's drive north of Sedona, you can explore the open grasslands of the ancient Sinagua community of Pueblo, which was thought to have been driven away by the eruption. The two parks are only 17 miles apart and are connected by scenic driveways for a single entrance fee.
As you enter Walnut Canyon National Monument up a steep long staircase from the visitor center, the doors and windows of the old dwellings hidden between the uneven rock formations quickly begin to come into view. These are the homes of the Sinagua people, hollowed out of softer rock formations and fenced with simple masonry. The result is a natural fortress that can only be reached by a narrow path that winds along the cliff ledge.
It is considered one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in North America. Carved into a cliff 1,500 feet above the ground, it features more than 20 multi-story built rooms and is a very intricate example of Sinagua architecture. Conveniently located off Highway 17 between Flagstaff and Phoenix, Montezuma Castle National Monument also integrates with the nearby Montezuma Well. Spring-fed travertine ponds are uncommon in the area and once provided a valuable source of water for the Xinguan community. Here you can see the remains of humble dwellings and irrigation systems, some of which are still irrigating the fields of local farmers. The shady trail through the oasis is a popular spot for bird watching;Twice a month, NPS rangers lead guided bird watching walks.
The two unofficial names of Chirikawa National Monument, Rock Wonderland and Standing Rock Land, tell you everything you need to know why it's one of the most popular hiking destinations in southern Arizona. 27 million years ago, volcanic ash from volcanic eruptions compacted into rock, forming a thick layer of rhyolite that eroded and cracked into fantastical strata. The result is a Dr. Seuss-esque landscape consisting of carved minarets, mushroom-topped hoodoos, and precarious towers of balanced rock with colorful names such as Grottoes, Wall Street, and Grand Balance Rock. Popular trails include Echo Canyon, Upper and Lower Ryoolite Canyon, and the Heart of Rocks Loop.
While you'll certainly get a good look at the flora and wildlife of this desert region in other parks, the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a particularly fine display of thousands of years of desert life, with giant cacti and a variety of birds. The best time to visit is during the wildflower bloom in the spring, or a few weeks later in early summer, to witness the cactus waking up from hibernation. Also, during the mild winter months, you can hike through many trails without the summer heat.
Seven centuries ago, the area we now call Tonto National Monument was a mix of neighboring Native American communities: the White Mountain, Chirikawa and Tonto Apache peoples, the Yavapais, and the Pima-Maricopas tribes. Today, you can see two prehistoric cave dwellings, called the Lower Cliff House and the Upper Cliff House, as well as many artifacts from the people who originally lived there. The pottery, textiles, and architecture from local tribes and passing by date back to between 1250 and 1450 AD. There is no official evidence that this is a ** station, but the artifacts do give an unforgettable impression of the people and culture that lived in this desert region.