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Montezuma Castle National Monument
Rating Details »
Categories: Landmarks & Historical Buildings, Museums [Edit]
2800 Montezuma Castle HwyCamp Verde, AZ 86322
(928) 567-3322
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
17 reviews for Montezuma Castle National Monument
This place is amazing! I love coming here. This was my third visit here in four years. The cost to get in is only $5 per adult, kids are free. I went here with my husband, sister and her kids, all under the age of 8 last weekend on the way to the Grand Canyon. The visitor center is set up as a museum. It tells the history of the land and little of what they know of the Indians that created such a huge castle. It really is a special place to imagine what life might have been like so many hundreds of years ago.
The rangers are very nice and answered many of our questions. The walk to the main viewing site of the dwelling is a short paved walk. Bring your camera, because you'll probably never see something like this anywhere. It's really amazing to know this has stood the test of time with all the crazy Arizona weather.
The kids loved it! They were into it, and asked a lot of questions, which I was surprised they didn't get bored. At the end they had the stamp to re-enter the building, I gave them a tattoo of the stamp on their upper arm and they thought that was so cool, lol. There is a picnic area, so if you want to pack a lunch it's a beautiful setting under a bunch of trees to stop and snack at.
One of Arizona's true Gems!! A must see!!
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It's so scenic all year 'round.
Real easy hike--paved and mostly level ground. No major hills or anything. Park-like atmosphere. Just look up and see the amazing and well-preserved monument.
One of the times we went, there was a plague scare regarding the squirrels (See photo). We weren't scared so much as intrigued.
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This is an amazing thing to see. The younger kids less then 10 will be a little bored but the older ones will be amazed.
We went Saturday before Father day and it was free to get in. Yeah!
The tour is self guided and pretty quick, but take your time and observe.
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Very easy to walk to, definitely worth a stop. The interpretive signs are good. Have a stop at the diorama w/ recorded information.
This was pretty cool to see and try to visualize how they lived. A good place to stop vs a rest stop. I think if I was part of this tribe, I'd want a balcony stretching out over the building to take in the better views. Oh, and I would of worked on the pulley/elevator system rather than those ladders. How many people fell off those ladders?
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Wow, wow, wow! This stop wasn't on our travel agenda, because really, the park is relatively small and after researching on the National Parks website, we weren't all that excited about seeing it. But we did have some free time, so we decided to do a drive by. Well, you can't really see anything with a drive by, so we had to stop. Besides, if crowds are any indicator, this place was rocking and rolling!
They have a tiny little gift shop/museum/bookstore. There is also a picnic area. The paved path to the ruins is nice and short. But the view is amazing!!! I can't believe how intact this ancient ruin is!! I also enjoy the information signage along the path way. Well worth going out of your way to visit.
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This was listed as one of the amazing ruins on our route, so i had to stop!
It is a pretty easy viewing natural park. The "hike" is a paved sidewalk of about 15 steps...
It is definitely an amazing view. You just stand there looking at it and wondering... how did they get up there. How did they get down?
How did they build that thing?? So many questions, so many stories you can make up on how it happened!
The people that visit this park are typical annoying tourists. Since there is no effort to see the ruins, you get alot of annoying people.
Still worth a stop for the view and a donation to the national park service!
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During my recent business trip to Arizona, I had a free day. A free day opens up a whole can of possibilities. What to do? What to see? I decided a trip to Sedona was the way to go. It was a mere 2 hours from my hotel, and well, is a top tourist destination in AZ. I normally don't fall for tourist traps, but the landscape out in Sedona is breathtaking and unlike anything on the East Coast.
My internet search on Sedona, kept mentioning Montezuma's Castle which is on the way to Sedona. Being a history nerd, and being quite fascinated by Native American culture and history in the United States, this seemed like one tourist destination that I wanted to see. I am glad I did.
Montezuma's Castle was a nice detour on our way to Sedona. The climate change from Scottsdale was quite significant and I admit, wearing a light jacket felt nice after the sweat pouring down me in the Sonoran desert.
There is a fee to get into Montezuma's Castle, and I can't quite remember how much, but I think it was around $8. Paying a fee is a pain in the ass, but I understand why they charge a fee.
What is Montezuma's Castle? For those of you that don't know: in the early 1100's, Sinagua Native peoples, began building a five story, 20 room dwelling in a CLIFF RECESS 100 feet above a valley. So in a nutshell: these are really old cliff dwellings. There are actually 2 cliff dwellings here, the main one which you will see in all the photos, and a second one that is detoriated, but was once a six story building with 45 rooms. When you think about these dwellings, how they were built, the people that built, them and just how ancient they are, it really does blow your mind.
The path leading up to the cliff dwellings has markers showing you native plants and trees that the Sinagua's used in their everyday lives. There are also signs warning you to stay on the path because of rattlesnakes!
When you approach the main cliff dwelling it is just amazing. It is so well preserved and is just a mind blowing scene. There are more markers describing how they built them, what was in the rooms, and how they lived day to day. The whole area feels intimate and small, and you can really start to picture a different world taking place in the very spot you are standing.
Besides the two cliff dwellings, there is the creek which isn't much to look at, but just further helps you imagine the life of the Sinagua's.
There is even a mystery! The Sinagua's lived here for 300 years and then vanished in the 1400's. Nobody knows why although theories abound.
To look around the whole area and soak it in it took us about 30 minutes or so.
This is a unique site in the US and one well worth viewing. Especially while the main castle is still in such a good condition.
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Another wonderful service provided by government--parks. This a must see and you must see it in several seasons. In the winter without any leaves on the elm trees it is stark and sharp especially in late morning when the sun is directly apposite the Castle. In the spring as the creek is running and greenery is picking up and you can see why people might have been able to live here, simply. In the summer under the shade of the elm trees with the creek reduced to a trickle and the cicadas buzzing. In the fall under the golden leaves and the beginning of a crispness in the late afternoon.
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Have you always wanted to see a cliff dwelling, but are too lazy to drive for miles and hike up a sweat? It's okay, you can admit it. Don't worry, this place is made just for you. Just a stone's throw from Interstate17, you only have to manage a paved flat walkway for about a minute from the parking lot in order to see a grand palace recessed high up in the cliffside.
It doesn't get any easier than this, so that will leave you time to sit on one of the benches facing the dwellings and let your imagination ponder it all. You'll probably get tired just thinking about all the work that it took to build this castle.
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This is absolutely amazing. It's a small park and the fee is $5 per person, and if you save your receipt you can visit Tuzigoot within the next 7 days for only $3. Come and check it out and help out our national parks.
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Well worth the drive to come check out. You'll spend about 30 minutes to an hour here and its really interesting to see this mountain side home. It will cost you $5 bucks to get in but again, its worth it. Lots of history here!
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Another amazing ancient dwelling proclaimed in 1906 as "of the greatest ethnological and scientific interest."
A five storey, 20 room dwelling built into the side of a cliff. They used ladders to enter it. A second multi-storey castle allowed for about 200 people to live here.
If passing through, be sure to see it, it's quite a sight.
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Update: 1 Feb 07, it's so good, I've seen it twice now.
This is a cool way to see your tax dollars at work. This is a great national monument. The staff is SUPER friendly. They're mainly retired folks, and they enjoy what they do. This is not a HUGE spot, so I would not advise making a special trip to Arizona JUST to see this, but it is a worthwhile detour from Highway 17.
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This is a fantastic monument and a testament to human ingenuity. It's amazing that it's still standing after all this time, thanks to the work of the Park Service. The walk itself is also very nice. The view of the ruin (if it can even be called that) is breathtaking.
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I love going to Montezuma's Castle. It's just so cool to see something that was built over 900 years ago by the Sinagua Indians.
There are 20 rooms and five levels and it's easy to imagine that the Indians still live there when you're standing right in front of it.
It does kill me though, to be so close to it and not be allowed to go inside. Aargh I would give anything to go inside and see the rooms for myself, but unfortunately, that's just not going to happen. I guess they used to let visitors in, but they stopped doing that in the 1970's. It's easy to understand why, but it's doesn't make it any easier!
You can also go check out Montezuma's Well and the last time I went, you could take a little guided hike down by it.
If you haven't been, you definitely need to go, as this is the best preserved cliff dwelling in North America.
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this is a cool little park, with an emphasis on little. i stopped by with a friend and we got in for free with her national parks membership, but normally the fee is $5. i shouldn't complain about donating 5 bucks to maintain such a cool site, but man they must be rolling in dough because there is almost nothing for them to have to maintain because you can't get within 200 feet of the structures.
still worth it. very pretty park, the buildings themselves are just mind boggling, and the rangers lead short tours to the base of the cliffs and are very nice.
i had to dock a star because the park has absurd hours (8a - 5p). maybe that flies in the winter time, but we showed up the day before at 5:15p and were really annoyed, especially because the brochure they put out doesn't list hours, a phone number to call about hours, or tell you the entry fee. possibly the only three things that need to be on a brochure.
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