Sedona Arizona National & State Parks
1. DEAD HORSE STATE PARK,
Cottonwood. Located along the Verde River with 330 acres
of picnicking,campsites and a fishing pond.A
bird watcher’s paradise in late spring.Hwy 89A
Cottonwood.
2. FORTVERDE HISTORIC PARK,
Camp Verde. Located in the town of Camp Verde, this fort
was built in 1871 mainly as a supply and opera-
tions base. Interesting museum of the time
period.I-17 Camp Verde Exit.
3. JEROME STATE HISTORIC PARK,
Jerome. Anold ghost town,this park recreates the old cop-
per mining town’s picturesque past. Hwy 89A
Southwest.
4. RED ROCKSTATE PARK,
Sedona. Over 286 acres of beauty are preserved for you to dis-
cover the nature of Sedona.Lectures,exhibits,
videos and guided tours inform you on flora,
fauna,wildlife,geology and history.Lower Red
Rock Loop Road off Hwy 89ASouth,Sedona.
5. SLIDE ROCK STATE PARK,
Oak Creek Canyon. Mother Nature’s natural slick water
chute in Oak Creek offers a thrilling way to cool
off. Picnicking is allowed but pets and glass
containers are not. About 5 miles North of
Sedona on Hwy 89A.
6. GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK.
Theworld’s most spectacular wonder of geological
events! The Grand Canyon is 227 miles long
and 4–18 miles wide and about one mile deep.
You can visit the South Rim,which is only two
hours from Sedona.Hwy 89ANorth through
Oak Creek Canyon to I-40 West in Flagstaff.
7. MONTEZUMA CASTLE NATIONAL MONUMENT,
Camp Verde. Amisnomer, this
well-preserved ruin was named after the
emperor but he never came this far. Built by
the Sinagua people (“without water”) between
1100–1400 A.D.this pueblo cliff dwelling is an
excellent reminder of their superior level of
civilization.I-17 South Exit 289.
8. MONTEZUMA WELL NATIONAL MONU-MENT,
Rimrock. Actually a natural sinkhole,the
remains of this ancient cavern were created by
water percolating through limestone. It pro-
vides about 1.5 million gallons of water each
day. Ancient people considered it a sacred
place.I-17 South Exit 293.
9. SUNSETCRATER NATIONALMONUMENT,
Abeautiful 400-foot crater formed by a vol-
canic eruption in 1066A.D.Ice is a year-round
phenomenon in the Ice Caves nearby. Astro-
nauts trained for lunar missions here because
of the moon-like landscape.From Flagstaff,12
miles North of the Flagstaff Mall on 89A,then
2 miles East on signposted road.
10. TUZIGOOT NATIONAL MONUMENT,
Clarkdale. An Apache word for “crooked
waters,”this Indian ruin was probably named
after the meandering Verde River.Built around
1000–1400 A.D. by the Sinaguans. Hwy. 89A
South Clarkdale.
11. WALNUTCANYON NATIONALMONUMENT.
You can use your imagination and pretend to
live the life of a Sinaguan as you descend the
3⁄ 4-mile winding trail past 25 cliff dwellings.
Or choose the easier Rim Trail.From Flagstaff,
7miles East on I-40 To Walnut Canyon Exit
204.Three miles South on a paved road.
12. WUPATKI NATIONALMONUMENT.
An esti-mated 2,000 archaeological sites are said to
be found on this ruin. Wupatki Ruin offers a
self-guided trail which includes a trip by an
ancient ball court. (From Flagstaff Visitor Center it is
14miles East of 89A.)
There are six campgrounds operated by the Forest Service totaling 173 sites.
They are open on a “first-come,first-serve”basis from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
However,Chavez Crossing is open year round and 11 sites at Cave Springs Campground are available for reservation; phone 877.444.6777. Private campgrounds, RVfacilities and over 200 RV sites are available in Sedona. Call the Sedona Ranger Station 282-4119 or the Sedona Chamber of Commerce 282-7722 for more information.
