Arizona

Location: 21 miles south of Flagstaff, 6 miles north of Sedona on paved road in scenic Oak Creek Canyon. Elevation is 5,000 feet.

Access: On US 89A, drive 21 miles south from Flagstaff, or 6 miles north from Sedona. You can't miss it.

Season: All year

Attractions: Picnicking, Waterplay, Hiking, Wildlifewatching, Photography

Facilities: Picnic Tables, Cooking grills, Snack bar, Composting toilets with sinks & running water, Drinking water

Fee:
There is a $10.00 or $8.00 (depending on season) fee per vehicle

Location
South of Flagstaff. Arizona State Highway 89A between Flagstaff and Sedona passes through Oak Creek Canyon and the Coconino National Forest.
Description
Oak Creek Canyon is very scenic, but due to its popularity the relatively narrow, winding road through the Canyon is often congested.
At the northern, upper end of the canyon there is an excellent National Forest Service scenic overlook with a large parking area. This provides an excellent view of the canyon.

1. Red Rock Country (Sedona, Ariz.)
Ever since the early days of movies, when Hollywood has wanted to show the unique beauty of the West, it has gone to Sedona, a place that looks like nowhere else. Beginning with The Call of the Canyon in 1923, some hundred movies and TV shows have been filmed in and around town. We fell under Sedona's spell, too, and while debating our No. 1 spot kept returning to it for the same reasons Hollywood does: The area's telegenic canyons, wind-shaped buttes and dramatic sandstone towers embody the rugged character of the West -- and the central place that character holds in our national identity. There's a timelessness about these ancient rocks that fires the imagination of all who encounter them. Some 11,000 years before film cameras discovered Sedona, American Indians settled the area. Homesteaders, artists and, most recently, New Age spiritualists have followed. Many cultures and agendas abound, but there's really only one attraction: the sheer, exuberant beauty of the place. People come for inspiration and renewal, tawny cliffs rising from the buff desert floor, wind singing through box canyons, and sunsets that seem to cause the ancient buttes and spires to glow from within. We hear the canyon's call and cannot resist.

The Chapel is reached from Uptown Sedona by taking 179 south and proceeding to Chapel Rd. where you go left and drive to the end of the road. On our visit a guide directed us up the hill to the parking lot. There is a steep climb from the parking area so use caution and wear comfortable shoes. There is a parking area at the top for the physically challenged. The Chapel is open from 9am to 5pm daily and closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, Good Friday and Easter. There is a downstairs gift shop that is not to be missed- unique religious articles including a large selection of unusual crosses and rosaries of native stones.

Montezuma Castle is located 3 miles off Interstate 17. Use exit number 289. Drive east to the blinking light and turn left follow signs to the visitor center.

Montezuma Castle Visitor Center
Open From Memorial Day through Labor Day 8 AM- 6 PM
Open From Labor Day through Memorial Day 8 AM -5 PM

FEES
Per Person
$5.00 - 7 Days
$8.00 Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments - 7 Days.

All National Park passes are sold and accepted at Montezuma Castle National Monument.

Montezuma Well is a detached unit of Montezuma Castle National Monument located approximately 11 miles from the park. Take Exit 293 from I-17 and drive four miles. No entrance fee is charged. There is a one-third mile loop trail that is not recommended for wheelchair use. A lush, shaded picnic area is also located at the Well.

The Sinagua, ancestors of the Hopi, lived here from about AD1100 to 1300 preparing meals, raising their families, and making tools from stone, leather, and wood. Nearby they hunted for deer and rabbit, tended various crops, and gathered edible wild plants.

To Honanki Heritage Site From Sedona: Take 89A south from the "Y" (away from Oak Creek Canyon). About 1/2 mile south of Milemarker 365, at a group of mailboxes, turn right onto a dirt road (Forest Road 525; passable for passenger cars when dry), and drive 10.2 miles to Honanki Heritage Site and the parking lot.

The only facilities at Honanki are Vault-type Toilets. No drinking water available.

Perched atop a ridge high above Arizona's Verde River lies Tuzigoot, the remnants of one of the largest pueblos built by the Sinagua. Tuzigoot, an Apache word meaning "crooked water," was built between 1100 and 1450 AD and consisted of two stories and 110 rooms. This structure, along with others whose ruins have been found in the surrounding area, provided shelter for hundreds of Sinagua occupants.

General Information
Rates & Fees
Entrance Fee: $2.00 per person, children 16 and younger are admitted free of charge. Golden Passports are honored.

Seasons / Hours
Open every day of the year, except December 25.

Visitor Center
Summer Hours: 8:00 AM.to 7:00 PM.
Winter Hours: 8:00 AM. to 5:00 PM.

Facilities/Features
Stores/Museum
The Visitor Center maintains what some consider to be one of the finest museums exhibiting Sinaguan artifacts in Arizona. Southwest Parks and Monuments Association runs a small bookstore in the Visitor Center.

Summer Hours:
8a.m - 8p.m (May-Aug.)
8a.m - 6p.m (Sept.)
Visitor Center
9a.m. - 5p.m (Sept.-Apr.)
Directions
Take 89 A, turn on Lower
Red Rock Loop Road.