Wupatki National Monument
Situated in the rain shadow of the San Francisco Peaks, the area we now call Wupatki National Monument was once home to the farmers and traders of the Anasazi and Sinagua people or Hisatsinom, as their Hopi descendants call them. The area is characterized by freestanding masonry pueblos by walking short trails that allow you a window into the past. Largest of the pueblos with approximately 85 rooms. Located behind the Wupatiki Visitor Center. Open year-round.
Sunset Crater
Numerous trails and viewpoints allow visitors a close look at the brittle lava flows that occurred 900 years ago. Immediatley east of the flows, you will see the impressive and well formed Sunset Crater Volcano, named by John Wesley Powell for the permanent red-orange hue near its peak.
Museum of Northern Arizona
An ideal intorduction to the geology, anthropology, biology and fine art of the Colorado Plateau region. The Branigar/Chase Discovery Center offers a daily sound and light show, "Sacred Lands of the Southwest." Nature trail available for outdoor ex[;pratopm/ :ppl fpr s[ecoa; exjobots. especially in the summer, or Native American arts and crafts.
Lowell Observatory
The planet Pluto was discovered here in the 1930's and houses one of the largest collection of planetary photographs in the world. Nighttime tours and viewing in the summer months.
Meteor Center
Picture a giant meteor, weighing several hundred thousand tons, zipping toward earth at nearly 40,000 mph! View the results of this gaping chasm: 570 feet deep and over 4,000 feet in diameter. Enjoy the Museum of Astrology with its exhibits, movies and lectures which vividly show and tell about this impact and others and the awesome results. See where the astronauts trained and see the spectacular beauty of Meteor Crater from the guided rim tours.
Walnut Canyon
A tranquil, pristine, stream-cut gorge, seven miles east of Flagstaff on I-40. Hike down the paved trails that reveal the ancient cliff dwellings etched in the steep canyon walls where the Sinagua Indians lived. See displays of pottery and artifacts.
Oak Creek Canyon
http://www.amwest-travel.com/awt_oakcreek.html
Features dozens of natural pools and falls as Oak Creek winds its way down to 16 miles of sheer rock walls. Slide Rock State park features a natural water slide carved by the creek into the canyon's floor....swimming permitted.
Sedona
At the foot of Oak Creek Canyon lies Sedona, in the beautiful red rock country. Famed art center and setting for hlundreds of movies it is a "must see" for visitors to Northern Arizona.
Tuzigoot National Monument
The remnant of a Sinagua Village built between A.D. 1125 and 1400. It crowns the summit of a long ridge that rises 120 feet above the Verde Valley.
Jerome
This historic copper mining town is a treasure trove of arts and crafts, unique restaurants and museums that feature mining, archaeological and historical displays - built on the hillside, it boasts many fascinating shops and beautiful views of the red rocks.
Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well
Come visit Motezuma Castle which is a five-story, 20-room dwelling that stands in a cliff recess a hundred feet above the valley. The well, 11 miles from the castle, supplied water to the local fields by way of irrigation ditches that were dugaround 1200 A.D. About 1.5 million gallons of water a day flow into and out of the sinkhole, which is a spring fed, cup-shaped depression over 400 feet across.
Fort Verde Historic State Park
This 11 acre park was where Tonto Apache Chief Chalipun officially surrendered to General George Cook in 1873 during the Indian Wars era.
