Story: Montezuma Castle and Well National Monument in Arizona provides a great stop for both the human dog alike!

On a driving trip from Phoenix to a visit to famous Grand Canyon National Park, I noticed another national monument that caught my interest. It’s the Montezuma Castle National Monument along Route 1-17 north near the town of Camp Verde. It could be an easy stopover on the way from Phoenix to either the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff or Sedona. For anyone interested in ancient Native American history or archaeology would want to make this a must stop on their journey. For me, it was the chance to learn something new, add another national monument or park to my collection, and to explore along the route I was traveling along. I wasn’t sure what the expect and if the excursion would prove worthwhile, which it definitely was, and only has a $5 entrance fee at the Castle site.

The Montezuma Castle National Monument was originally named by explorers who found the site and thought it had been created by the Aztecs and named it for the Aztec leader. It was actually erected by the Southern Sinagua Native Americans, but the name has stuck all these years. The Sinagua built this towering structure, a 20 room home inside a limestone cliff over 1000 years ago. There is a small Visitors Center containing a museum of artifacts that tell the story of the ruins and their origin. Then there is a 1/3 mile roundtrip paved trail that leads to the dwelling and Castle A, a six story living space with about 45 rooms. In the early years of the monument, visitors were actually allowed to actually allowed access to the structure by climbing a series of ladders, but due to deterioration of the site, now you simply view the ruins by looking at them, which in itself is pretty impressive. The visit here for me only took about 30 minutes, but they had picnic areas along the Beaver Creek that runs through the site, and could be a pleasant place to stop and have lunch.

The Montezuma Castle National Monument also includes the Montezuma Well, several miles away. It is a couple of freeway exits up the highway, and then a little bit of a drive off of the highway, but if you have the time and are willing to sojourn off the beaten track, it is well worth the side trip, and is free regardless of whether you also went to the Castle site. There are some Sinagua and Hohokam ruins here as well, but the main attraction is the limestone sinkhole that was formed by the collapse of a limestone cavern. Currently, over one million gallons of water a day flow through the Well. It’s 55 deep and 365 feet across and with the temperature of the water at 76 degrees year round, it boasts a lively aquatic habitat.

From the entrance at the well, it’s a short hike up to the top of the rim of the well, but the views of the nearby valley are stunning and along the way, you learn about the ruins on this site and the history of the Native people. In addition to walking around the rim of the Well, you can also hike down into the bottom of the well along the shores of the water. At this level, you can also view the cave homes of the ancient people and a railing is located there to forbid you from getting too close to the 800 year old ruins. One part of the trail at this level, there was a small section of the creek running separately from the other, and it stretched over onto the trail, so you got to get your feet wet with the warm waters of the well, which provide water sources even today.

One of the best parts about the visits to both of these sites for me on this particular visit was that my travel companion was my four legged best friend, Kita, and both sites were dog friendly. They just ask at the Visitors Center that you pay your fee and view the museum and gift shop with your dog outside and then walk around the outside of it to access the trail with your dog. At the Well location, there was no visitor center and the whole site was accessible for both of us. We gave the monument high marks for dog friendliness and of high interest for human and canine interest, and of course, as a cultural learning experience.