NPS Website; Local Website
WHAT IS IT?Unimpressive cliff dwellings built in low ceiling rock ledges on the side of Walnut Canyon. The NPS indicates that the Sinagua Indians first constructed the makeshift brick abodes in the year 1125 and fully abandoned them by 1250.
BEAUTY (6/10)
Even though the cliff dwellings are under whelming at best, Walnut Canyon itself is quite nice. The 20 mile long, 400-foot deep canyon is lined by a wide array of plant life and includes five different biological zones. We saw yucca, prickly pear cacti, piñon trees, Douglas fir and Ponderosa Pine. The canyon limestone walls camouflage the dwellings from a distance; good luck finding the homes in a wide-angle picture.
HISTORICAL INTEREST (4/10)
People inhabited the Canyon walls about one hundred years until they presumably realized that it was not the best place to live. Maybe they got sick of the steep hike every time they had to leave their homes. Who knows? Certainly not the Site. Most historical questions regarding the Sinagua have no answers. We don’t know where they went, we don’t know why they were here. We don’t even know what they called themselves. Perhaps their present-day ancestors are the Hopi, but that too is unclear. They may have been farmers; they may have been nomadic gatherers. Regardless, the Walnut Canyon cliff dwellings hardly seem to be that significant at all. Just a misguided place they chose to settle, a place so remote and so hard to get to that it stood long after other more typical and more important villages disappeared.
The Park became a National Monument in 1915 primarily because pottery collectors and tourists were destroying the ancient dwellings. When the millennium-old walls kept out the light, instead of just using a lantern, the pottery thieves turned to dynamite. The ancient homes had withstood 1000 years of erosion but were helpless in the face of human destructive tendencies. Most of the cliff dwellings you see are only the base of an exterior wall.
CROWDS (3/10)The Walnut Canyon NM parking lot was full when we arrived. We quickly moved out of the Visitor Center and onto the trail. The room permeated the distinct fragrance of body odor. We soon found out why. The many tourists, mostly old and a bit hefty, had overestimated their physical abilities, decided to hike the 240-step Island Trail and were stuck wheezing atop all the path’s few park benches. Our hike out of the Grand Canyon may have shaped us up a bit, but we wanted to sit and relax too. No luck with that. Our quest for rest took us back to our Flagstaff motel and away from the Canyon’s beauty.
EASE OF USE/ACCESS (3/5)
The Site is three miles from Interstate 40, Exit 204 and about 10 miles east of Flagstaff. There are two trails at the Site. The east Rim Trail travels about a half-mile and provides vistas into the Canyon and of some of the cliff dwellings. We saw them and thought, “Is that all?”
The Island Trail is more strenuous, traveling 185 feet into the canyon and down 240 stairs. The Canyon rim stands at 7,000 feet above sea level and the stairs strained more than a few unsuspecting lungs. The mile long loop Island Trail allows you to walk through at least 25 cliff dwelling rooms. A walk down the Island Trail is essential. If walking up 240 steps is not your thing then there is no reason to come to Walnut Canyon; you won’t see anything.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (3/5)
Yes, the Walnut Canyon NM bookstore stocks the exact same titles as the Wupatki NM bookstore and we gave that Site a 4. Walnut Canyon sells the books in a much smaller, low-ceilinged room. The aforementioned aroma has something to do with the lesser score. We did not want to spend any more time inside than we had to.
COSTS (3/5)
Entrance is $5 per adult, 16 and under free. If you have a National Parks Pass, there is no charge.
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (1/5)
We are not sure of the context, but at one point a Park Volunteer approached the only Ranger on duty and jokingly said, “Oh my gosh, a real Ranger!” Funny, but not really. Walnut Canyon NM was the third Flagstaff-area Park Site we had visited that day and the man on duty actually WAS the first real Ranger we met.
TOURS/CLASSES (2/10)
The Walnut Canyon NM Museum is scheduled for renovation next year. The change could not come any sooner. The Mission ’66-era exhibits are offensive, misleading and often wrong. The history interpretation has changed but the museum has not. Placards set along the Island Trail path are not much better. It is hard to leave Walnut Canyon without a profound sense of confusion.
FUN (3/10)An understaffed, crowded, smelly and dubious-at-best historical attraction that has been demolished, tarnished and thoroughly robbed from by turn of the century tourists. It was not fun for us, except the subtle beauty of the Canyon and the strenuous hike back up it. Too bad there was no space to rest along the way to appreciate the surroundings.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (3/10)
Walnut Canyon NM is the least interesting, but the most naturally beautiful of the five National Park Sites within a 30-mile radius of Flagstaff, Arizona. We do not recommend stopping at Walnut Canyon; there are so many more appealing tourist destinations in the immediate area.
TOTAL 31/80
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