NPS Website; Local Website
WHAT IS IT?Numerous 1,000-year-old Hohokam Indian ruins that include the four story, 60-foot long “Casa Grande”.
BEAUTY (3/10)
Whatever grandeur or power the Casa Grande might have had is spoiled by a massive 20th Century roof structure that the NPS built over it. The roof dwarfs the ruin which the Park touts as both “the largest structure known to exist in Hohokam times” and an “ancient building (that) still commands respect.”
HISTORICAL INTEREST (3/10)
As with most 1,000-year old Native American sites, the Casa Grande Ruins are shrouded in mystery. No one knows, or maybe they do, exactly what happened here. People may have lived here, it may have been used for ceremonial purposes, but really your guess is just as good as the trained archeologist.
What we do know about the Case Grande is that its walls face the cardinal directions, north, south, east and west, and its windows align with the sun during the solstices. But on the whole, we did not learn much at the Site. Read more for our reasons. This rating could be completely wrong.
CROWDS (2/10)
There were hundreds of visitors at Casa Grande Ruins NM. We found the lot’s last parking space. We could not squeeze our way into the sightlines of the Museum’s exhibits. The Site had a horrible rushed buzz that made concentration impossible. Our tour group was so large (75+) that the Ranger was not accepting questions. There is not much space at the Park, making the crowds even more distressing. We have headaches just thinking about the place.
EASE OF USE/ACCESS (3/5)Casa Grande Ruins NM is NOT located in the Arizona town of Casa Grande; it is located near Coolidge. Coolidge is not as close to Interstate 10 (or even Phoenix) as it appears. From Exit 185, Coolidge is 20 miles from the Interstate via Arizona Route 387 and 87. From Exit 194, take Arizona 287 then 87. The distance is also 20 miles.
The Monument is about 60 miles southeast of Phoenix and 70 miles northwest of Tucson. It is a long day trip.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (4/5)
The Site has a standard, but very good selection of books with an emphasis on the local Hohokam Pima Indians. It is doubtful that you could find titles like Pima Indian Legends; A Pima Past; Chaco & Hohokam; The Pima-Maricopa and Hohokam Arts and Crafts at many Phoenix area bookstores.
Many other interesting non-Park specific books focused on life in the desert and included Give and Take: How the Clinton Administration’s Public Lands Offensive Transformed the American West; Not All Okies Are White: The Lives of Black Cotton Pickers in Arizona and The Desert Smells Like Rain: A Naturalist in O’odham Country.
There are also three desert themed jigsaw puzzles for sale. Michael loves jigsaw puzzles. We bought a nice magnet in the shape of the Tohono O'odham man in the maze.
COSTS (3/5)
Entry is $3 per adult, free with the National Parks Pass.
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (2/5)
There were a few Rangers and volunteers posted in the Museum to answer questions and collect fees as well as frequent guided tours of the ruins. There are also many people. 75 visitors to one tour guide is not a terrific learning ratio.
TOURS/CLASSES (2/10)
Regularly led Ranger tours occur during the heavy visitation months of January through April. Sadly, Casa Grande NM was the rare occasion where a guided Ranger tour spoiled our visit. The Ranger began his tour with “how many of you meant to be here today,” and continued with self-deprecating jokes that diminished the ruin we were about to see. “I have been giving tours of these old walls for ten years. That sure is a boring job.” Scattered laughter ensued.
Five minutes of his comedy routine banter somehow left out any talk of the ruin until, “oh, the native people have their stories about this place; I’ve heard ‘em, but I can’t tell them to you because they’re their stories and we are not sure if they’re true anyways.”
At this point, we left to look at the ruins by ourselves. If he was not excited about the ruins, its stories its mysteries, how could we be?
The Museum was recently redone but the crowds were so large that we were unable to see any of the exhibits prior to the Ranger talk. Once the talk started, we went back into the now sparsely populated Museum only to fall victim to running screaming kids and our own inability to concentrate. Our nerves were still frayed from the earlier crowd and the disappointing tour.
We are sure that there is something interesting to learn at Casa Grande Ruins NM, but it did not happen for us.
FUN (2/10)None. The ruins were under whelming at best, a man-made structure marred the view, the crowds were thick and the Ranger tour was a buzz kill. Even less fun was the realization that all affordable hotel rooms in Phoenix were booked for the night. A Wednesday, no less.
Our best experience at the Park was spotting a barn owl perched in the rafters of the behemoth man-made ruins roof.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (2/10)
There are so many National Park Sites in Arizona and New Mexico dedicated to southwestern Native American ruins. Of those, we would recommend Casa Grande Ruins NM the least.
TOTAL 26/80
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