Step back in time at the cliff dwellings of Walnut Canyon.
Located near Flagstaff, Arizona (the nearest city to the Grand Canyon), is an amazing canyon named for its many walnut trees at the bottom. Perched on the steep cliff sides of the canyon you will find the remains of dozens cliff dwellings. Walnut Canyon National Monument was founded in 1915 to protect the ruins. Over 100 years later, it’s still a great place to visit.
Walnut Canyon in all its glory.
The Sinagua people (same folks as at Wupatki and Montezuma Castle National Monuments) settled in the canyon around 1125 CE. These folks liked to build their homes under limestone ledges.
One of the dozens of cliff dwellings that are not accessible. It couldn’t have been easy moving stones and other materials down the cliff to build the houses.
The main trail of the park is located on what is called “the island”. The trail goes around the island, and you get a close up of some excellent cliff dwellings.
The “island” does kind of look like an island.
Around the island are 25 cliff dwelling rooms. These rooms were large enough for sleeping and cooking, but some would have been used as storage as well.
A more intact room with two doorways. There may have been another room on the side.
On the south-facing side of the island are the best-preserved cliff dwellings.
By the size of the doorways and the height of the ceilings, I don’t think these folks were very tall.
The limestone ledges worked perfectly as ceilings.
The Singua people lived in Walnut Canyon until about 1250, when they promptly disappeared from the area, and no one really knows why. According to Hopi legend, they became the ancestors of the Hopi people who settled further north.
Walnut Canyon is a great place to stop on your way to and from the Grand Canyon. It is definitely one of Northern Arizona’s treasures.
In my next update, check out one of Grand Canyon National Park’s more interesting trails.
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Check out all my other posts on the great state of Arizona!
