Exploring Tonto National Monument (Cliff Dwellings) in Arizona

 

Visiting a cliff dwelling has always been on my bucket list.  When I saw that Tonto National Monument was near Scottsdale, AZ I knew that it was a place we were going to have to visit during our trip.

Tonto National Monument was occupied by the Salado in the 13^th, 14^th and early 15^th centuries.  There are two cliff dwellings at Tonto National Monument, an upper which is only available to see by reservation since it is a guided tour during certain times of the year and a lower which is self-guided.

When we arrived at the visitor center/museum, the park ranger asked us if we were familiar with the teddy-bear cholla and proceeded to tell us that it looks soft and fuzzy therefore small children tend to touch but it is actually a cactus.  We had talked extensively with S about cacti before our trip to Arizona, therefore we reminded S not to touch any plants along the trail. 

The half a mile trail up to the lower cliff dwellings is paved; however it is a fairly steep switchback trail.  There is no shade along the path, so it can get extremely hot.  There are some benches on the trail to rest if you need to.  I highly recommend bringing water! 

My husband and I ended up carry S (at the time 3 years old) the majority of the way up.  We did convince S to walk some of the way and to take photos of the different cacti that we saw including the teddy-bear cholla.

When we reached the cliff dwelling, I was in awe of the finger prints that you can still see in the clay and the smoke that marks the walls, even though it has been over 600 years since this pueblo was occupied.  It is amazing to think about how this pueblo was built and lived in all those years ago.

The trail back down was, of course, very easy 🙂  We stopped and took lots of photos of the cacti.  There are so many different kinds and they are so pretty.

After our hike, we had a picnic lunch along Theodore Roosevelt Lake.  Very peaceful and relaxing!

While I loved visiting Tonto National Monument and would do it again if given the chance; my husband while impressed with the cliff dwelling was wondering why we trekked so far for “only this”.  Meanwhile S always enjoys being outside and a promise of pool time when we got back to the hotel made her a happy camper!

If you are planning a trip to Arizona you may enjoy my other posts about our trip here.