Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
502
NATIONAL MONUMENTS & STATE PARKS
Fort Verde State Historic Park
Just south of Montezuma Castle and Montezuma
Well, in the town of Camp Verde, you'll find Fort Verde State Historic Park. Established
in 1871, Fort Verde was the third military post in the Verde Valley and was occupied
until 1891.
The state park, which covers 10 acres, preserves three officers' quarters, an administra-
tion building, and some ruins. The buildings that have been fully restored house exhibits
on the history of the fort and what life was like here in the 19th century. With their
gables, white picket fences, and shake-shingle roofs, the buildings of Fort Verde suggest
that life at this remote post was not so bad, at least for officers. Costumed military reen-
actments are held here throughout much of the year; call for details.
125 E. Hollaman St., Camp Verde.
&
928/567-3275.
www.azstateparks.com. Admission $3 adults, $1
children 7-13, free for children 6 and under. Thurs-Mon 9am-5pm. Closed Christmas.
Montezuma Castle National Monument
This Sinagua ruin is one of the
best-preserved cliff dwellings in Arizona. The site consists of two impressive stone pueb-
los that were abandoned by the Sinagua people in the early 14th century.
The more intriguing of the two ruins is set in a shallow cave 100 feet up a cliff over-
looking Beaver Creek. Construction on this five-story, 20-room village began sometime
in the early 12th century. Because Montezuma Castle has been protected from the ele-
ments by the overhanging roof of the cave in which it was built, the original adobe mud
that was used to plaster over the stone walls of the dwelling is still intact. Another struc-
ture, containing 45 rooms, stands at the base of the cliff. This latter dwelling is not nearly
as well-preserved as the cliff dwelling.
Montezuma Well,
located 11 miles north of Montezuma Castle, is a spring-fed sink-
hole that was, for the Native peoples of this desert, a genuine oasis. This sunken pond
was formed when a cavern in the area's porous limestone bedrock collapsed. Under-
ground springs quickly filled the sinkhole, which today contains a pond measuring more
than 360 feet across and 65 feet deep. Over the centuries, the presence of year-round
water attracted first the Hohokam and later the Sinagua peoples, who built irrigation
canals to use the water for growing crops. Some of these channels can still be seen. Sina-
gua structures and an excavated Hohokam pit house built around 1100 are clustered in
and near the sinkhole. To reach Montezuma Well, take exit 293 off I-17.
Exit 289, off I-17.
&
928/567-3322.
www.nps.gov/moca. Admission $5 adults ($8 with Tuzigoot National
Monument admission), free for children 16 and under; no charge to visit Montezuma Well. June-Aug
daily 8am-6pm; Sept-May daily 8am-5pm. Closed Christmas.
Out of Africa Wildlife Park
Kids
Lions and tigers and bears, oh my. And zebras
and giraffes and wildebeests, oh yes. That's what you'll encounter at this sprawling wild-
life park between Camp Verde and Cottonwood. The park includes both a “wildlife
preserve” of large fenced predator enclosures and a “Serengeti Safari” area. In this latter
area, you ride on a rugged safari vehicle through a vast enclosure populated by giraffes,
zebras, ostriches, wildebeests, and other animals of the Serengeti. You may even get to
feed a giraffe or zebra. The other half of the park is home to numerous lions, tigers,
wolves, panthers, hyenas, and other large predators. All these carnivores are fed on Sun-
day, Wednesday, and Friday at 3pm, and following the feeders is one of the highlights of
a visit to the park. One of the park's most popular attractions, especially with kids, is the
Tiger Splash, in which big cats and their caretakers demonstrate predator-prey interac-
tions in a large pool.
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