Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
3101 N. Fort Valley Rd. (3 miles north of downtown Flagstaff on US 180).
&
928/774-5213.
www.
musnaz.org. Admission $7 adults, $6 seniors, $5 students, $4 children 7-17. Daily 9am-5pm. Closed New
Year's Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
559
Riordan Mansion State Historic Park
Built in 1904 for local timber barons
Michael and Timothy Riordan, this 13,000-square-foot mansion—Arizona's finest
example of an Arts and Crafts-era building—is actually two houses connected by a large
central hall. Each brother and his family occupied half of the house (they had the roof-
lines constructed differently so that visitors could tell the two sides apart). Although the
mansion appears to be built of logs, it's actually just faced with log slabs. Inside, mission-
style furnishings and touches of Art Nouveau styling make it clear that this family was
keeping up with the times. The west wing of the mansion holds displays on, among other
things, Stickley furniture. Guided tours provide a glimpse into the lives of two of Flag-
staff 's most influential pioneers.
409 W. Riordan Rd. (off Milton Rd./Ariz. 89A, just north of the junction of I-40 and I-17).
&
928/779-4395.
www.azstateparks.com. Admission $6 adults, $2.50 children 7-13. May-Oct daily 8:30am-5pm; Nov-Apr
daily 10:30am-5pm. Guided tours on the hour. Closed Christmas.
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Dotting the landscape northeast
of Flagstaff are more than 400 volcanic craters, of which Sunset Crater Volcano is the
youngest. Taking its name from the colors of the cinders near its summit, Sunset Crater
Volcano stands 1,000 feet tall and began forming in 1064. Over a period of 100 years,
the volcano erupted repeatedly (creating the red-and-yellow cinder cone seen today) and
eventually covered an area of 800 square miles with ash, lava, and cinders. A 1-mile
interpretive trail passes through a desolate landscape of lava flows, cinders, and ash as it
skirts the base of this volcano. If you want to climb to the top of a cinder cone, take the
1-mile Lenox Crater Trail. In the visitor center (at the west entrance to the national
monument), you can learn more about the formation of Sunset Crater and about volca-
noes in general. Near the visitor center is the 44-site Bonito Campground, which is open
from early May to mid-October and charges $16 for a campsite.
14 miles north of Flagstaff off US 89.
&
928/526-0502.
www.nps.gov/sucr. Admission $5 adults, free for
children 15 and under (admission also valid for Wupatki National Monument). Daily sunrise-sunset; visi-
tor center daily May-Oct 8am-5pm, Nov-Apr 9am-5pm. Visitor center closed Christmas.
16
Walnut Canyon National Monument
The remains of 300 small 13th-century
Sinagua cliff dwellings can be seen in the undercut layers of limestone in this 400-foot-
deep wooded canyon east of Flagstaff. These cliff dwellings, though not nearly as impres-
sive as the ruins at Montezuma Castle National Monument (50 miles to the south) or
Wupatki National Monument (20 miles to the north), are worth a visit for the chance to
poke around inside the well-preserved rooms, which were well protected from the ele-
ments (and from enemies). The Sinagua were the same people who built and then aban-
doned the stone pueblos in Wupatki National Monument, and it is theorized that when
the land to the north lost its fertility, the Sinagua began migrating southward, settling for
150 years in Walnut Canyon.
A self-guided trail leads from the visitor center down 185 feet to a section of the can-
yon wall where 25 cliff dwellings can be viewed up close (some can even be entered).
From Memorial Day to Labor Day three times each month, there are guided hikes into
the monument's backcountry (reservations required).
