Montezuma Castle National Monument

How to Get There

From Phoenix (94 mi) Get on I-17 N/US-60 W from W Washington St and W Adams St. Follow I-17 N to W Middle Verde Rd in Camp Verde. Take exit 289 from I-17 N. Drive to Montezuma Castle Rd.
From Flagstaff (54 mi) Follow I-17 S to W Middle Verde Rd in Yavapai County. Take exit 289 from I-17 S. Drive to Montezuma Castle Rd.
To Montezuma Well From Montezuma Castle (10.2 mi): Get on I-17 N from Montezuma Castle Rd.Take exit 293 toward McGuireville/Montezuma Well. Merge onto County Rd 77. Turn right.

Overview

Montezuma Castle National Monument in Camp Verde protects one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in North America, a five-story, 20-room dwelling tucked into a limestone alcove about 90 feet above Beaver Creek. Built by the Sinagua people between about 1100 and 1425, it was placed high on the cliff to escape the creek’s seasonal floods and enemies, probably entered by portable ladders. The dwelling cannot be entered, but it can be viewed from a short paved trail. Its name is misleading, since it has no connection to the Aztec ruler Montezuma.

The monument’s detached unit, Montezuma Well, is a limestone sinkhole about 11 miles northeast where about 1.5 million gallons of spring water emerge each day. Its water supports species found nowhere else, and part of a prehistoric irrigation canal is preserved near the picnic area.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Montezuma Well", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.