Wupatki and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monuments make a great combination for an afternoon of exploration.
Visited Tuesday, October 25, 2011; reviewed November 6, 2011
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Lynn and I stopped at Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument for a short visit as we made our way from Kanab, Utah, to Sedona, Arizona. We visited in late October on a day when the weather was generally pleasant, but there were thunderstorms along our route as we drove south. However, by the time we reached Cameron, Arizona, the weather had cleared a bit, so we stuck with the plan to drive through the two National Monuments.
This is a nice pairing of parks and an easy area to view in good detail in just a few hours. We arrived at the Wupatki entrance sign at about 1:45 PM and were exiting Sunset Crater around 4:00, so a little over 2 hours to drive through the parks including stops at most of the overlooks, walking through several of the ruins areas and investigating both visitor centers. Note that there is an entry fee for the Monuments, payable at the Visitor Center (either one) and one fee covers everyone in your vehicle and is good for both Monuments (so hold on to your receipt). I think the fee was $5, but that was covered by my National Parks Pass.
The loop road that runs through both Wupatki and Sunset Crater is 35 miles and paved the entire length. The views all along this route are lovely. There are several overlooks and pullouts with short walks to some of the ruin sites. We spent a little time at the Box Canyon dwelling and the Citadel Pueblo (great views of the landscape from the top of this site) before reaching the Wupatki Visitor Center and the Wupatki Pueblo ruins. This area is the focal point of the monument and it is very worthwhile to take the half-mile loop trail through the ruins. The trail is paved and not very steep and there is an interpretive map available at the Visitor Center. The map provides details of the marked highlights along the trail.
See the reviews for Wupatki and Sunset Crater Volcano on Trip Advisor.
Lynn and I stopped at Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument for a short visit as we made our way from Kanab, Utah, to Sedona, Arizona. We visited in late October on a day when the weather was generally pleasant, but there were thunderstorms along our route as we drove south. However, by the time we reached Cameron, Arizona, the weather had cleared a bit, so we stuck with the plan to drive through the two National Monuments.
This is a nice pairing of parks and an easy area to view in good detail in just a few hours. We arrived at the Wupatki entrance sign at about 1:45 PM and were exiting Sunset Crater around 4:00, so a little over 2 hours to drive through the parks including stops at most of the overlooks, walking through several of the ruins areas and investigating both visitor centers. Note that there is an entry fee for the Monuments, payable at the Visitor Center (either one) and one fee covers everyone in your vehicle and is good for both Monuments (so hold on to your receipt). I think the fee was $5, but that was covered by my National Parks Pass.
The loop road that runs through both Wupatki and Sunset Crater is 35 miles and paved the entire length. The views all along this route are lovely. There are several overlooks and pullouts with short walks to some of the ruin sites. We spent a little time at the Box Canyon dwelling and the Citadel Pueblo (great views of the landscape from the top of this site) before reaching the Wupatki Visitor Center and the Wupatki Pueblo ruins. This area is the focal point of the monument and it is very worthwhile to take the half-mile loop trail through the ruins. The trail is paved and not very steep and there is an interpretive map available at the Visitor Center. The map provides details of the marked highlights along the trail.
From Wupatki, the loop road traverses private land for a short distance then enters the Coconino National Forest. We stopped at the Painted Desert and Cinder Hills Overlooks, at the parking area for the Lava Flows Trail and then again at the Bonito Lava Flow. This final overlook was my favorite views at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. The light was great and the variety of colors was interesting (the black lava with the bright blue sky and a background and a few aspens sporting their fall wardrobe of brilliant yellow…just spectacular). Our last stop was at the Visitor Center, which is small, but just like at Wupatki has some interesting interpretive displays and is staffed by very friendly and helpful Rangers. We did not do any walking in Sunset Crater due to lack of time, but we still got a good overview of the park.
I have passed by Wupatki and Sunset Crater a couple of times during previous trips to the area and I have wanted to visit. I am certainly glad that we finally had time to see these two small yet fascinating National Monuments. I think that the slight detour and a couple of hours to at least drive through and make a few short walks in these monuments is a very worthwhile endeavor.