Chiricahua National Monument - A Forest of Rocks
At A Glance
- What to Wear: Sturdy shoes, layers, snacks
- Hiking: Easy (.2 mile) to Strenuous (9.5 miles)
- Note: Parking fills fast, arrive early!
- Rating: 5/5 hiking boots (6/5?)
Chiricahua National Monument, while hard to say will absolutely take your breath away. A forest of stone pillars awaits you, with different formation emerging at every bend in the trail. The park is also the juncture of four ecosystems permitting visitors a unique opportunity to see and experience a wide variety of southwestern flora and fauna. This lesser-known park nestled in the southeaster corner of Arizona is certainly one I would consider to be a must see.
Getting to the Park/Where to Stay
Located 35 miles from Wilcox, Arizona, Chiricahua National Monument shouldn’t be too hard to get to…if you are coming down from elsewhere in Arizona. This park was the last stop on my “loop” through southern New Mexico (which started and ended in Phoenix, AZ if you were interested), so I was approaching the park from the east, which made things more interesting. I ended up on an unpaved road through actual cow pastures (and past another National Park parcel Fort Bowie National Historic Site) before arriving more confidently back to pavement and back on my way to the park. With that in mind, practice usual trip preparedness by making sure you are fueled up (something I definitely also missed out on) and have plenty of food and water before heading out as pickings slim down as you approach the park.
Chiricahua National Monument does offer camping at the Bonita Canyon Campground for a $20 fee; however, there is no backcountry camping available. If you are looking for slightly more refined accommodations, check out the surrounding towns of Wilcox, Sunizona, and Douglas. As mentioned above, I was coming in from New Mexico, so I stayed in Lordsburg, NM and then drove into the park which was a very doable one hour and 30 minute drive (excepting the very low visibility desert fog I encountered while driving early in the morning and the aforementioned dirt road).
Planning Your Visit
The biggest thing I have to say about planning a trip to Chiricahua National Monument is this: allow for more time! I only had a half-ish day in the park and while that was a nice taste of the awe-inspiring landscape, I was left wanting more! I think planning for one to two full days in the park would be a more reasonable timeframe to allow for more in-depth exploration of the varied landscape within the park. Chiricahua National Monument is home to Rocky Mountain, Chihuahuan Desert, Sierra Madrean, and Sonoran Desert species so aside from the stunning geologic landscape, there is so much to see in terms of wildlife too.
Another important item to note while planning is that there are actually lots of National Parks, Monuments, Memorials and Historic Sites/Parks in this general area of Arizona. Many adventurers flock to Central/Northern Arizona, for obvious reasons, but there are plenty of stunning landscapes and great trails in southern Arizona. Some other highlights that would be worth checking out while you are in the area include: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Saguaro National Park, and Casa Grande Ruins National Monument to name a few! With some thoughtful planning you could easily add one or more of these parks to your southwestern adventure.
A Day In The Park
Activity -> Time to Allow For
- Visitor Center & Gift Shop -> 30 minutes
- Echo Canyon Loop w/ connector to Messai Point Overlook -> 3-4 hours
- Bonita Canyon Drive -> 45 mins – 1 hour
What to Do
Be absolutely awestruck by the incredible landscape! If you have limited time within the park, the Echo Canyon Loop trail (3.3 miles) is the perfect sampler of the varied terrains and formations within Chiricahua National Monument. The trail winds through the immense rock formations, dense trees and around dryer corners – truly providing a taste of the surrounding area! The park rangers do recommend hiking this loop counterclockwise, so you are walking up a less steep portion of the trail, but choose your own adventure. They also recommend allowing two hours for this hike, but I would give yourself more time (much more time). I stopped frequently to explore the Grottoes, snap photos, eat lunch, and just stand and try to take in my surroundings.
However, I did get a little ahead of myself there! Stop by the visitor center to pick up a park map, trail guide and read about the wildlife. I really appreciated the trail guide as it provided in depth descriptions of the trails including length, time to complete, and any recommendations, so stopping by to pick one of these up is a great way to start your visit.
Once you have completed the Echo Canyon loop, drive (or hike) up to Messai Point Overlook to look out for miles into the surrounding landscapes and try to establish a sense of place within the vast and varied landscape. Messai Point Overlook is also one of the points along the Messai Point Nature Trail which is paved and accessible from the parking lot to the exhibit area (also could be a good option for young kids).
Speaking of driving, Bonita Canyon Drive is the one road within the park and it also serves as a scenic drive dotted with pullouts to appreciate popular features within the park such as Organ Pipe Formation and Sea Captain. But the road also takes you to a variety of hikes such as the above mentioned moderate Echo Canyon Loop and more strenuous offerings like Inspiration Point (5.4 miles), but you can read all about the various trails on their website.
My Thoughts
I had absolutely no expectations for this park before visiting! I was planning a road trip around Arizona and New Mexico with my dad and we realized we would be somewhat in the area, and it might be worth a stop. Unlike most of the other places we visited on our trip, we did basically no research before coming because we planned for a quick stopover before continuing on, but this quickly turned into the highlight of our trip!
The rock formations nestled into the trees and draped over the surrounding hills and valleys had us captivated from our first step on the trail. We were grinning the entire hike and reveled in childish joy while “scrambling” over and into the rock formations lining the path. The entire visit was an absolute delight, and my biggest regrets of our entire trip were not planning for more time here and not buying the tacky sweatshirt from their gift shop (I think about this sweatshirt more than I should).
I’m already dreaming about my next opportunity to visit this park (and its gift shop) so maybe I will see you on the trails
Happy Hiking!
-Maggie
