Montezuma’s Castle and the nearby well were such awesome places to visit. Montezuma was the name of the Aztec Emperor of Mexico and it is now believed that he had nothing to do with these dwellings, but the name is here to stay…at least for now.
At Montezuma’s Castle National Monument you can walk down a short 100 yard paved trail to the base of the cliff. Look up and you will see an amazing 5 story dwelling in the side of the cliff. The park rangers are full of stories and we learned that before the National Parks took over the site, it was public and people would park their cars at the bottom and climb up to check it out or to have a picnic with a view. The place was trashed, artifacts thrown over the cliff, and some walls and ceilings destroyed. When the park system took it over they did tours and people could go inside, but they wanted to preserve it, so they built a diorama of what it looks like on the inside and they closed it down and now people can no longer go inside.
Around the corner from the castle is a cliff where you can see a few remains from a larger cliff dwelling that had a fire and burned down years ago.
The visitor center has many of the artifacts that have been found in the area, clay pots, woven baskets and stones for grinding corn.
A short 10-20 minute drive down the road is Montezuma’s Well. The trail starts with a short walk up a hill overlooking the well. My favorite things about both of these monuments were the rangers. They are filled with information and they love to share it. They took time to talk with the kids and fill them with knowledge. They explained how the water is flowing underground, but hits rock and has nowhere to go but up, creating the well. Then the water flows out into the stream, so the water is always circulating and won’t overflow the well. There is a high amount of carbon dioxide in the water so fish can’t live in it, but leeches do. It also has a high level of arsenic, so we don’t know if the people living there drank the water or not.
People living there? Yes, there were more cliff dwellings around the well. Most of them can be seen across the well, but one of them you can hike down to. There isn’t much left of it, but you can see a couple rooms.
After walking to the other end of the well you can see some remains of a community area. And then a short loop trail will lead you back to the parking lot. The rangers have a small office and there are toilets here, but not a visitor center.
Both Montezuma’s Castle and the Well have Jr. Ranger books. At the castle kids can earn a badge and at the well, a button. And both locations have an easy book for children under 5.
Both places have paved walking trails, but some areas of the well are steep. There are a lot of steps down if you want to go to the bottom of the well, and if you go down, you have to be willing to climb back up. You can easily visit both locations in the same day and if you’re up to it, you could even fit in the ranch which is nearby with pictographs.
