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Writer's pictureLanie Rollings

Walnut Canyon National Monument

Updated: Aug 6, 2021


What to bring?


Stroller?

No, lots of stairs

Restrooms?

At visitors center


This was a last minute add to our itenarary! While we were on the road, I saw a friend’s pictures who took a similar trip to ours. They had pictures of some really cool Native American Cliff Dwellings. We looked up where they were and found out that Walnut Canyon National Park was right on our route and also covered by our America the Beautiful Pass. So we carved out some time for a quick 30 minute hike!


There are two popular hikes at the park. The Rim Trail, which is super easy and stays at the top of the canyon, where you can look down and see the cliff dwellings from afar. We chose to do the other trail, the Island Trail, which has a pretty steep beginning/end, but actually goes down into the cliff dwellings. I’d definitely recommend the Island Trail if you are up to climb some stairs!




We kept the kids both in carriers due to the stairs and also because the trail was on the edge of a steep canyon. The trail is about 1 mile and took about 30 minutes, but a storm was looming so we hiked through much faster than usual, so I’d plan on spending 45 minutes to an hour. The dwellings were really cool to see and the plaques located around the trail were very informative. While on the trail, you could also look across the canyon and just see hundreds of other dwellings lining the canyon walls. It’s so interesting to see how Native Americans survived with little to no resources, using only rocks and plaster to create these functional homes.



As soon as we got back to the parking lot, lightning started striking and the bottom fell out of the rain cloud, but we were so glad we had time to make the quick stop!

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