Walnut Canyon

OK, OK, so it isn't technically in Sedona but it is nearly within earshot!  This is a hike we haven't done for 25  years so we decided to head on over to Walnut Canyon and do it again.

The Visitor Center provides some preliminary information and a video to get you oriented. Then you start your descent into the canyon to view the cliff dwellings. Island Trail is not for those with bad knees or a bad lower back. There are a lot of stairs leading down and, of course, you have to get back out again, so beware!

If you have someone in your party who can't make the trip down, you can use the Rim Trail which is suitable for those in wheelchairs and those with strollers.

Walnut Canyon was inhabited from about 600 to 1400 A.D. and this thriving community used this sparse land to grow food and raise families. These cliff dwellings were home to hundreds of people.

The day was beautiful but windy and the local spring blooms were beautiful. The dwellings are still miraculously intact although looting in the 1800s and the early 1900s took its toll. During that time, some walls were knocked down and many artifacts were taken from this site. Its designation as a National Monument now protects it for generations to come. 

If you close your eyes and sit quietly, you can imagine the echoes of families and children calling across the canyon!

The dwellings on the opposite side of the canyon are not accessible but when one considers the placement of these dwellings and the challenge of getting up to the rim for farming and other activities, it is truly a testament to the will and determination of the people to think that they carried on everyday life here for so long. 

If you want to visit Walnut Canyon, plan on spending 3-4 hours at the site so you have plenty of time to see the Visitor Center and to take the trek down and up the canyon. It is well worth the time. Bring plenty of water, good hiking shoes, a hat and some sunscreen.