11 Ancient Ruins in Arizona You Need to Visit at Least Once in Your Life

Dig up history this time of year

The ancient peoples of Arizona – the Ancestral Puebloans, Hohokam, and Sinagua – left behind incredible structures that you can still visit today.

Pack your walking shoes and camera as we explore these 11 must-see ruins. Here are 11 ancient ruins every Arizonan should visit at least once.

Nalakihu Pueblo

In the Hopi language, “Nalakihu” means “Lone House” or “House Standing Alone.” Farmers once grew cotton, corn, squash, beans, and tobacco here.

The Hopi people say the spirits of past residents still watch over this sacred place. The building held 10 rooms downstairs and 3-4 rooms upstairs, where 25-30 people lived.

You’ll find the Citadel Ruin trail on the west side of Loop Road, where Nalakihu sits at the bottom of a steep cinder hill topped by Citadel Pueblo.

Betatakin Ruins

Speaking of hidden treasures, Betatakin emerged between 1267 and 1286.

People built 120 rooms using sandstone, mud mortar, and wood. Rock erosion destroyed some rooms, but 80 remain.

No one outside the native communities knew about this place until August 5, 1909, when a Navajo guide showed it to Prof. Byron Cummings and his University of Utah team.

Tours start at 8 a.m. and end between 12:00 and 1:00 p.m. You’ll see the ruins from below before climbing a 600-foot trail down from the mesa top.

Walnut Canyon Cliff Dwellings

The canyon gets its name from Arizona walnut trees that grew at the bottom.

You can spot old irrigation systems, stone tools, and places where people held ceremonies. Take the Island Trail – it’s just a mile round trip but shows you 25 cliff homes.

Stop by the museum and visitor center to learn more. If you want to see other Sinagua places, check out Tuzigoot and Montezuma Castle nearby.

Tuzigoot

Moving to another Sinagua site, Tuzigoot rises above the Verde River, where 250 people once lived between 1000 and 1400 CE.

Apache speakers named it “Tuzigoot,” meaning “crooked water.”

The pueblo grew to 110 rooms across two and three stories. The Sinagua stayed here for about 400 years before leaving in the 1300s.

Walk through the buildings and trails around Tavasci Marsh (Arizona’s biggest freshwater marsh outside the Colorado River system), and see Sinagua tools in the museum.

Wupatki Pueblo Ruins

If you want to see how ancient communities worked together, head to Wupatki Pueblo in northern Arizona.

People used limestone blocks and adobe bricks to build homes, food storage, and meeting rooms. Make sure to check out the ballcourt and natural blowhole as well.

Visit any day between 9 AM and 4:30 PM – you’ll find the pueblo sitting between painted desert and pine forests.

White House Ruins

For one of Canyon de Chelly’s most striking sights, visit the White House Ruins, which got its name from a bright white-plastered wall up high.

These ruins show how the Ancestral Puebloans used the canyon for everyday life and sacred events. The ruins split into two parts: upper rooms built into a 500-foot cliff and lower rooms on the ground.

People farmed near the lower rooms and stayed safe in the upper ones.

Remember: You must join a tour guide or take a jeep tour to visit. While there, learn how the Navajo people still connect with this special canyon today.

Anasazi Ruins

The Ancestral Puebloans (also called Anasazi) built some of the most incredible cliff homes that exist in Arizona.

Their ruins spread across Arizona, with famous spots at Mesa Verde and Canyon de Chelly. Some of their best work stands at Betatakin and White House Ruins.

Though they built all over the Four Corners area, they left their cliff homes in the late 13th century, moving south and east.

Montezuma Castle

Coming from Flagstaff? Drive 45 minutes south, take Interstate 17 to Exit 289, and you’ll find Montezuma Castle.

The Hohokam lived here first, then the Sinagua until about 1425.

You’ll see a five-story building with 20 rooms tucked into a limestone cliff. Despite its name, it has nothing to do with the Aztec emperor Montezuma.

Don’t miss Montezuma Well six miles upstream – it’s a huge limestone sinkhole from a fallen cave, 55 feet deep and 368 feet wide.

Tonto Cliff Dwellings

The monument covers 1.8 square miles (4.7 square km) with two main sites.

The Lower Ruin has 16 ground-floor rooms, some second-floor spaces, and 12 more rooms added later. The Upper Ruin shows off 32 ground-floor rooms, a second story, plus terraces and roof areas.

Plan ahead: You can only see the Upper Cliff Dwelling with a guide – book tours from November through April, Friday through Monday at 10:00 am.

From up there, you’ll see Roosevelt Lake below.

Besh Ba Gowah

Just a mile from Globe, Arizona, you’ll find Besh-Ba-Gowah spread across a ridge looking over Pinal Creek.

This 200-room Salado pueblo sits in a city park now, with a museum showing pottery, stone tools, and woven things found here.

With over 100 rooms and ceremony spaces, it’s one of Arizona’s biggest ancient sites. The Apache named it when people first settled Globe.

Puerco Pueblo in Petrified Forest

Explore the biggest known Ancestral Puebloan settlement in Petrified Forest National Park.

By 1300 CE, over 100 rooms housed about 200 people at Puerco Pueblo.

They built their one-story village with shaped sandstone blocks around a middle rectangular plaza. When the weather changed in the late 1300s, people slowly left, and by 1380, most had gone.

Now you’ll find sandstone bricks, broken pottery, stone tools, and rock art. Some of the Southwest petroglyphs and pictographs show important sky events like solstices and equinoxes.

Look for one special petroglyph at Puerco Pueblo that might have helped ancient people track seasons.