Tuzigoot National Monument is located in central Arizona. It features a large ruin built by the Sinagua people nearly a thousand years ago. There is a small Visitor Center with a gift shop and an active Junior Ranger program at this site.
We decided to visit Tuzigoot in conjunction with Montezuma Castle, which is a little over half an hour away. Both ruins were built at roughly the same time, as were many others in the area. Tuzigoot is unique because of its size and location. It is perched atop a large knoll in the middle of a fertile valley. The walls are built out of flat rock and may have been up to thirty feet high. Much of the structure is intact, and some of it has been stabilized or rebuilt. A short trail around the monument is paved with a little elevation change as you climb the knoll. This site is accessible to everyone.
There are no other trails in Tuzigoot, nor any other ruins. You can easily spend a half hour in the Visitor Center as they have many displays of pottery and other items that were found in the ruin. The ruin itself takes 30-45 minutes to explore. Don’t plan on spending more than an hour and a half at Tuzigoot National Monument, but it is great when paired with other national monuments in the area.
