The Top 5 Arizona Monuments & Parks — as voted on by Experience AZ readers:

Montezuma Castle National Monument

P.O. Box 219,
Camp Verde, AZ 86322
928-567-3322
nps.gov/moca
An enduring legacy of the prehistoric Sinagua. The 20-room stone, timber and adobe dwelling is 80 percent intact, making it one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in the U.S.


Monument Valley

Bldg. 36A E. Hwy. 264 at Route 12
Window Rock, AZ 86515
navajonationparks.org/htm/monumentvalley.htm
This great valley boasts sandstone masterpieces that tower at heights of 400 to 1,000 feet, framed by scenic clouds casting shadows that graciously roam the desert floor. The angle of the sun accents these graceful formations, providing scenery that is simply spellbinding.


Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

10 Organ Pipe Dr.,
Ajo, AZ 85321
520-387-6849
The monument exhibits an extraordinary collection of plants of the Sonoran Desert, including the organ pipe cactus, a large cactus rarely found in the U.S.


Petrified Forest National Park

1 Park Rd.,
Petrified Forest, AZ 86028
928-524-6228
nps.gov/pefo
History speaks volumes as you take in the spectacular scenery in the land where the surroundings have aged for 225 million years, turning wood into stone. The park is located in Northeast Arizona, and features one of the world’s largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood.


Saguaro National Park East

3693 S. Old Spanish Tr.,
Tucson, AZ 85743
520-733-5158
nps.gov/sagu
With districts skirting the east and west boundaries of Tucson, this national park is home to the most recognizable cactus in the world — the saguaro.

Experience AZ Spring-Summer 2012