Walnut Canyon, a 600 foot deep canyon carved by Walnut Creek is home to a number of ancient cave-dwellings. During the 12th and 13th century the Sinagua Indians constructed cave-dwellings along the well-protected ledges, above the canyon floor.

The park has a visitor center and small museum that has panoramic views to the east and west of the canyon. The “island,” where many of the ancient dwellings were built around a U-shaped meander in the canyon, and the creek circles around three sides of a high rocky plateau can be easily seen from this viewpoint.

walnut-canyon-2There are two trails that visitors can take to get a closer look at the Walnut Canyon ruins. The first is the Rim Trail, a 0.7 mile trail that goes across flat land along the canyon rim and ends at a viewpoint on the edge. The Rim Trail passes through a few ruins including a restored pit house.

The other trail is the 0.9 mile Island Trail. It is a loop path that descends steeply on a series of 240 steps, then it circles the island. This trail passes by remains of about 20 separate cliff-dwellings.

Hours: November – April: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM MST
             May – October: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM MST

Distance from Moenkopi Legacy Inn & Suites: 82 Miles