Location: Chiricahua National Monument, located in southeastern Arizona.
About:  Chiricahua N.M. is located in the second highest range of mountains in Arizona.  The unique rock formations are the result of erosion of a volcanic bed laid down by the massive explosion of the Turkey Creek caldera about 30 million years ago.
Time of year visited: Oct 2002 and Feb 2004
Elevation:  5400 - 6870 ft
Official National Park Service URL: http://www.nps.gov/chir/
Map: http://www.nps.gov/chir/pphtml/maps.html
Locations within the park photographed: Echo Canyon, Faraway Ranch, Masai Point
Distance traveled: 2.8 mi on Echo Canyon loop
Route Map:

Travelogue:

Chiricahua National Monument is about 4 hours from the Phoenix area and about 2 hours from Tucson.  Located high in the Chiricahua mountains, the park is in a remote location about 40 minute drive from the nearest "large" town of Willcox, which has a population of approximately 3100 people.

The Chiricahua mountains are at the junction of 4 major bio zones, 1) the Sonoran desert of Arizona and Mexico, 2) the Chihuahua desert of New Mexico, Texas and Mexico, 3) the southern Rocky Mountains and 4) Mexico's Sierra Madre mountains.  Because of it's location it's particularly rich in varieties of flora and faunae.

We were drawn to the Chiricahuas as a high mountain destination that was close to home and relatively quiet.  Our first stay to the monument we camped in the Bonita Canyon campground.  This small 22 site campground is set amongst a nice stand of evergreen and deciduous trees.  Water and toilet services are available at the campground, but no food/vending services are located in the park.

Entering the park there are a couple of picnic areas and the historic Faraway ranch house built in the late 1800s.  In this area we've seen deer, jay birds and a wide variety of high desert and alpine plants like prickly pear, yuccas and trees such as pine, cottonwood and sycamore trees.

You can look around and explore the Faraway homestead, and take a ranger lead tour as well.  A short trail takes you further back toward the campground, passing through some grassy fields and thick forested areas.  The creek bed that the trail follows, was dry during our visits.

The cabin is interesting, but the real attraction to us was the natural features further up the road.  Past the campground you quickly start to see the magnificent rock formations that line the canyon walls.  Formations like Organ Pipe and the Sea Captain are easy to spot.  A trail to a Natural bridge is also accessible not far from the campground, but during our last visit, the trail was closed.

The road to the top is paved and as you near the top a bit curvy.  If you wish, you can take a park provided shuttle bus to the top and hike your way back down to the visitor center.  Inquire at the visitor center for details.

We drove to the top on both of our trips, and in the first trip, took the Echo canyon loop trail.  This trail can be a moderately strenuous hike, especially if you're not used to the greater than mile high altitudes.  The hike starts at either the Echo Canyon pull out or you can reach it from Masai point.  We started at Echo canyon pull out and were quickly drawn down deep in to the canyon. 

The trail winds its way through the volcanic rock formations. Several points along the trail expose you to open vistas of the canyon around you.  Here you can see up close the vast array of formations. Balanced rocks, columns and pinnacles dot the trail. At about .6 mi/.38km in, you reach "Echo Park" where this image was taken.

A little further down the trail you pass through a narrow break in the rocks, and then a little while later start to enter a thick forest that follows a stream.  The stream was dry when we hiked this trail in Oct, but may have water in the spring. Once you reach the bottom at about 1mi/.6km, you enter a open area where you can see further down Rhyolite canyon toward the visitor center.  This is a good spot for lunch and another break before starting back up toward Masai point.

The trail starts heading east again and starts to climb.  There is one spot about .25mi/.15km from the bottom that climbs up about 170 ft/51m before dropping down almost another 170ft/51m.  From here the trail climbs 100ft/30m over about .6 mi/.38km.   At the fork in the trail that takes you to either Masai point or the heart of the rocks, the trail starts to climb steeply again 350ft/106m over .8mi/.5km.

Despite the climb back up, the counterclockwise route we took actually seemed easier than going in the clockwise direction would have been.

You can reach Masai point from the Echo canyon trail by turning southeast once you reach the trail junction.  At Masai point, you get the best view of the entire canyon.  We went to Masai point during both visits, and both times the winds were brisk and cool to cold.   There is a view point with a compass like viewing scope that directs you to many of the parks features.

From Masai point you can several views toward the south and east areas of the park.  The trail here, and elsewhere goes over exposed rock that can be slick when wet.  There was even ice and several inches of snow on the trail during our February visit.  As a note, there is a covered exhibit at Masai point which is not only interesting, but offers some shelter from the cold winds as well.

After visiting the monument you may be able to take a dirt road that branches off just before the park entrance to the east side of the mountains.  It was on the east side during our October trip that we encountered some beautiful fall colors in the Coronado Wilderness area.  Golden cottonwoods and orange/red maple trees lined the gently flowing stream.  This area is perhaps even more beautiful than the monument during the fall.

Next time we go to the Chiricahuas, we hope to go the the "Heart of Rocks" area where more balanced rocks and other formations are found. 

View other photos of the Chiricahuas and Arizona in our gallery.