We were staying in a campground near Flagstaff and visiting the national parks and monuments in that area. On this day we had already visited Montezuma Castle National Monument, including the Montezuma Well Unit. We drove up to Tuzigoot from there.

1:15 p.m.
The parking area at Tuzigoot is at GPS Coordinates (NAD83): N34 46.202; W112 01.606; at an elevation of 3,395 feet. We had to drive through the little town of Cottonwood and the past the tailings for one of the Jerome copper mines. The company has been forced to cap the tailings with clean soil and then revegetate the surface. There is quite a project going on to cover this large area that seems to surround the main hill at Tuzigoot.

2:19 p.m.
It took us about an hour to explore the small museum, the main ruins, and the marsh area.

There is a small museum, with a few books and gifts. There is drinking water and restrooms. There is a paved loop trail that leads the visitor up a slope to the main pueblo, where one can see the many restored rooms. It’s quite a large pueblo, sitting right on top of a small hill, with great views of the surrounding flat country. It would be a great place to watch for approaching enemies. There is an entrance into one of the reconstructed dwellings, where the visitor can climb up to the roof and look over the entire village and out across the surrounding valleys. Very impressive.

From there we took a walk out along a paved path to an observation deck above the marsh, where there are descriptions of the beaver and wetland plant life. We were the only ones out there, and it was very peaceful and quiet. It would have been a nice place to take an afternoon nap, just lying there listening to the birds and the breeze through the tall grasses.