Tuzigoot National Monument

Explore a 110-room hilltop pueblo site in the heart of the Verde Valley.

Tuzigoot and other Ancestral Pueblos along the Verde River were home to indigenous peoples for hundreds of years. The Sinagua people built this pueblo site more than 1,000 years ago and formed an agricultural community that thrived along the Verde River. Explore this restored pueblo site and discover a once-vital trade route with cultural connections to indigenous communities from hundreds of miles away.

Get the Backstory

The on-site museum at Tuzigoot National Monument features exhibits that reveal the lifestyle of Sinagua people. An impressive collection of pottery, textiles and tools collected from the pueblo site and other archaeological sites in the area give clues to how the original inhabitants tamed this rugged area and cultivated crops by diverting river water. Learn how the site became one of the largest prehistoric villages in the area and discover why indigenous people ultimately left the area in the 1300s. Several trails wind around and inside the pueblo with informative history lessons along the way.

Discover Area Heritage Sites

Admission to Tuzigoot includes entry to Montezuma Castle north of neighboring Camp Verde. While there, walk to the base of a five-story dwelling notched into a limestone cliff and see a preserved Sinagua pit house at nearby Montezuma Well. Continue the journey north to visit the Crane Petroglyph Heritage Site, formerly known as V-Bar-V Heritage Site, which has the largest concentration of Native American petroglyphs in the state. Continue north to red rock country just outside of Sedona to tour other ancient cliff dwellings at the Palatki and Honanki heritage sites.

Explore the Verde Valley

Many of central Arizona’s top visitor attractions are located nearby. From Tuzigoot viewpoints, spot the dense stand of trees along the Verde River at Dead Horse Ranch State Park. A popular spot for tent and RV camping year-round, the park makes a great home base for daytrips throughout the Verde Valley. Drive up Mingus Mountain to explore the historic mining-town-turned-artist-enclave of Jerome, head into Old Town Cottonwood to savor the harvest of Central Arizona’s wine country at tasting rooms or embark on a historic train expedition on the Verde Canyon Railroad in Clarkdale. Off in the distance, the red rocks of Sedona and the San Francisco Peaks of Flagstaff beckon.