Chiricahua National Monument

Parks Directory of the United States / US National Parks / National Monuments

Address:13063 East Bonita Canyon Rd
Wilcox, AZ 85643
Phone:520-824-3560
Fax:520-824-3421
Web: www.nps.gov/chir/
Size: 11,985 acres.
Established: Proclaimed on April 18, 1924; transferred from Forest Service on August 10, 1933. Wilderness designated on October 20, 1976.
Location:120 miles east of Tucson. Exit I-10 at Willcox, and follow State Route 186 for 36 miles to the monument.
Facilities:Campground, picnic area, rest rooms (é), visitor center (é), museum/exhibit, trails (20+ miles). Entrance fee required.
Activities:Camping, hiking, bird-watching, wildlife viewing, auto touring, interpretive programs.
Special Features:This forest of rock spires was eroded from layers of ash deposited by the Turkey Creek Volcano eruption 27 million years ago. Faraway Ranch, an early dude ranch, has been restored, and daily tours of the house offer a chance to learn about Swedish immigrants Neil and Emma Erickson and their children, one of the first families to settle in the area. The park area and surrounding mountains were also the homeland of the Chiricahua Apaches.

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References in periodicals archive

Since the discovery, another dozen Apache sites have been found and documented in Chiricahua National Monument.

Unexpected discovery unveils history

We wish to express our sincere thanks to Les Dufour for Coronado National Forest special use permits, Allan Whalon for access to the Chiricahua National Monument archives, Staff at the American Museum of Natural History's Southwest Research Station in Portal for providing names of researchers, as well as local people who reported sightings of neotropical cats in the area, and to all observers who consented to be interviewed--especially those who sent written accounts--including cougar hunters Warren Glenn and Louis Pope.

Neotropical cats in southeast Arizona and surrounding areas: past and present status of jaguars, ocelots and jaguarundis/Gatos neotropicales en el sudeste de Arizona y alrededores: estatus pasado y presente de los jaguares, ocelotes y yaguarundies

You can also drive to nearby sites like Fort Bowie, where you can see remnants of the 19th century outpost, or Chiricahua National Monument with its spectacular rock formations.

High chaparral

In 2003, Chiricahua National Monument, Coronado National Memorial, and Tumacacori National Historical Park in Arizona partnered with the HMN to create monitoring sites that trap, band, and release hummingbirds from March to October; low populations and administrative issues led them to drop out.

The secret lives of hummingbirds: scientists and volunteers shed light on some of the most colorful and charismatic species in the national parks

a balancing stone formation at Chiricahua National Monument Allen Street, site of some of Tombstone's oldest buildings.

HOW THE WEST WAS WONDERFUL; Saddle up & grab your stetson for a trip to Arizona

Chiricahua National Monument. Chiricahua Apaches and other tribes once hid amon the canyons of the Chiricahua (chee-ree-KAH-wah) Mountains.

Arizona: the West's desert playground

Because of its proximity to the Mexican Sierra Madres, Chiricahua National Monument also has many unusual birds, such as the hepatic tanager, red-faced warbler, and the outstanding elegant trogon.

A trip to Tucson country: from the desert bloom at Saguaro National Park to conquistadors at Coronado, southeastern Arizona offers a diversity of landscapes and history. Here are five national park units that should not be missed on any week-long trip to the area

Chiricahua National Monument lies in the heart of Arizona's "sky islands." These scattered peaks south and east of Tucson form a transition zone between the Rocky Mountains and Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental.

Where the birds are: the national parks offer some of the best places in the country to watch birds, a growing pursuit