Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

This is something neat to see! It also has restrooms, which is very handy. ***Visited again three years later and got to experience the visitor center this time. It was $8 per adult to enter. I recommend chatting with the volunteers before going outside to see the monument. If you have kids and are looking to make this an educational experience, ask for the booklet that accompanies the tiles on the base of the information boards.
5 8 years ago (05-04-2018)

This four story building was built around the time that Christopher Columbus discovered the "New World". It was built by native Americans using mud that they sourced locally and wood that they had to import from over sixty miles away without benefit of beasts of burden. The fact that it's still standing after six hundred years is a testament to the skill and knowledge of Native American engineers. The movie in the visitors center and the talk by the interpretive ranger were both fascinating. I recommend this place.
5 8 years ago (25-03-2018)

Second visit here and we went on the guided tour again. So glad we did, each volunteer gives the same basic info, but each one adds more to the story based on what they are personally interested in. It really adds to the full picture. Everyone working the park was friendly and helpful. It is great to be able to walk around the site and try to visualize how it was. A wonderful part of history. Will visit again!
5 8 years ago (08-03-2018)

I would have given this three stars, but the tour guide had so much knowledge of agriculture and history of both the ruins and the surrounding area that I gave it 4. The monument is rather small in comparison to other national monuments but it is interesting to learn about how the ruins were constructed and preserved. Another added bonus was seeing the reaide mom owl and her babies.
4 8 years ago (27-05-2018)

Terrific things from the Ancestral Desert people. Well labeled and run, easily accessible by two old ladies. Easy drive from either Phoenix or Tucson.
5 8 years ago (20-05-2018)