Reviews of Chiricahua National Monument (Park)

Beth Hughes

Magnificent formations. Great hiking trails and scenic pullout.. I'll be back and do the tour of the homested..

Christopher Smaglik

May be my favorite National Park. Awesome views!

Gary Klein

Awesome natural stone structures, good hikes. This was a great stop to break up the drive between El Paso and Tucson. We enjoyed a 2.5 mile canyon hike. We didn't get to see the more famous named structures (e.g. Duck on a Rock), which are about a six plus mile hike out and back.

nathaniel eddy

The rock formations were gorgeous and it's free to get in

Pius Hsu

A hidden fun place in the southeast corner of Arizona.

Dawn Hedin

Awesome scenery along with history. Great views with well marked hiking trails.

Samuel Vona

Deserved much more attention. Gorgeous.

Daniel Rodarte

Wonderful place, a great touch with nature and wilderness, great on all seasons

John Parton

Very much worth your time if you're traveling in the area. Uniquely beautiful!

Bryan Lund

This place is enormously beautiful, a vast, enchanted collection of hoodoos. We've been here a couple of times before, and it never disappoints!

Denise Bartelle

It is a must see. PRETTY PRETTY

Tony Davis

Amazing rock formations, diverse species, birds, animals. Sky Island.

J C

Absolutely spectacular, and I say that living near Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. My favorite national monument in Arizona. We had a great time doing the 7+ mile hike to make it around the Heart of the Rocks Loop. It was a wonderful and unexpected find on our Arizona road trip.

Daniel Miller

Always great to visit

Stan McIntyre

The park roads are well maintained with several pull off and trailhead parking. The views from sugar loaf spectacular. We enjoyed walking through the hoodoo rocks. The trails are well maintained however can be steep and Rocky.

Fran Snyder

Spectacular balanced rock formations. Worth a journey to visit Good ranger staff. Free water dispenser available at visitors center Experience the beauty from your car or by hikes of 10 minutes to 5 hours.

Jill Deaton

Nice hikes there is also a camp ground

Dennis Zheng

Will definitely visit again, need to hike inside to see all the rocks

Steven McGee

Scattering Tammy Sue Lee's ashes today at this perfect place.

Mardyth Peterson

A must see if you're anywhere nearby. We drove about 70 miles to get there and definitely worth that and more. There are no words to adequately describe this amazing National Monument. Highly recommend stopping at visitor center first, very informative. On Ranger's advice we did the Echo Canyon Loop, starting counter clockwise. Spectacular, breathtaking..what else can I say. Loop is 3.3 miles but took us over 3 hours because we stopped to look and take pictures and just enjoy... If you can't or don't hike at least do the scenic drive.

Pete Madrid

Very cool scenic drive and amazing views plus also for you nature lovers a good amount of hiking trails to do.

Cassalona Wilkin

Very well kept trails. Nice visitor center. Great roads. The scenery spectacular.

DAVESH SHINGARI

Such an incredible place. Highly underrated. Drive in itself is beautiful. Bonita drive road is narrow and doesn’t allow big RVs. Would highly recommend going to Massai point and hike to Grottos from Echo Canyon trailhead. Sugarloaf mountain has amazing 360 views. There are restrooms at all the trailheads and drinking water is available at visitor center. There are no food or gas station nearby, so come prepared. And visitor center staff is super friendly, one of the friendliest I have met.

Peggy Joyner

My Uncle Norman took my there years ago and I have loved it there ever since. The mountains look like people standing all over them. So serene and beautiful.

FKit BAYLIFE

Great place to beat the heat in the summer

Scarlett Hutton

Beautiful park. Very windy so took a lower trail taking us to a fire tower. The view was incredible!! They have a visitor center where I got some prickle berry gummy bears, constellation playing cards, and a book on mountain rocks. Great place to unwind!

Richard Thomas

Great place to come and relax. Offers wildlife and great views.

Alma Villanueva

It's beautiful. Love the rock formations.

Diane

Wonderful park with great trails. But even though they say 29 ft trailers are ok they don't mention two dips that caused our trailer to hit bottom bad going into the campground. The campground host was NOT friendly and threatened to kick us out because we had a 29 ft trailer which was legal according to the Park Service. The gal at the visitor center on weekends was not helpful at all with information, in fact she acted like visitors were a bother to her. The park service employees were helpful and professional.

Hasan Ibrahimovic

So still, so special, lot of wildlife,

Tim Marshall

You've got to go. Very different from other regions in S.E. AZ We spent the whole day and could have done another easily. Enjoyed the optional 20 some miles of gravel road. We were in a standard vehicle and it was fine.

Lisa Bengel

Awesome views. Love the rocks.

My Cyber

We enjoyed the rock formations and the trails.

Kevin Ascherfeld

Rather out of the way, but that turns out to be a plus. A well cared-for, free to visit park with literally thousands of the southwest's bizarre hoodoos! With a little imagination, these rock formations feature faces, fingers, and fantasy castles. Miles of trails range from easy walks to challenging hiking treks. Carry lots of the free clean water available outside the gift shop! Tent and small RV camping spots (max 29' vehicle beyond the ranger station). Pioneer ranch tours on weekend afternoons. Gas up as you leave I-10; no services for miles! Rugged and beautiful landscape, and 20° cooler than the surrounding desert!

Brian Flaherty

This is one of the best kept secrets in the National Park system. As beautiful as the Badlands, Yosemite and Zion. Incredible hiking trails. The nicest thing I can say is I hiked here for 9 hours a few weeks back and saw 3 people the whole day! Get there soon before the crowds do!

Pam Levi

Amazing day exploring these amazing rock formations!! We did the short Masai Point hike, and then went about a mile in on the Echo Canyon Trail. We really loved everything we saw, and the photos just don’t do it justice! A few tips: 1. The road there is bumpy (and windy in the park) and if anyone in your vehicle gets carsick, take some anti nausea meds! 2. If you like to take a photo with the National Park signs as you travel, you’ll need to stop on the way into the park! It’s actually before the gate! 3. I had done research before, and thought we could do the Heart is Rocks 3 mile loop, but you have to hike a while to get to that loop, and we didn’t have 6 hours, so our plans changed. 4. We didn’t have the time to see “the” Balanced Rock, but there were lots and lots of rocks we hiked by that looked very similar! 5. Trails aren’t marked very well and there were lots of confusing spots, so pay attention!

Alex Ho

Loved the paved drive up. Caught sunrise at the top with not a single soul in sight. Just wish I had the time to do a hike. Not many visitors at all to this site in April so it was nice and quiet. Camping is great here but no showers.

Will James

Great scenery! An amazing place.

Michele D'Angona

Absolutely breathtaking... peaceful park is drivable if you can hike within. There is also a campsite within the park along with others surrounding in the mountains close by. So much wildlife to see as well!

Daniel Chavez

Bathrooms clean ,water bottle stations at visitor center scenery was amazing

Ralph Stoute

Beautiful, wish I could have visited it when I was much younger

Tamie Mellen

This is the most beautiful national monument I've ever seen. Looking out over the rock formations, from a road that's accessible for everyone, is so breathtaking. The trees make canopies over the road. The air is much cooler up there, so it's a good place to escape the AZ heat. Plus, the hiking trails are maintained. Well mapped out. I can't wait to go back. It's a hidden gem in the dessert... Absolutely breathtaking!!

Jo Murray

One one the best parks we've been to, so far.

LIBOR ZICHA

Very beautiful and impressive place. Recommend to everyone.

Barbara Trollman

I haven't the words to convey how spectacular this place is. <3

Diane Lind

Still closed because our government won't do their freaking jobs. Got to walk in. It was gorgeous with the snow on the ground! Met a wonderful ranger working for no pay. He was great.

M Thuot

Great time to visit. Temp about 70. Trails damp/ wet so no dust. Beautiful rock formations.

cornelis rodenburg

The Chiricahua mountains are absolutely stunning. It is one of Arizona’s hidden gems. Go there!

Johnny Bush

Great hiking.. Usually uncrowded.

Tracey Wilson

Breath taking views and a good workout if you do the trails. Visitors center is a must. The staff are all very knowledgeable and helpful.

Jean Welch

We didn't anticipate snow or the cold temperatures with Chiricahua National Monument being in Southern Arizona, but the mountains were beautiful with snow (Bet this place is really a hit in summer for escaping the hot desert temperatures) The hoodoos were fascinating - very different from Bryce Canyon's pinkish colored hoodoos. Green moss (or perhaps lichen) was abundant on the rock walls. The park rangers were great! A par of Mexican Jays were near the Visitor's Center. I enjoyed photographing them next to our Ford truck and RV. Such pretty birds! It appears to be a great place for hiking. (much too cold for us to do any hiking though - the trails were covered by snow) This was quite a memorable national monument, especially since it was free for everyone (They do charge for camping though)

George Ferrer

A long ways from anywhere but the rock formations and views are worth the trip.

Ray Lozano

This was totally amazing and made my eyes fill full.

A Medic

Great place to relax and disconnect. Even though there are brown bears and possibly rabid animals, it's no worse than the standard office on Monday morning. The monument staff have always been friendly and knowledgeable. I've been coming out since the 70's, and always look forward to my next visit. The wildlife you see is better than at any adult watering hole.

Lauro Abeleda

Amazing park and great picnic table at the top. Great place to have lunch. Other than that theres nothing else to see.

Vicky Dolese

Wonderful ride on the bike or in a car. Lots of hiking trails with excellent path markings. We'll worth the trip out.

Carl Ballard

We visited for the unusual rock formations. You don't need to hike to get some great pictures.

Daniel Gynn

Great scenery. Enjoyed the Echo Canyon Trail

Sharon Smith

Visitors Center has a great little museum besides gift shop, information, and helpful personnel. History and other information on signage well done.

Jeff Johnson

An out of the way, National Monument.Well worth the drive to come and see. Spectacular rock formations and scenic vistas and valleys. Not overrun with people and was free to go to. Put this place on your bucket list!

Katherine Perrone

One of the first things we did after moving to Southern Arizona. This place was incredible. I could NOT stop taking pictures here. We ended up making a large 9 mile loop hike starting at echo canyon loop and heading towards the heart of rocks, some parts were moderately challenging but most of the trails were very easy. Make sure you get gas before entering as the closest is 30-45 minutes away and bring LOTS of water.

Sarah Bauman

This is a beautiful, I crowded park with incredible views and trails! We did a 3 mike hike along Echo Canyon. It is a National Monument, not a park so there is not much infrastructure around. There is one water filling station by the visitors center, so make sure you fill up before driving further in to the park.

A L

(Copied from Echo Canyon Trailhead) Leaving from the Echo Canyon trailhead, you can follow Ed Riggs Trail, to the Mushroom Rock Trail, to the Big Balanced Trail, to the Heart of Rocks Loop where you can see Pinnacle Balanced Rock, which is the rock on a lot of the Monument's posters. This took us about 4 hours round-trip, without continuing to see "Punch and Judy" or " Duck on a Rock". This included taking breaks and stopping to take pictures or take in the numerous views. There is so much to see. A mix of hoodoos and rock formations, mountain ranges and forests. Saw a few lizards, nothing else for animals other than some fellow hikers. Happened to be a windy day, but otherwise sunny and dry in May. Chiricahua Monument is as underated as Mesa Verde and Saguaro. It's got to be on your to do list for National Parks. Alongside Bryce, Zion, the Grand Canyon, and the other more well known ones in the area. 1h45 from Tucson.

[Hans] W.J.G. Oudshoorn

Nice park. Beautiful walks and hikes. Shuttle service to top and walk back

Angela Cochran

Loved this place. I never even heard of it before someone suggested it. Hardly anyone here. We saw less than 10 vehicles the entire day we were here. Nice hikes and nice views!! The weather was nice here (not the hot Arizona heat) since there are some mountains around. Very worth the drive from I-10!!!

Dr. Todd Whipple

This is the 2nd time we have been there in the past year. Both times we have hiked different trails in are looking forward to next year when we come for a visit to try even more trails. What a beautiful place!

Todd Mowen

Wow what an amazing place! Definitely the worth the drive from Phoenix! I will be back when it is cooler to do the long hikes!

Angela Anger

I had been wanting to visit for a long time. It did not disappoint. Amazing views. Saw some coati. Can’t wait to go back.

Greg Sell

Underrated & undervisited. A secret treasure for those who know. The balancing rocks will make you stand with mouth agape.

Rhea Galati

Absolutely beautiful! The wildlife, the rock formations, the cool temperatures, and the incredible drive are not to be missed! We left El Paso at 104 degrees and arrived three hours later to 75 degrees and everything fresh and green after a rain. Hiking is highly recommended here but just the drive up to the lookouts is worth the trip!

Lois Cozzi

Stunning geological formations. Fascinating history. One of the most beautiful national monuments.

Marilyn Trouth

Did the big loop today and it was amazing from start to finish. Did the extra loops also and was worth the effort.

karl Meier

We hiked and had a great views for our picnic. So glad that we stopped. Highly recommend this place to everyone that wants a fantastic quiet day enjoying nature's beauty.

Maury Wrightson

Beautiful park but the two rangers we met we're terrible. My sons completed the Junior Ranger program, and then the ranger made my 9 year cry with her overbearing questions and rude comments.

Eric Guinn

It was amazing, trails were well maintained and the views were gorgeous

Sarah Monk

facinating, beautiful

Ken Frazier

This is a really cool monument and I hope it stays a monument. It's off the Beaten Track and it's very much worth the effort to get here. Come during the week and you'll have the entire place to yourself and if you stay at night you'll see the most incredible Stars you've ever seen. Been here a number of times before and will definitely be back

Katarina Bens

This place is amazing. Rock formations that you won't see anywhere else. Take your time and do a little hiking.

Adam Weber

A scenic masterpiece that smells of gentle pine. Hike it if you are nimble.

Steve Rosenbaum

Awesome hiking. Magnificent views. Incredible rock formations.

Brandon Leo

A beautiful place, with amazing sights.

Shad Smith

I really can't tell you enough about this amazing place. A natural wonder you have to see for yourself. Take the time and enjoy one of nature's wonderful creations.

Becky Wittig

Fabulous park for hiking and taking in amazing rock formations and nature's marvels.

David bray

Absolutely beautiful! Extreme Southwest Arizona.

Harris Rosenberg

An awesome place to go hiking. Some of the most beautiful rock formations I have ever seen in my life. Beautiful Campground with real Plumbing in the facilities. My favorite is the Echo Canyon Trail and the Grotto's rock formation. This is probably one of the most beautiful natural attractions in Cochise County. Spectacular awesome sunsets. Go up to Masai point 4 awesome views altitude of top near 7000 feet bring warm clothing for winter and evenings. Chiricahua National Monument AKA the Wonderland of rocks such an incredibly beautiful place don't miss it if you like Outdoors if you like hiking if you like photography if you like star gazing at midnight this is definitely the place. Some of the best stargazing @midnight I have ever seen anywhere in my life at the top at Masai point

Christina Buffett

Awe inspiring views! If you can hike a bit, go see the Grottos in Echo Canyon! Worth the half mile walk!!

Jarod Auto

Great place to go hiking spend the day take the tour of the old house see how people live back in the day some of the old Trails they used to take makes for a very nice weekend

Stefan Waldvogel

Fantastic rock formations.

Frank Hatch

The hiking is awesome. If you get to the ranger station before 9 you might be able to take a free shuttle to the top then hike just down. No matter make sure you hike heart of rocks Loop and see the giant Balanced Rock. Really recommend great place.

Jeremy Lucas

Beautiful place to visit. Amazing views and nice photo opportunities

Jason Moysey

Beautiful place. Echo canyon trail was a nice 3.6 ish mile hike through a canyon that echo's. Immagine that! Truely a pretty place worth checking out.

Jonathan Glica

Beautiful, and other worldly environment.

Shelley Plunkett

God had a sense if humor when creating these wonderful rock formations. So much to see and great hiking for all levels. It reminds me in a way of Bryce Canyon in Utah only not all the red colors. We had no idea this was in Arizona. We will be back with water and lunches to do more exploring.

Mark Vanoni

Chiricahua is breathtaking. I went several times as a child and recently took my own kids. They were just as captivated. The Junior Ranger program is a must with kids. I'd highly recommend a ranger-led walk through the historic homestead or around the peak. Campground is nice, but really built for tents.

Elisa G

Very beautiful. Ranges of easy and challenging hikes but all very pretty.

Candyce Matlosz

It's an out-of-the-way drive through almost empty cattle country, but this hidden area is a mountain oasis, good for a picnic lunch. It offers several hiking trails.

Roberta Klisiewicz

Lots of great scenery. The hike to the grottoes was amazing and not too difficult.

Virgie Presnell

Even though the park hasn't recovered from the fire, it is still a beautiful & inspiring place to visit. The whole park is awesome and the trails are well maintained and safe. Great for a short walk or long hike. Very family friendly too!

Jeffrey Roehr

Nobody knows about this! So keep it secret! Easy to get to off the I-10 (30-40 minutes) and jaw dropping eye popping rocks formations. Easy to drive thru, but also lots of great short hikes. Super staff, good facilities, and best of all, not crowded. Because it's a secret. Shhhhh !!

Derek Roberts

Such a beautiful place!!! Always amazing to visit

David McMillan

This park is a real hidden gem. Don’t miss the Echo Canyon hike and the Sugarloaf Mountain hike which has epic views. Not too many people seem to know about this park but it is totally worth visiting.

Katherine Harmon Brackett-Taylor

Simply gorgeous and amazing

Russ

The park is beautiful and a worthwhile, unique experience. The rangers however, in dealing with my children for the jr. Ranger program were uncompromising, rude, and just generally unpleasant. They took objection to a shy child that was uncomfortable speaking directly to them and made a conflict out of nothing. I have been cross country twice in 3years and visited upwards of 50 national parks/monuments and I've never had a bad ranger experience until today.

AZboyinWI

WOW! An interesting area to drive and/or hike through! Every time you look again there is something to see whether it is an odd rock formation, an animal, or just plan natural beauty. I highly recommend visiting. Visitor's center is great!

Ciara Whipp

Beautiful! And so much fun! We did the Echo Grotto loop and it was the perfect moderate hike, with tons of cool pictures :)

Nanette Greenwood

It was wonderful we loved it. The only thing that frustrated us was the lack of pull outs and when there was one, there were to many trees in the way for good pictures. We had very little time, so we didn't have time to hike to get the shots. We will be back.

MaximumChaoticInsanity

Great views on the loop but if you are deathly afraid of heights skip it

Ed Fracisco

If you're into rock formations and hiking trails, this is an awesome place !!

BiocleanSystems

Very scenic place to visit and explore. Well marked hiking trails. Nice to find out the history behind it as well. If possible, make sure to set aside time to take the tour of Faraway Guest Ranch. 2 thumbs up!

Juan Mosqueda

Great place!!! Lots of wildlife

Pam Graves

So beautiful! The hikes are gradual and in different parts of the park. Could easily spend a lot of hours here. Be mindful that there isn't cell service, so check weather before going.

enrique verduzco

This place is amazing! Hidden gem of the national Park system. Lots to see and magnificent trails all over the park. Visitor center is very helpful in giving information to make a wise decision of what you can do. We did the echo canyon loop trail. It's just under four miles long. Be careful during summer months. We left the trailhead it was sunny and clear. When we got down to echo Park thunderstorms had moved in.

Howard Rains

The Chiricauhua National Monument is absolutely gorgeous, anytime of year, anytime of day. There are numerous hiking trails of various skill levels. They are well marked. Beautiful visitors center. The road is in great condition and is a beautiful drive, even if you don't get out. There are picnic tables are the top. Campground near the bottom.

Mackenzie Carlson

We had an amazing stay! The staff here are the friendliest we've encountered at any national park. The campground attendant was beyond helpful. Also, the views are amazing!

Larry Wyrick

Awesome scenery. See the head in the pic?

Phil Richards

A jewel in the National Park system

Carson Allan

Gorgeous mountain area with unique rock formations. Trails are well maintained. Easy day trip from Tucson.

Matthias Lenzner

Hike to the balanced rock, well maintained trail, diverse views, amazing endpoint of the hike.

Marc

Very good trails for hiking, away from everything just nature

A P

OMG!!!

Diana Sherman

Amazing place. Really truly amazing rocks and views. A favorite

S B

Great place to see amazing views.

Diane Merritt

The Trails give you gorgeous views of the canyon. Our trail was moderate. It was about 5 miles round trip, you need to take plenty of water.

STEPHEN JANDECKA

This National Monument is outstandingly beautiful with their rock formations that were formed millions of years ago by volcanoes.

J Explorer

Unbelievable, underrated national monument that should be a national park. The park has breathtaking scenery for all ages. You can hike or drive to the top where there are infinite rock spires in an extraterrestrial land that you can’t believe is earth. At the bottom of the park, you can walk your dog and enjoy wildlife. If you make bucket lists and you are looking only at popular national parks, you are doing okay but need to re-evaluate slightly. This place is beautiful.

Ivey Deal

Quite, remote and beautiful.

Richard Shackley

Beautiful scenery. Very nice hikes. Many birds and other critters. Good Visitors Center with a helpful staff. We'll worth the side trip.

Dale Rosemeier

This was 2nd time to Chiricahua Natl Monument in a month. We wanted to explore the things we missed 1st time around. Indescribably beautiful!

Claudia Colantonio

My husband and I drove through here. It was amazing. The scenery is breathtaking.

Elizabeth K

Amazing hikes, visitor center, scenery, history. It was a great family day and two new Junior Ranger Badges for the kiddos!

Stephen King

Great camp ground, wonderfull hiking

Cynthia P

Amazing formations. We went here after a Fort Bowie so we didn’t take many hikes. The drive was beautiful.

Brenda Trask

This was our first time here and definitely will not be our last time. The rock formations here are beyond anything I've ever seen anywhere else. This is a very beautiful, and unique place.

Ken and Alicia Lund

This was a place I was not expecting to be anywhere near as inspiring and impressive as it was. It is a long ways from anywhere, but so well worth visiting. You are not expecting this kind of mountain scenery in southeastern Arizona. It is gorgeous, cool, and green. The rock formations are incredible. So well worth visiting.

Darren Whaples

Wonders of rocks with amazing views..

Wanda Valentine

Great place to camp

Galen Gloetzel

Gorgeous place! Great views

Frank Rodriguez

Exciting, educational, historic and the scenery will lift your spirits.

Fred Santini

I will always love going here

Ruth Bly

Great trails. Nice to see they had a small walk where you could take Wheelchairs and Trollers.

Reilly Murphy

Amazing views. We did the hike to inspiration point which was about 5 miles round trip but the view was 100% worth it

Amanda Tiffany

Over 17 miles of trails through magnificent rock formations & grottoes. It’s a higher elevation so it’s cooler than Phoenix, but the sun is still pretty intense.

Clayton Lang

Very beautiful and interesting area to visit. Natural beauty and wonderful wildlife viewing. Excellent campground and very interesting visitors center. I have visited Chiricahua National Monument a few times and am sure to go back.

John Lee

Got to come back for more trails.

David Jimenez

This place is breathtaking.

Keith Duncan

We hiked the Echo Canyon area and were very impressed with the rock formations and trail conditions. The entire loop was relatively easy hiking particularly if you go in a counter clockwise direction. We averaged an hour for each mile just because there were so many "Wow" moments that required all of our attention. A great place to hike!

Susan Laabs

Beautiful rock formations! It may be helpful to know that it is not a drive through park. You drive in & up to the gorgeous scenic overlook, then drive back the same way you came. Most of the pull outs are on the way down. Worth the drive.

Amy Jones

As always very beautiful!