Walnut Creek National Monument is a National Monument located in Flagstaff, Arizona. To be honest I had never heard about this monument before my husband and I decided to visit. The monument is made up of the remains of ancient cliff dwellings built by Archaic People that Inhabited the area.

The ancient people that lived in the canyon were hunter gatherers and lived in close nit groups. After they left the canyon several other groups inhabited the dwellings over time. Sadly in the late 1800's the dwellings were ravaged by pot hunters. Without regard for culture or preservation of history for future generations they destroyed the walls and floors of the dwellings. Despite this artifacts of the ancient people have been excavated and preserved. To help preserve the dwellings President Woodrow Wilson established Walnut Canyon as a National Monument on November 30, 1915.

There are two trails within the park to view the dwellings. We started with the Rim Trail. It was a very easy, accessible walk for all ages. The hike is less than one mile round trip and there are two overlooks to see the canyon and catch sight of some of the dwellings below. The Island Trail is a steep one mile hike that brings you face to face with 25 of the canyons cliff dwellings. As you walk the trail you can see other dwellings across the canyon. There are informational placards throughout the hike with details about the many people that inhabited the area and the construction of the dwellings. After circling around the island the hike takes you back up to the rim.

I loved the views of the canyon from the island hike. The trails are well maintained and smooth. I am really glad that we decided to spend the day exploring the area. The older I get the more I find a need to connect with my ancestors. I enjoy researching where they came from and how they lived. For me this was the perfect way to look into the past and see how the ancient people and possibly how my own ancestors lived.