Pictures courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Arizona -Agua Fria National Monument.
Campground Overview:
Agua Fria National Monument is a 71,000-acre monument, approximately 40 miles north of central Phoenix. The monument encompasses two mesas and the canyon of the Agua Fria River. Elevations range from 2,150 feet above sea level along the Agua Fria Canyon to about 4,600 feet in the northern hills. The diversity of vegetative communities, topographic features, and a dormant volcano decorates the landscape with a big rocky, basaltic plateau. This expansive mosaic of semi-desert area, cut by ribbons of valuable riparian forest, offers one of the most significant systems of prehistoric sites in the American Southwest. In addition to the rich record of human history, the monument contains outstanding biological resources. The area is the home to coyotes, bobcats, antelope, mule deer, javelina, a variety of small mammals and songbirds. Eagles and other raptors may also be seen. Native fish such as the longfin dace, the Gila mountain sucker, the Gila chub, and the speckled dace, exist in the Agua Fria River and its tributaries.
RV camping, boondocking, car camping, and tent camping is allowed at Agua Fria National Monument, with a limit of 14 days. You can find places to camp along Badger Springs Road (exit 256) and Bloody Basin Road (exit 259). These roads are rough and a high clearance vehicle is best. The Agua Fria National Monument is located 40 miles north of Phoenix, AZ. It is easily accessed by traveling to Interstate 17 to the Badger Springs (Exit #256), Bloody Basin Road (Exit #259), or Cordes Junction exits.
Campground at a Glance
Level: |
Dispersed |
Season: |
Year-Round |
Nearby City: |
Prescott |
Fishing: |
None |
Campground Website: |
Agua Fria National Monument |
Campground Map: |
Click Here |
Reservations: |
First-come, first-served basis |
Location: |
Nearby Attractions and Activities:
The Agua Fria National Monument was created by proclamation of President Bill Clinton on January 11, 2000. The Monument contains 71,100 acres (111 square miles) and more than 450 archaeological sites, most of which are located along the perimeters of Black Mesa and Perry Mesa. Black Mesa is visible from the Sunset Point rest stop along I-17, and the best access is from the Bloody Basin Road exit, where you will find an unmanned information kiosk with maps and information. The Monument is currently managed by the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The pueblos here were constructed using a technique known as “massed room block,” in which field-stone walls stabilized with mud mortar were roofed over with timbers, sticks, mud and straw. The roofs have long since disappeared, however, and time, weather, and modern-day looters have reduced most of the walls to piles of rubble. They are still quite impressive: some of the sites contain over one hundred rooms, and are surrounded by a multicolored carpet of broken pot sherds. Many of the ruins have clusters of petroglyphs nearby, some of which contain thousands of images. There is also evidence of extensive agriculture over large areas of both mesas, including cleared fields and terraces and berms for controlling rain runoff for crop irrigation. (Arizonaruins.com is a great resource)
Remains of several pueblo communities still exist, some that contained at least 100 rooms. One, Pueblo La Plata, is open to the public and accessible from the unpaved Bloody Basin Road off I-17 (Exit 259). An approximately 10-mile drive, much of which requires a high-clearance vehicle, leads to a narrow path and a hike of several hundred yards to Pueblo La Plata.
The BLM finds itself in a dilemma concerning management of the Monument. With few personnel to monitor such a large area, revealing the locations of individual ruins exposes them to looting and vandalism. For the time being they have compromised by making one particular site–Pueblo La Plata–the sacrificial lamb, publishing its location on their maps and maintaining (sort of–you’ll need a high-clearance vehicle) an access road.
Nearby Campgrounds:
Campground full or want to see what’s around? Try one of these campgrounds located nearby
