Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Address: 1100 W Ruins Drive, Coolidge, AZ 85128
Casa Grande preserves a four-story earthen Great House built by the Hohokam people around 1350, at the height of their irrigation-farming civilization in the Sonoran Desert. The structure, sheltered under a modern steel canopy, was the centerpiece of a walled village, and in 1892 the site became America's first federally protected archaeological reserve.
Marvel at the Great House, look for the great horned owls that roost in the shelter, and walk the compound's ballcourt and platform mounds; young kids can earn a Junior Ranger badge. For a challenge, take the full ranger talk and study the entire village layout in depth.
Coordinates: 32.99477, -111.53672