Montezuma Castle Visitor Center
Address: 2800 Montezuma Castle Road, Camp Verde, AZ 86322
Montezuma Castle is a five-story, 20-room cliff dwelling tucked 90 feet up a sheer limestone cliff, built by the Southern Sinagua people around 1100-1425 AD and one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in North America. Early visitors wrongly linked it to the Aztec emperor, hence the name.
Walk the easy loop beneath the cliff and along Beaver Creek, and add the Castle A site; young kids can earn a Junior Ranger badge. For a challenge, study the remarkable engineering of a high-rise built 900 years ago, then explore the full grounds and sycamore-shaded creek trail.
Coordinates: 34.61178, -111.83980