The Temi' Po' Op' petroglyph site near Ivins, Utah offers a family-friendly 2.9-mile hike along the Santa Clara River to hundreds of ancient rock art panels, an Anasazi farmstead foundation, and sweeping views of the red rock canyon — one of the highest concentrations of petroglyphs in southern Utah.

Aztec Ruins National Monument in Aztec, New Mexico preserves one of the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloan great house complexes in the American Southwest — a UNESCO World Heritage Site featuring the West Ruin's 400+ interconnected rooms, original wooden ceiling beams, and the largest reconstructed Great Kiva in North America, walkable on a self-guided tour through rooms built in the 1100s.

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Coolidge, Arizona preserves the largest known prehistoric structure in North America — a four-story Hohokam adobe Great House built around 1350 CE, protected by a massive steel canopy, designated as America's first archaeological reserve in 1892, and surrounded by the remnants of a sophisticated farming civilization that irrigated the Sonoran Desert for over a thousand years.

This Chaco Canyon Valley, high-desert landscape has long winters, short growing seasons, and marginal rainfall. Yet, it became the center of a thriving culture a thousand years ago. It was an unlikely place for a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture to take root and flourish. The grand scale of its architecture is monumental, making it a center hub for far-reaching commerce with complex community life and high levels of social organization, creating a cultural vision unlike any other seen before or since. That began in the mid 800s and lasted more than 300 years. Their descendants are the modern Southwest Indians. Many Southwest Indian people look upon Chaco as an important stop along their clans' sacred migration paths-a spiritual place to be honored and respected.

Chiricahua National Monument in southeastern Arizona preserves one of the most spectacular volcanic rock landscapes in North America — 27 million years of erosion have carved towering rhyolite pinnacles, balanced rocks, and soaring spires from the Chiricahua Mountains, explored via 17 miles of hiking trails and an 8-mile scenic drive to Massai Point.

Fish Creek Canyon Wilderness Study Area on Cedar Mesa in San Juan County, Utah is one of the most remote and rewarding backcountry destinations in the Bears Ears region — deep canyons reaching 700 feet, natural arches, Ancestral Puebloan ruins, and the historic Emigrant Trail route followed by Mormon pioneers in 1879, accessed via the rugged Snow Flat Road (BLM 237) through some of the most spectacular canyon country in the Southwest.

Homolovi State Park near Winslow, Arizona preserves over 300 ancestral Hopi archaeological sites from the 13th and 14th centuries — including the partially excavated pueblos of Homolovi I and II, pottery shards scattered across the desert floor, petroglyphs, and an exceptional visitor center museum telling the story of the Hisat'sinom people who paused here on their great migration north.

Montezuma Castle National Monument near Camp Verde preserves one of the best-preserved prehistoric cliff dwellings in North America — a five-story, 20-room Sinagua apartment complex notched 90 feet up a limestone cliff above Beaver Creek, designated in 1906 as one of America's first four national monuments and still as remarkable today as when Theodore Roosevelt first protected it.

Montezuma Well near Rimrock, Arizona is one of the most quietly astonishing natural features in the American Southwest — a 368-foot-wide, 55-foot-deep limestone sinkhole discharging 1.5 million gallons of spring water daily, home to five species found nowhere else on Earth, surrounded by 900-year-old Sinagua cliff dwellings and an irrigation canal still carrying water today.

The Navajo Moenave Dinosaur Tracks near Tuba City, Arizona preserve hundreds of authentic Early Jurassic footprints embedded in 200-million-year-old sandstone — walked among in the open desert with Navajo guides from the community of Moenave, no glass cases, no barriers, no crowds. Just the tracks and the landscape where they were made.

Navajo National Monument in northern Arizona preserves three of the most intact Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings in the Southwest — Betatakin, Keet Seel, and Inscription House — set within the dramatic Tsegi Canyon system on the Navajo Nation, with free entry, free camping, and ranger-led tours to dwellings last occupied around 1300 AD.

Palatki Heritage Site is one of the largest and best-preserved Sinagua cliff dwelling complexes near Sedona, Arizona — featuring ancient rock art, pictographs up to 6,000 years old, and guided tours through red sandstone alcoves in the Coconino National Forest.

Discover Saddle Mountain in Tonopah, Arizona, a hidden gem for rock hounds, hikers, and outdoor enthusiasts. This stunning desert landscape offers chalcedony and quartz hunting, vibrant sunsets, petroglyph exploration—perfect for a unique desert adventure.

Sand Island Petroglyphs near Bluff, Utah preserves over 100 yards of continuous rock art panel on the banks of the San Juan River — spanning 2,500 to 8,000 years of human history from Archaic hunters to Ancestral Puebloans, Ute, and Navajo peoples, including five Kokopelli figures, San Juan Anthropomorphs, and some of the most accessible ancient rock art in the Bears Ears National Monument region.

Sears Kay Ruins is an ancient Hohokam fortification in the Tonto National Forest near Carefree, Arizona — listed on the National Register of Historic Places and accessible via a short self-guided loop trail with sweeping desert views.

Shoofly Village Ruins near Payson, Arizona is one of the most accessible ancient archaeological sites on the Mogollon Rim — a 4-acre prehistoric compound with 80+ rooms, a surrounding stone wall, and interpretive signs that bring a 1,000-year-old community back to life.

The Salado Phenomena, 700 years ago, blended ideas of neighboring Native American cultures to emerge a unique and vibrant society. Tonto National Monument showcases two Salado-style cliff dwellings. Colorful pottery, woven cotton cloth, and other artifacts tell a story of people living and using resources from the northern Sonoran Desert from 1250 to 1450 CE.

Tuzigoot National Monument near Clarkdale, Arizona preserves a 110-room Sinagua hilltop pueblo built between 1000 and 1400 CE — one of the best-preserved prehistoric villages in the American Southwest, with sweeping views of the Verde Valley, a museum of 3,000+ artifacts, and a short self-guided loop trail through stone rooms occupied by 250 people for nearly 400 years.

Valley of the Gods near Mexican Hat, Utah is the lesser-known cousin of Monument Valley — a 17-mile BLM loop road through isolated sandstone buttes, mesas, and spires carved from 250-million-year-old Cedar Mesa sandstone, with free dispersed camping on the valley floor, no fees, and formations named Seven Sailors, Castle Butte, Rooster Butte, Setting Hen, and more.

Discover the awe-inspiring Walnut Canyon National Monument near Flagstaff, Arizona, where ancient cliff dwellings and breathtaking canyon vistas invite you to step back in time. Hike along scenic trails, spot unique wildlife, and immerse yourself in the rich cultural and natural history of this remarkable destination.

Wupatki National Monument north of Flagstaff preserves over 2,700 ancient sites across 55 square miles of painted desert — centered on the 104-room Wupatki Pueblo, the northernmost ball court ever discovered, a geological blowhole that breathes with the earth's pressure, and five accessible pueblos built from the distinctive red Moenkopi sandstone of the Colorado Plateau.