If you want to see Chiricahua and Pipe Organ national monuments they’re just two of many in Arizona. The state has twenty-four parks, including two national parks – the Grand Canyon and Saguaro National Park – in addition to four national monuments. I’ve been through most of Arizona and find every inch of it beautiful, fascinating, and repeatedly worth visiting. During my most recent trip I explored two lesser visited national monuments well worth the drive time. Not that drive time in Arizona is ever a hardship – it’s part of the reason for exploring the state; the driving is just so darn good.
Chiricahua National Monument
About two hours east of Tucson, I found one of Arizona’s best-kept secrets: Chiricahua National Monument. It’s like a small Bryce Canyon National Park, but in muted tones of grey and beige like tombstones, some speckled with green instead of variegated shades of red and orange found at Bryce. This place, though, has one big bonus: nobody goes there.
The drive from Tucson to Chiricahua includes long stretches of open land, golden and minimally trafficked. Parts reminded me of the golden fields of Montana as they led into the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona. I passed small towns, mostly empty, and minor roadside attractions, but not much else. This place is open and untouched.
The land around Chiricahua is open and vast, but the monument itself is only five by six miles wide. A winding, 8-mile scenic drive leads drivers and a few ambitious bikers from beginning to end. It climbs steadily from the beginning to the end at Massai Point, just under 7,000 feet, where it dead ends, and you must turn around.
But it’s the view at the dead end that most people come to see. Looking out at the expanse is where the largest density of hoodoos gathers like gnarled ancient people coming together for a meeting of the elders. They cluster together in formations and groups, some tall and thin, others short and stout, reaching out into the great open land beyond.
I waded down slowly and carefully into and among the hoodoos in Chiricahua. There, among them, it gets quieter. I found a soft patch of grass and rock to rest my back and there, hidden among the old rocks, I listened to the whispering wind and the stories they told.
Inside Chiricahua National Monument
The park preserves tall rock structures formed from volcanic rock that eroded into pinnacles and spires, called hoodoos. The structures are rare enough to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The area is relatively small, with only two main hiking sections with about 15 trails. Many of the trails intersect and make it easy to get confused. So be careful or you might roam around longer than you intended. Not that I know that from experience : )
While I was there, I hiked a few of the loop trails and found many different interesting structures that you’ll only see if you get out and walk around a bit. See my video here.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Over on the southwest corner of Arizona, just five miles from the Mexico border, you’ll find a unique site – Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Now, when I first read that I thought, “Oh, a giant cactus shaped like a pipe organ? That’s interesting.” Well, that’s not what it is.
Sure, the Organ Pipe Cactus’ can be said to look like a pipe organ, because they are a type of organ cactus that grows in a big bunch. Many “organ” stalks spring up in a straight pillar from the ground, like celery. Some are big, some small, and others massive. In the park there are thousands of these plants, not just one big one that looks like a church organ. Well, how was I supposed to know?
You might want to go there because what most people don’t know is they’re rarer than Saguaros. If you don’t care about that, you might want to go just for the drive. No matter where you’re coming from, you will go through the classic, untouched Sonoran Desert. It’s the western road trip of your dreams.
Road trip to Pipe Organ National Monument
From Tucson, it’s a long two-lane highway filled with Saguaro cactus mountains as you cross the Tohono O’odham Reservation. Because it’s a reservation, the land is pristine and nearly untouched except for a gas station every 40 miles or so and a few small sections of housing.
The cactuses are rarer than Saguaros – which only grow in the Sonoran Desert – because these only grow in the far south part of the desert. You won’t see them elsewhere. Isn’t that amazing?
While driving there, most of the things you’ll see after the cactuses are border patrol agents. They have checkpoints and drive around in white and green trucks and on dirt bikes patrolling the open desert. Not having not spent much time in the west before this, the border patrol presence was surprising. I’ve spent most of my life in Detroit on the Canadian border, and we don’t have anything like this. I didn’t see it when I traveled the border in upper Montana or Washington either. But down here, border patrol is big business. I leave it to the political pundits to figure out.
Turn at “Why”
Once you get close to the 517-square-mile park, near the town of “Why,” the cacti get denser, and more types are prevalent than you’re likely to see in any other place. It’s like someone (God?) planted a massive cactus garden. Pretty mountains peaked in the background, glowing red and brown. Another 30 minutes past Why, and there’s a visitor’s center with plenty of friendly people ready to offer advice.
I’m always happy to find the visitor’s center at national parks and similar places. You drive so long in desolate locations and, often, if you’re like me, it seems like you might be lost. There are rarely many other people around, so when you find people with resources and information, well, it’s a delightful oasis.
This is where I learned about the “pipe organ.” At first glance, they didn’t seem that special, but upon examining them, I realized I hadn’t seen any of them elsewhere in my western travels. But here, they were in abundance. You’ll also find the rare Senita cactus, similar to the pipe organ but with a spiked top.
The monument area is an International Biosphere Reserve, and you’ll be surprised by all the 30+ types of cactuses you’ll see – and you should see it because it won’t last forever. UNESCO created the biosphere reserve program to protect these unique places from overwhelming environmental pressures that destroy them. The program also includes tropical forests, coral reefs, prairie grassland, river systems, and other deserts. This particular reserve is currently threatened by plans for building a border wall, some of which have already been installed, damaging several miles of this national monument.
Each of these two parks were spectacular, but they’re on the opposite side of the state, so you’ll need some time to see them each. I’d choose Chiricahua for hiking among the hoodoos and Pipe Organ for exploring rare plant life you won’t find anywhere else.
Read about other things to see and do in Arizona here.
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