After Saguaro National Park, we continued our journey east. Chiricahua National Monument was a beautiful spot that I hadn’t heard a lot about before planning our trip. The monument is in Arizona’s Chiricahua Mountains near the border with New Mexico.
Chiricahua National Monument
Chiricahua is one of several sky islands in southeastern Arizona. According to the National Park Service, sky islands are isolated mountain ranges that can rise thousands of feet above the neighboring desert floor. Plants and animals who could never survive in the surrounding deserts are able to live in the mountains – making the mountains “islands” surrounded by desert “seas.”
Hoodoos are tall, thin spires extending from the bottom of arid basins or ‘badlands.’ They are typically softer rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone which protects them from the elements. They have varying colors along their height due to the minerals deposited within the different rock types. Chiricahua are rhyolite hoodoos formed from volcanic ash-flow. The Apaches called this place the “Land of Standing-Up Rocks.”
Bonita Canyon Drive is an 8-mile paved drive that runs through the monument up to Massai Point. For those who do not have a lot of time to spend in the area, you can still enjoy the hoodoos along the road.
If you have more time, there are also 17 miles of hiking trails. Start your trip at the visitor center to learn about trail conditions, recent wildlife sightings, and any closures. As a bonus, we saw an acorn woodpecker and a couple Mexican Jays near the parking lot.
Echo Canyon Loop
During our visit, we hiked the Echo Canyon Loop. Three connecting trails combine to create a 3.3-mile loop down into the canyon and back. Snow and ice covered the gravel trail in spots that were heavily shaded when we visited in January. I would consider the loop moderately difficult due to the number of switchbacks and steps, and the narrow, rocky incline on the climb back out of the canyon.
The route below is a counter-clockwise loop as climbing up Ed Riggs is easier than finishing with Echo Canyon.
Echo Canyon Trail
This is the longest of the three trails. Very quickly into the hike you get stunning views of the canyon and hoodoos. They go on as far as the eye can see!
You can really see the difference in the height of the hoodoos along the path.
The big draw for this trail is the grottoes. Canyon Grotto is a connected maze of tunnels. If you do not have time for the full loop, you can hike to the grottoes and back in a 1-mile round trip.
What really makes these hoodoos lovely to look at are the all the cracks and different shapes.
You will start your trek into the canyon on switchbacks and intermittent staircases. Wall Street lets visitors walk through hoodoos, their towering walls surrounding the narrow passage.
Trees become more dense as you descend to the base, into an area called Echo Park. There was a little cascade flowing to our right. In Echo Park, the stream crossed the trail and we had to hop a couple of rocks to pick the path up again.
The final step on the Echo Canyon Trail is a climb back out to an open ridge overlooking Rhyolite Canyon.
Hailstone Trail
Where the trails intersect, there are stone signs with arrows and mileage to direct you.
Hailstone has much less elevation gain although it is narrower. Because of its south-facing wall it is dryer and hotter, making it ideal for desert plants like yucca and prickly pear. Make sure you have enough water as there is little to no shade here.
There are gorgeous views of Rhyolite Canyon all along this path.
Ed Riggs Trail
Your final major trail is Ed Riggs, which splits to the left at the junction. This is a tougher climb due to steep inclines on rough gravel.
Large pine trees surround the trail.
There is a small spur trail to finish the final 0.2 miles to the parking lot. This is also the intersection to take a spur trail to Massai Point.
More to Do
If you have more time, consider hiking the nearby Big Balanced Rock Trail, Heart of Rocks Loop, or Inspiration Point Trail. Connecting Echo Canyon to these other trails is called the Big Loop Trail. Be aware these are strenuous trails. Chiricahua National Monument also has a natural bridge, multiple picnic areas, and a campground.
We really enjoyed this monument and would recommend it to everyone traveling through the area. I would love to go back and see parts we didn’t get to visit on this trip. Coatimundi are common at the monument but we did not have the opportunity to spot any.
Accompanying Steph on this trip, I too want to go back! It was a rough hike up but well worth it. We saw Hoodoos in Northern AZ in a previous road trip but nothing like this place! I always love to spot wildlife as well, and although we didn’t see any Coatimundi in Chiricahua, we did spot one crossing the road in a small town coming in. I’d go back in a sec. A definite place to check out!