National Monuments

National monuments tend to fly under the radar and that is exactly what makes them worth seeking out. Less traffic, fewer crowds, and none of the fame that comes with the bigger name parks, but every bit as stunning and historically significant. These are the monuments I have visited, each one a reminder that the most rewarding places are often the ones most people drive right past.

Visited National Monuments

Agua Fria National Monument

Sitting in the high desert of central Arizona, Agua Fria National Monument is one of those places that rewards the truly curious traveler. Over 2,000 years of human history are written across its 71,000 acres in petroglyphs, pueblo ruins, and river crossings that most people drive right past without ever knowing they are there. The canyon country and high desert plateau keep surprising you the further in you go, and the wildlife and solitude make it even better. Come take a look at what is hiding just off the beaten path.

Casa Grande Ruins

The Arizona desert has a way of keeping secrets, and Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is one of the better ones. Long before anyone was mapping this part of the Southwest, the Hohokam people were engineering canals, building cities, and constructing one of the most ambitious structures in prehistoric North America. Then around 1450 AD, they vanished, and nobody has ever figured out exactly why. Come take a look at what has been waiting out there in the desert.

Castillo de San Marcos

Built in 1672 and still standing on the shores of Matanzas Bay in St. Augustine, Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States. Nobody ever took it by force. The coquina walls absorbed everything thrown at them across three centuries of colonial conflict, changing hands only through treaty and agreement. Walk the gun deck, explore the storerooms, and think about the soldiers who called this place home long before the United States existed. Come take a look at the fort that refused to fall.

Natural Bridges

Natural Bridges National Monument sits on a high mesa about forty miles west of Blanding, holding three enormous sandstone bridges cut by running water. Sipapu, Kachina, and Owachomo are all reachable from a nine mile paved loop, and it was the first national monument Utah ever had. Here is what to know before you go, plus a look back at it twenty years ago.