Pipe Spring National Monument

Just off the highway is Arizona’s best-kept secret, a desert oasis that has enticed visitors for thousands of years. Hike the ridge trail to explore the lush landscape by foot. Cool off inside the museum to learn about the area’s long and storied history. A visit to Pipe Spring can easily fill a whole day.

A small museum offers visitors a look at the site’s complicated history of conflict and settlement. Go back in time over a thousand years, when the landscape was inhabited by Puebloans and Kaibab Paiute Indians. Come in the summer and you’ll see live demos of what life was like for both the Paiute Indians and Mormon settlers, complete with period costumes.

You won’t regret taking a guided tour of Windsor Castle, a structure built by Mormon pioneers who settled in the 1860s. What was once a cattle ranching operation now houses live animals and working gardens. The pioneer life abounds, complete with telegraph, cheese room, and a pond full of geese.

Finish off the day by wandering through the orchards, feeding the horses, or popping into the blacksmith’s shop for a live demo. And if you can’t fit it all into one day, the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians offer camping less than a half mile from the monument.