Fort Bowie National Historic Site
For nearly 25 years, Fort Bowie stood at the crossroads of the Chiricahua Apache's fight to defend their ancestral homeland and the U.S. Army's westward expansion. Today, visitors embark on a 3-mile scenic loop trail traversing the ground where this profound cultural collision forever altered the course of both American and Indigenous history.
Alerts
- InformationNPS ↗Butterfield Trail closed to horses and pack animals.
The trail remains open for hiking and foot traffic. For more information, see our policy page.
- InformationNPS ↗Fort Bowie Visitor Center Bookstore is now cashless!
For your convenience, we accept all major credit and debit cards, as well as mobile payment options. Electronic payment reduces transaction times, save money, and improves accountability. Thank you for your understanding and continued support!
Fire nearby
- PrescribedDouglas Piles Rx
28 mi from the park's reference point · 46 acres
Within 50 miles, as of 2026-10-14. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge. Check the park's alerts and the managing office before you drive.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Hours
| Trails and Ruins | Daily · Sunrise to Sunset |
When to go
March draws the most visits here and August the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- Fort Bowie National Historic Site Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
The visitor center is best accessed via the Fort Bowie Trail. The story of Apache Pass and the events that led to the establishment of Fort Bowie are best understood via a 3-mile roundtrip hike from the trailhead on Apache Pass Road to the visitor center and Second Fort Ruins.
No campgrounds, no webcams or events in Park Service data. What is here comes from the official page. The rest lives there.
Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the Park Service publishes the data.
Explore
Things to do
- Birding at Fort Bowie
Birdwatching is a popular activity at Fort Bowie National Historic Site. Some birds can be observed year-round, while others are migratory.
Opens on the Park Service site - Fort Bowie Junior Ranger Program30-60 Minutes
Become a Junior Ranger at Fort Bowie National Historic Site. Books are available at the park visitor center.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Historic landmarks nearby
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Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Forest Service trails nearby
These trails are outside the park on National Forest land, within 15 miles of Fort Bowie. Each one opens on Trailhead Atlas.
Distance is measured from the park's reference point to the nearer end of the trail.
Guidebooks for Fort Bowie National Historic Site and Arizona's national parks
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
- Guide to the Geology of Chiricahua National Monument and Fort Bowie National Historic SiteJohn V. Bezy, 2020Find at Bookshop.org
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Full checklist: 170 birds, 58 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Bald Eagle · Barn Owl · Black Vulture · Common Black-Hawk · Cooper's Hawk · Elf Owl · Ferruginous Hawk · Golden Eagle · Great Horned Owl · Long-eared Owl · Merlin · Mountain Pygmy Owl · Northern Harrier · Osprey · Prairie Falcon · Red-tailed Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Swainson's hawk · Turkey Vulture · peregrine falcon · zone-tailed hawk
Waterfowl & waderssandhill crane
Shorebirds & seabirdsKilldeer · Spotted Sandpiper
Gamebirds & dovesBand-tailed Pigeon · Gambel's Quail · Montezuma Quail · Mourning Dove · Scaled Quail · White-winged Dove · comm ground-dove
WoodpeckersAcorn Woodpecker · Gila Woodpecker · Ladder-backed Woodpecker · Lewis' Woodpecker · Northern Flicker · Red-naped Sapsucker · Williamson's Sapsucker · Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hummingbirds & swiftsAnna's Hummingbird · Black-chinned Hummingbird · Broad-billed Hummingbird · Broad-tailed Hummingbird · Calliope Hummingbird · Costa's Hummingbird · Lucifer Hummingbird · Magnificent Hummingbird · Rufous Hummingbird · Vaux's Swift · White-throated Swift
Also on the checklistAmerican Cliff Swallow · American Pipit · American Robin · Baltimore oriole · Barn Swallow · Bendire's thrasher · Bewick's Wren · Black Phoebe · Black-chinned Sparrow · Black-headed Grosbeak · Black-tailed Gnatcatcher · Black-throated Gray Warbler · Black-throated Sparrow · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Botteri's Sparrow · Brewer's Blackbird · Brewer's Sparrow · Bronzed Cowbird · Brown Creeper · Brown-crested Flycatcher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Bushtit · Cactus Wren · Canyon Towhee · Canyon Wren · Cassin's Finch · Cassin's Kingbird · Cassin's Sparrow · Cassin's Vireo · Cedar Waxwing · Chihuahuan raven · Chipping Sparrow · Clark's Nutcracker · Common Nighthawk · Common Poorwill · Common Raven · Dark-eyed Junco · Dusky Flycatcher · Dusky-capped Flycatcher · Eastern Meadowlark · Gray Flycatcher · Gray Vireo · Gray-breasted Jay · Great-tailed Grackle · Hammond's Flycatcher · Hermit Thrush · Hooded Oriole · Horned Lark · House Finch · House Wren · Hutton's vireo · Indigo Bunting · Lark Bunting · Lark Sparrow · Lazuli Bunting · Lesser Goldfinch · Lesser Nighthawk · Lincoln's sparrow · Loggerhead Shrike · Lucy's Warbler · MacGillivray's Warbler · Mountain Bluebird · Nashville Warbler · Northern Cardinal · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Northern Waterthrush · Olive-sided Flycatcher · Orange-crowned Warbler · Painted Bunting · Phainopepla · Pine Siskin · Pyrrhuloxia · Rock Wren · Rose-breasted Grosbeak · Roughleg · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Rufous-crowned Sparrow · Rufous-winged Sparrow · Savannah Sparrow · Say's phoebe · Scott's Oriole · Song Sparrow · Steller's Jay · Summer Tanager · Swainson's Thrush · Tecolote occidental · Townsend's Solitaire · Townsend's Warbler · Verdin · Vesper Sparrow · Violet-green Swallow · Virginia's Warbler · Warbling Vireo · Western Bluebird · Western Flycatcher · Western Kingbird · Western Meadowlark · Western Tanager · Western Wood-Pewee · Whip-Poor-Will · White-breasted Nuthatch · White-crowned Sparrow · White-throated Sparrow · Wilson's warbler · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-rumped Warbler · ash-throated flycatcher · blue grosbeak · bridled titmouse · crissal thrasher · curve-billed thrasher · grasshopper sparrow · greater roadrunner · green-tailed Towhee · juniper titmouse · plumbeous vireo · spotted towhee · western scrub-jay
Small mammalsArizona pocket mouse · Audubon's Cottontail · Bailey's pocket mouse · Botta's pocket gopher · Crawford's Gray Shrew · Harris' antelope squirrel · Merriam's kangaroo rat · Northern Pygmy Mouse · Ord's kangaroo rat · Sonoran desert pocket mouse · Western Harvest Mouse · antelope jack rabbit · banner-tailed kangaroo rat · black-tailed jack rabbit · brush mouse · cactus mouse · cliff chipmunk · common porcupine · deer mouse · fulvous harvest mouse · hispid cotton rat · hispid pocket mouse · northern grasshoper mouse · rock pocket mouse · rock squirrel · round-tailed ground squirrel · silky pocket mouse · southern grasshopper mouse · white-footed mouse · white-throated woodrat
PredatorsAlleghanian Spotted Skunk · American Badger · American black bear · Ringtail · bobcat · common gray fox · common raccoon · coyote · hooded skunk · mountain lion · striped skunk · white-backed hog-nosed skunk
Hoofed mammalsWhite-tailed Deer · collared peccary · mule deer
BatsCalifornia Myotis · Eastern Small-footed Bat · Lesser Long-nosed Bat · Little Brown Bat · Long-legged Myotis · Mexican long-tongued bat · Southwestern Myotis · big brown bat · cave myotis · fringed myotis · pallid bat · western pipistrelle
Also on the checklistwhite-nosed coati
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Horseback riding in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
Questions people ask
Does Fort Bowie charge an entrance fee?
No. Fort Bowie is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at Fort Bowie?
Standard hours are Sunrise to Sunset, every day.
Source: National Park Service
Is anything closed at Fort Bowie right now?
2 active alerts as of October 14, 2026: Butterfield Trail closed to horses and pack animals; Fort Bowie Visitor Center Bookstore is now cashless!.
Source: Alerts
How busy is Fort Bowie?
8,739 recreation visits in 2025, number 355 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
When was Fort Bowie established?
1864.
Source: Wikipedia
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
