Tonto National Monument
Located within the northern range of the Sonoran Desert lie two cliff dwellings that were occupied from 1300-1450 CE (common era). They represent a vibrant culture consisting of local and immigrant groups that lived in the Tonto Basin. Together they formed a new ideology, which archeologists refer to as Salado. Today, descendants of the cliff dwellers continue to call Arizona home.
About 1.5 hours from Phoenix by car.
Alerts
- CautionWater is Required
Due to the trail being steep of 12 percent grade, all visitors wishing to hike the Lower Cliff Dwelling Trail must bring a water bottle with them. No Exceptions.
- InformationUpper Cliff Dwelling Tour Reservations Not Available
We are currently not taking reservations for our Upper Cliff Dwelling tours. The trail has been damaged due to the Monsoon season. For updated information please visit our website or the parks Facebook page.
Fire nearby
- PrescribedD2 Sinkhole Rx
48 mi from the park's reference point · 875 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
| Type | Cost |
|---|---|
| Per PersonTonto National Monument charges a fee to all visitors hiking to the Lower or Upper Cliff Dwelling. Tour reservations are required to visit the Upper Cliff Dwelling. The Lower Cliff Dwelling is open September through May 8:00 am to 4:00 pm and June through August 8:00 am to noon. Credit and Debit only | $10 |
| Education/Academic GroupsEducation groups may be granted an educational fee waiver. All requests and documentation must be submitted at least 2 weeks in advance of the school's planned visit. | Free |
Fees are collected at the Visitor Center from all visitors 16 and older who are hiking to the Lower or Upper Cliff Dwellings.
Hours
| Tonto National Monument | Daily · 8:00AM - 4:00PM |
Hours by date. Standard hours apply on every date not listed.
| Dates | Hours |
|---|---|
| Standard hoursNow | 8:00AM - 4:00PM |
| Nov 26, 2026Closed Thanksgiving Day | Closed |
| Dec 25, 2026Closed December 25 | Hours not published |
| Jan 1, 2027Closed New Year's Day | Hours not published |
| Jun 19, 2027Open Juneteenth | 8:00AM - 4:00PM |
| Jul 4, 2027Open Independence Day | 8:00AM - 4:00PM |
When to go
March draws the most visits here and July the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
The Visitor Center offers an introduction on the people who built the dwellings 700 years ago. Artifacts and replicas of pottery and textiles are on display in the museum while the park store, operated by Western National Parks Association, sells educational items.
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
Trails and hikes
These are the walks the Park Service lists for Tonto. Each one opens on the Park Service site.
- Hike the Lower Cliff Dwelling Trail30-90 Minutes
The Lower Cliff Dwelling Trail begins in the visitor center and winds up the side of a mountain. It ends in the Lower Cliff Dwelling where visitors can walk through portions of the structure.
These are named Forest Service trails on National Forest land within 15 miles of Tonto. Each one opens on Trailhead Atlas.
Distance is measured to the nearer end of the trail. Every named Forest Service trail on Trailhead Atlas.
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
On the National Register nearby
- Tonto National Monument Visitor CenterBuilding · Gila · 0.1 mi
- Tonto National Monument, Lower Ruin (AZ U:8:047a Asm)Site · Roosevelt · 0.3 mi
- Tonto National Monument, Upper Ruin (AZ U:8:048 Asm)Site · Roosevelt · 0.5 mi
- Alchesay Canyon BridgeStructure · Roosevelt · 2.9 mi
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.
Guidebooks for Arizona's national parks and the Southwest
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Full checklist: 150 birds, 88 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Bald Eagle · Barn Owl · Cooper's Hawk · Elf Owl · Golden Eagle · Gray Hawk · Great Horned Owl · Harris' Hawk · Merlin · Northern Harrier · Osprey · Peregrine Falcon · Prairie Falcon · Red-tailed Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Swainson's Hawk · Turkey Vulture · Zone-tailed Hawk
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican White Pelican · Double-crested Cormorant · Great Blue Heron
Gamebirds & dovesCommonGround-dove · Eurasian Collared Dove · Gambel's Quail · Mourning Dove · White-winged Dove
WoodpeckersFlicker · Gila Woodpecker · Ladder-backed Woodpecker · Northern Flicker · Red-naped Sapsucker · Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hummingbirds & swiftsAnna's Hummingbird · Black-chinned Hummingbird · Broad-tailed Hummingbird · Costa's Hummingbird · Rufous Hummingbird · White-throated Swift
Also on the checklistAbert's Towhee · American Bushtit · American Cliff Swallow · American Robin · Arizona House Finch · Ash-throated Flycatcher · Bank Swallow · Barn Swallow · Bell's Vireo · Bewick's Wren · Black Phoebe · Black-chinned Sparrow · Black-headed Grosbeak · Black-tailed Gnatcatcher · Black-throated Gray Warbler · Black-throated Sparrow · Blue Grosbeak · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Brewer's Blackbird · Brewer's Sparrow · Bridled Titmouse · Bronzed Cowbird · Brown-crested Flycatcher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Bullock's oriole · Cactus Wren · Canyon Towhee · Canyon Wren · Cassin's Finch · Cassin's Kingbird · Cassin's Vireo · Cedar Waxwing · Chipping Sparrow · Common Nighthawk · Common Poorwill · Common Raven · Crissal Thrasher · Curve-billed Thrasher · Dark-eyed Junco · Dusky Flycatcher · Eastern Verdin · European Starling · Gray Flycatcher · Gray Vireo · Great-tailed Grackle · Greater Roadrunner · Green-tailed Towhee · Hammond's Flycatcher · Hermit Thrush · Hooded Oriole · House Sparrow · House Wren · Hutton's Vireo · Indigo Bunting · Lark Sparrow · Lazuli Bunting · Lesser Goldfinch · Lesser Nighthawk · Lincoln's Sparrow · Loggerhead Shrike · Lucy's Warbler · Macgillivray's Warbler · Mallard · Mountain Chickadee · Nashville Warbler · Northern Beardless Tyrannulet · Northern Cardinal · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Northwestern Wood Pewee · Olive-sided Flycatcher · Orange-crowned Warbler · Pacific-slope Flycatcher · Painted Redstart · Phainopepla · Pine Siskin · Plumbeous Vireo · Purple Martin · Pyrrhuloxia · Red-winged Blackbird · Rock Wren · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Rufous-crowned Sparrow · Rufous-winged Sparrow · Say's Phoebe · Scott's Oriole · Spotted Towhee · Steller's Jay · Summer Tanager · Swainson's Thrush · Tecolote occidental · Townsend's Solitaire · Townsend's Warbler · Vermilion Flycatcher · Violet-green Swallow · Virginia's Warbler · Warbling Vireo · Western Bluebird · Western Kingbird · Western Meadowlark · Western Scrub-Jay · Western Tanager · White-breasted Nuthatch · White-crowned Sparrow · Yellow Warbler · Yellow-billed Cuckoo · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-headed Blackbird · Yellow-rumped Warbler · Yellow-throated Vireo · wilson's warbler
Small mammalsAbert's Squirrel · Allen's Jackrabbit · American Beaver · Arizona Cotton Rat · Arizona Pocket Mouse · Arizona gray squirrel · Bailey's pocket mouse · Common Muskrat · Desert Kangaroo Rat · Gray-collared Chipmunk · House Mouse · Least Chipmunk · Mantled Ground Squirrel · Merriam's Shrew · Mexican Vole · Mexican Woodrat · Ord's kangaroo rat · Red Squirrel · Round-tailed Ground Squirrel · Silky Pocket Mouse · Stephen's Woodrat · White-footed Deermouse · black-tailed jackrabbit · botta's pocket gopher · brush mouse · cactus mouse · cliff chipmunk · cottontail rabbit · deer mouse · desert cottontail · desert pocket mouse · desert shrew · harris' antelope ground squirrel · merriam kangaroo rat · northern grasshopper mouse · porcupine · rock pocket mouse · rock squirrel · southern grasshopper mouse · western harvest mouse · western white-throated woodrat
PredatorsAmerican black bear · Long-tailed Weasel · badger · bobcat · common gray fox · coyote · hog-nosed skunk · hooded skunk · kit fox · mountain lion · raccoon · ringtail · spotted skunk · striped skunk
Hoofed mammalsPronghorn · bighorn sheep · collared peccary · mule deer · white-tailed deer
BatsAllen's Big-eared Bat · Big Free-tailed Bat · Black Bat · California Leaf-nosed Bat · California Myotis · Eastern Red Bat · Eastern Small-footed Bat · Fringed Myotis · Hoary Bat · Long-eared Myotis · Long-legged Myotis · Pinto Bat · Pocketed Free-tailed Bat · Southern Yellow Bat · Southwestern Myotis · Townsend's big-eared bat · big brown bat · brazilian free-tailed bat · cave myotis · little brown bat · pallid bat · western mastiff bat · western pipistrelle · yuma myotis
Also on the checklistAss · South American Coati · feral cat · white-nosed coati
Activities
Activity guides for this park Hiking in the national parks
Weather & climate
Weather during the summer can be extremely hot. It is typically 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than Phoenix, AZ. Winter weather may create hazardous conditions on the roads to Tonto National Monument. Severe thunderstorms may lead to a closure of the hiking trails.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to enter Tonto?
Entrance is $10 per person on foot or bike. Tonto National Monument charges a fee to all visitors hiking to the Lower or Upper Cliff Dwelling.
Source: National Park Service
Which passes work at Tonto?
The $80 America the Beautiful pass covers the entrance fee here.
Source: Is the pass worth it
Can I pay the entrance fee in cash?
No. Tonto takes cards only at the entrance.
Source: National Park Service
When is entrance to Tonto free?
Next on October 27, Theodore Roosevelt's birthday. 2 fee-free days are left this year, for US residents only.
Source: Free entrance days
Do I need a reservation to enter Tonto?
No. There is no timed-entry or entrance reservation at Tonto. Camping and some tours have their own reservations.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at Tonto?
Standard hours are 8:00AM - 4:00PM, every day. Dated exceptions are listed under Hours.
Source: National Park Service
Is anything closed at Tonto right now?
2 active alerts as of October 14, 2026: Upper Cliff Dwelling Tour Reservations Not Available; Water is Required.
Source: Alerts
How busy is Tonto?
26,160 recreation visits in 2025, number 314 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at Tonto?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 4G LTE and AT&T 4G LTE. No reported coverage for T-Mobile. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
Is Tonto good for stargazing?
Yes. Tonto is a certified International Dark Sky Park.
Source: Dark sky parks
What is the weather like at Tonto?
Weather during the summer can be extremely hot. It is typically 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than Phoenix, AZ.
Source: Weather & climate
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.
