There are three ruins within the Tonto National Monument. As you take the path to the "lower" ruin, you should be able to see another ruin slightly to the right of the "Lower" ruin. The public is not allowed in that ruin and there is no path to it. The Monument is open the year round and the public has access to lower ruin throughout the year. In addition, in the fall (after Oct 1st) there are guided tours to the upper ruin which is reached over an un-paved trail that is approximately a 3 mile round trip.

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There are three routes shown on the topo map to Tonto National Monument: From Mesa, it is about 107 miles to the monument via Globe or 103 miles via going north on the Bee-line Highway. Or, the shortest route is to take the Apache Trail (SR 88) approximately 55 miles from Apache Junction to Roosevelt dam - that is the most scenic and least crowded route but be forewarned there are 22 miles of unpaved road.

We refer to the people of the salt river valley as the "Salado", of course we do not know how they referred to themselves. The masonry dwellings within the Tonto National Monument are nearly 700 years old and were occupied for nearly 300 years. The Salado were farmers who cared for irrigated fields of corn, beans, pumpkins, amaranth and cotton. The lower ruin contained 16 ground floor rooms, three of which had a second story. In addition the was a 12 room annex nearby. The upper ruin consisted of 32 ground floor rooms, eight of which had a second story.

Being one of the few southwest cultures to grow cotton, the Salado spun cotton thread for weaving and a few of their cotton shirts etc have survived through the centuries along with some of their pottery, stone grinding tools and woven sandals. The visitor center has a small but good museum.

Like all National Monuments, there are nominal use fees charged for admission. For additional information call 928-467-2241.</p>