Chiricahua National Monument - General Park Information

Twenty seven million years ago a volcanic eruption of immense proportions shook the land around Chiricahua National Monument. One thousand times greater than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, the Turkey Creek Caldera eruption eventually laid down 2,000 feet of highly silicious ash and pumice. This mixture fused into a rock called rhyolitic tuff and eventually eroded into the spires and unusual rock formations of today.

The 18-square-mile Monument is a mecca for hikers and birders. At the intersection of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts, and the southern Rocky Mountains and northern Sierra Madre in Mexico, Chiricahua plants and animals represent one of the premier areas for biological diversity in the northern hemisphere.

The Chiricahua Apaches took refuge here during hostilities with whites, and after Geronimo surrendered, in 1886, Bonita Canyon was settled by Swedish immigrants Neil and Emma Erickson. Their daughter and her husband turned the homestead into a guest ranch and worked to make the area a national park. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge designated the area a national monument. The homestead was named Faraway Ranch by the family. The property was sold to the National Park Service in 1979, and it became a historic district within the monument.

Rates & Fees
Entrance Fee: $5.00 per person
Camping Fees: $12.00 per night; $6.00 with Golden Age Passport.

Open year round.