Camp Verde Cliff Dwellings

We had trouble determining just what to call this hike. Some of us had done it before; the hike leader then had referred to it variously as Clear Creek Mesa or Clear Creek Caves. After some searching, I managed to find a map that lists the Indian Ruins we were to visit as “Camp Verde Cliff Dwellings” and decided to use that name for the report. Just be aware that you may find records of previous Skyliner hikes to the area that refer to it by other names.

Fifteen of us (Jim Manning, Debbie Dobson, Colleen Maktenieks, Kwi Johnson, Connie Woolard, Gordon Bice, Miriam Sterling, Bill Woolard, Daisy Williams, Marvin Alt, Jan PreFontaine, Donna Goodman, the author and two others) left Cottonwood, drove through Camp Verde on Hwy 260 and parked on the left side of the road at mile marker 225.4. The trail leaves the road through a small, permanently closed iron gate, constructed so as to permit easy access for hikers. There is ample parking for five or six cars.

Although well defined, the trail is apparently not official, and the attendant at the Ranger Station in Camp Verde had no information about it. From Hwy 260 the trail quickly starts a sharp 300-foot climb to the first of the Indian ruins, built into an overhang in the cliff, about 0.4 miles along the trail from Hwy 260.

Camp Verde Cliff Dwellings – 300 ft above Hwy 260 on the unnamed 

but well-defined trail.

Camp Verde Cliff Dwellings – 300 ft above Hwy 260 on the unnamed 

but well-defined trail.

The photograph below was taken while standing just in front of the cliff dwellings shown in the two preceding photographs. Note, in the above photographs, the still-solid stone and mortar walls constructed to enclose the area under the overhang for dwellings.

Hikers struggling up the slope just below the cliff dwellings shown above

From here making our way on up to the top of the mesa was just a matter of finding the most convenient way to ascend another 100 feet. When we did so we found ourselves at a narrow rock connector that separates the mesa above into two parts of unequal size. We turned to the southwest onto the smaller part of the mesa and immediately found ourselves surrounded by ancient ruins. This entire area is literally covered with ruins.

Old Indian Ruins above Camp Verde Cliff Dwellings 

Old Indian Ruins above Camp Verde Cliff Dwellings

A snack amidst the ruins – Miriam, Donna and Jim

Looking across the stone connecting bridge from the ruins to the 

larger section of the mesa

We spent some time wandering around amid the ruins, pausing for a snack and looking across the rock connector to the larger section of the mesa. In the photograph above right the connector is just out of sight to the right. This larger northeast part of the mesa visible here is about 70 feet higher than the smaller portion that contains all the Indian Ruins.

We decided to cross over to the other section of mesa and walk around its rim before climbing to the topmost point for lunch.

Meanwhile some among our party wondered how the Indians ever managed to get the water necessary to mix mortar for all the construction we had seen. Being a foolhardy person, I ventured the opinion that the answer was, “Squaw power.” One of our female hikers pointed out that there were loose rocks, just the right size for throwing, scattered all about. Not being a complete idiot, I quickly led the group across the connecting bridge to the larger section of the mesa, taking care to stay farther than a stone’s throw ahead.

Other than the spectacular 360-degree view, we didn’t find much to interest us on our exploration of this section of the mesa. I was a bit disappointed because I thought I remembered finding a nice cave just under the rim on the northwest side of the mesa. Although I climbed down to look at a couple of interesting spots this time, I was not able to find it again. In retrospect it must have been located just below the ruins we looked at on the smaller section of the mesa. In any case, I took a photograph from near the cave on that previous hike (November 2006) that I like very much. It is included below.

Photograph taken atop the mesa above Camp Verde Cliff Dwellings

– November 25, 2006

We ate lunch at the highest point on the mesa, about 3630 feet.

After lunch we made our way back down to the cars by two different routes. We all descended about 200 feet to the top of but about 300 yards northeast of, the cliff containing the dwellings shown on the first page of this report. A few of us then climbed down the steep cliff face to visit a couple of small peaks visible below while the rest of the group continued northeast along the top of the cliff in search of a less precipitate descent.

The photograph below shows the two small peaks visible from the mesa; one shows vegetation and one is completely bare. I saw no indication of anything, such as a rock layer, that would have caused the peaks to form naturally, and there was no sign of a road that might have been used by heavy equipment. I have no idea what produced them.

Taken from about half way back down on our return - this is a magnified 

view of two small, interesting peaks, one with vegetation, 

the other looking as though it had been scalped.

A somewhat closer look at the “scalped” peak is shown in the following photograph with Gordon, Connie and Donna posed on top.

Gordon, Connie and Donna posed on top of the scalped peak

By the time we had climbed and descended from the two small peaks on our way back, the rest of the party had appeared below. We all arrived back at the parking area at essentially the same time. The hike was only two miles long with a little less than a 700-foot elevation change. However, the initial climb was pretty steep and the trip back down, at least the way we returned, required some care to avoid falls.

The total hike distance was 1.9 miles, the maximum elevation was 3634 feet and the total ascent was 977 feet.

Referring to the map provided with this report (below), the part of the trail marked in red is pretty well defined. The part marked in green is not a trail at all, rather just the path I took while wandering around and descending.