Montezuma Well

So, I was a little disappointed with the well. It was a nice to go visit once, but I doubt I will go back. It reminded of the quarry pits I grew up with back east.
The ruins just outside the well was a nice place to visit and learn about some Indian history.

The well resembles a large quarry filled with water and has small cliff dwellings along the rim. Over 1.5 million gallons of water flow through the well on a daily basis. I found it interesting that there are no fish living in the water.
There are paved hiking paths along the rim of the well and also a trail that goes down the floor of the well at the water’s edge. There are primitive restroom facilities beside the parking lot. The history and usage of the well by early inhabitants is very interesting and educational.
While visiting this area stop at Montezuma’s Castle only a few minutes away.

A desert oasis
On many occasion that I traveled in the area I saw this place on the map, but for some reason never stopped there to check it out! Now I wish I had! Standing on top of the hill where the little lake is, one gets a great view of the desert spread around as far as eye can see and that hits home the importance of this water to the people who occupied the immediate region centuries ago and even now. Do not make my mistake, stop there, take your time, go hike down inside the bowl and check out the little ruin down there, then come up and walk around. It will make you wonder about what the place once was like and what it might be in a couple of centuries from now.

This is one of my favorite places to visit in Arizona, though most people don’t know it exists. Anytime I’m traveling in northern Arizona I try to visit. You get off on exit 293 on I-​17 and then travel about 4 – 5 miles east.
There is a small parking lot that can accommodate about 7 – 8 cars. Parking is free and so is the attraction.
Most people only know about Montezuma’s Castle a few miles south of here as it is better promoted.
When you park you walk up the hill. As you walk up the hill you wouldn’t know there’s anything at the top. There are signs along the path describing the various plants, including my favorite, the Creosote. Be sure to smell the Creosote bush. The smell of the plant is how the whole desert smells after a good rain. When I think of the Sonoran desert this is what I think of.
Once you get to the top of the hill, you’ll find the hill is actually a big open pit and at the bottom of the pit it is filled with water fed by an underground river. In the sides of the pit are Indian cliff house ruins (on a much smaller scale versus Montezuma’s Castle). It is extremely peaceful and quiet since most people don’t know about this place. There is a trail that leads you down to the water’s edge, where there are more ruins. In these ruins there were some bats hanging out (literally and figuratively), as it’s a little cave-​like.
The water from the well leaks out and feeds the Wet Beaver Creek, which is how the Indians used to irrigate their crops hundreds of years ago. Unfortunately the trail leading to the outlet was closed for some reason.
The water in the pit has very high levels of carbon dioxide which prevents most water life from not being able to live in it. There are 5 unique water animals living in the pit, including a leech, a shrimp, a water scorpion and two others.
This place is a good 30 minute diversion when up in northern Arizona. I highly recommend it.

Interesting place to visit and was easy parking and free entry to boot. My wife was recovering from Plantar Fasciitis and didn’t want to go on a long hike so the ¹⁄₃ mile trail was perfect.
Trail going where the water exits into Beaver Creek was closed due to repairs so I would check before going if you want to hike the cool creek area also.

exclusive
exquisite
serene
aquatic
natural
tranquil
bliss
wow… i live this place
more pics to come

This is a very interesting place as far as seeing what kinds of water and irrigation techniques that were practiced by the Sinagua and related people. This is something worth seeing.

Nothing bad to say. Fun experience, pretty cool and beautiful site. Only complaint is the smoking area is right in front of the trail… Didn’t like that so much. Other than that I thought it was really neat. Nice ruins. Nice paved trail. Not great for handicapped as there are steps however. Thought the well had an interesting ecosystem, leeches as the prime predator!!!

We were coming from Phoenix to Page and this was on the way there. We saw the sign for Montezuma Castle but we knew we weren’t gonna go in there so we opt for the well instead. I would be okay if we didn’t have to stop here but since we had time, we did. It was 5 miles off the freeway so you’ll be driving into a small town to get to the well. We just went base off google map and it somehow led us there. From what I remember, there was sign that tell you where to go for the well.
From the parking lot, it takes less than 15 minutes to walk to the well. If you want to be comfortable and keep your feet clean, bring your shoes. I am the type that enjoy nature and all but I thought the well was a-​okay. You get there, you see the well, and that will be it! If you like history and all, I’m sure this would have been a cool place to visit. Other than that, I wouldn’t waste an extra hour here and maybe spend time in Sedona better.

First, you huff and puff walking up the north path. You get to the top and Whoa! The gross algea looking pond, with ducks having a ball. It was amazing and so cool to read how the well came about. There’s a path leading down that had stone stairs as well, huge flat rocks and as you near the back, you can see the structures where people lived. When I turned back around that’s when I saw the other structure’s up high on the otherside. Very neat. You than huff and puff back up you continue along the path that takes you around and down near the original river that the well goes into and Beaver creek. The creek was bustling along, quite noisely, the wind was shaking the trees and making leaves fall which added to nature’s music.
Right off the path there is this huge flat boulder that I immediatly parked my butt there for a good 15mins just enjoying the beauty of it. Huge trees starting to change there colors. Quiet! Except for one bratty kid, it make’s you just quietly walk and enjoy it. When you continue down and towards the back, I saw water streaming across the concrete path and looking, you can see the actually holes in the rock the water did to free itself from the well. The original river has a rock wall, and you can lean over and put your hand in the running creek. The water was cool and sooo clear.
This was my favorite stop. Would definently go back and it was FREE.

I share the enthusiasm of the many here who enjoy the FREE aspect of this 1 – 2 hour sidetrip, and remind that there are donation boxes at the beginning of the trail.
You can do this very interesting desert well loop well under an hour, very walkable with slight inclines, and very interesting DEEP constant spring water supply in the middle of a lot of desert. Very helpful signage explains a lot of the local flora. We even ran into some new (or old?) agers having a smudge party down at the outlet by Beaver Creek, where you can access the water (OFF the loop). They got into the water, so can you, HO! Some old adobe ruins are visible on the cliffs of the Spring.
Like Montezuma’s Castle, neither part of Montezuma’s Well’s name is correct. First it’s a Spring, and also had nothing to do with Montezuma who never left Mexico city. The joke here is that «Montezuma never slept here». For lots more intg info, ask teh Google. (
History of Montezuma Well. pdf)
We did not do Montezuma Castle because we were taking a break from overly touristy sideshows.
Montezuma’s Well was really refreshing. Do it.
PS. Apparently tourists DO drink the water here, but then nobody ever sees them again.

My mother left me in the parking area as she excitedly hiked away up the paved path to the well overlook. There are a few steps and it slopes upward but the distance is short and manageable, although not wheelchair friendly. She was eager to see what this ancient well had to show her. When I caught up with her, she had me translate several information signs along the overlook. The small cliff dwellings and the well’s significance to the ancient Sinagua people continued to fascinate her, even after viewing Montezuma Castle and the Wupatki Pueblo ruins earlier.
Mom was bored at the Grand Canyon as she had seen it several times before but the many historical and culturally significant places on this trip continually had her curiosity piqued. There was no fee to enter, nor was there a parking charge. The National Park Service website has some great background information, including some night cam shots of animals at the well. The rangers were very friendly. Time constraints did not allow us to take in the additional historical spots here, such as the pit house.
Definitely worth a side trip from Flagstaff and Sedona, or a detour if heading south to Phoenix. Combine a trip to Montezuma Well with the main park at Montezuma Castle.

A huge sinkhole filled with water in the desert! The best part is this is free. There are some old ruins at the top rim and along the side so you can see a few examples of the architecture. You can see some more impressive ones at Montezuma’s Castle, but it has an entrance fee.
On the other hand, if this was not in the middle of a desert it wouldn’t be that exciting to look at.
If you are in the area you should swing by because it’s free!

I was all excited for Montezuma’s Castle to see the ruins… and then bitterly disappointed that they were so far away and the only way to really get a look was via binoculars.
Montezuma’s Well actually let me see cliff dwellings from a much closer vantage point!!! This is the most unexpected treasure. You can view the «well» from the top, hike down into the basin (pretty easy hike) or take a walk along the stream that the well leaks down into. Lots of great photo opportunities. The paths are paved for easy access most of the way but parking is at a premium!

Don’t listen to those reviewers who say there is nothing to see here! True, it’s basically a big whole in the ground with water in it but that is pretty impressive when you think that it is a continuously fed natural spring in the middle of an otherwise complete arid environment. Along the path up top, there are plaques pointing out the native vegetation like mesquite and juniper trees, cacti, and scrub… when we went for Labor Day the wildflowers were in full bloom for monsoon season and all the salt bushes had bright yellow flowers. At the bottom, nearer to the water, you can see lots of lizards, squirrels, and other animals coming by for a drink. It is shady down there from the cliff walls and large sycamore trees so its comfortable even in the summer. We didn’t see any deer or other larger mammals but we did watch a flock of ducks playing in the water and eating the agae. The inscription also said that after the sun goes down you can see tons of leeches come to the surface; I don’t think I would want to see that though, I had a hard enough time with all the spiders down in the cavern area… and as mentioned by others there are a lot of ants, too.
If you follow the main path it is only ½ a mile and completely paved. Someone in a wheelchair or stroller may have difficulty going up the stairs at the beginning but you could always start on the other side of the parking lot and then turn around to go back the way you came when you got to the stairs. You get to see wonderful views of the San Francisco Peaks and Mogollon Rim from up there, it is awesome! Plus, you can look down onto the cliff dwelling and into the well. For the more adventurous you can take the stairs down to the bottom of the well and get a closer look at the water and what is left of the cave walls (yes, the whole thing was a giant cave before the roof caved in hundreds of years ago) as well as the spot where the water seeps out. After you get back to the main path, there is another side trail that will lead you down to the outside of the cavern so you can see the water coming out the other side of the swallet and flowing thru an irrigation ditch to Beaver Creek.
There is so much beautiful nature in the area it was a real pleasure just to walk around and explore. I found the literature on the signs along the path and extra info we got from the ranger very educational. (PS Ranger was an extremely nice guy, he even waited around to make sure we got out ok since we stayed a little past closing). I think especially for kids it will really spark their imagination to see this little oasis in the desert and the remnants of the ancient people who once lived there. All this for free!