Fort Bowie National Historic Site, Willcox

An awesome excursion, well worth the effort and time. It was also nice to get away from the “spring break” crowds. The road in is very long and very bumpy, which was concerning for my vehicle. The 1.5 mile hike in and back is definitely worth it, it really gives a feeling for what the place was… an important passageway for many people. Plaques give relevant information along the way. The ranger at the visitor center was so cool, knowledgeable, informative, interesting, and enthusiastic! I did the junior ranger program, as usual, which was fun, and really helped encourage me to go around all of the ruins and think “outside the box” in the visitor center museum. The landscape is also awesome, it is located on a fault line, which actually has displayed all three kinds of fault movement over time (strike-slip, normal, and reverse/thrust.) !

A unique National Historic Site with friendly and informative staff at the visitor's center (both the ranger and volunteer staff). We enjoyed the hike and roaming around the fort. The site geography meant the fort had a different feel compared to other historic fort sites we've visited. We appreciated the history as well as the geographic understanding of what made this a key location. There is ample parking space.