Round Trip Distance: 1.2 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 3168 - 3561 feet
Cellphone: 3-5 bars
Time: 2 hrs.
Trailhead: McDonald
Fee: none
Attractions: cave & pueblo ruins
The Camp Verde Caves are located along Arizona Highway 260, overlooking Clear Creek, in Camp Verde, Arizona. Visible from the highway the caves display cliff dwelling type ruins and soot covered ceilings showing signs of earlier occupation. The remains of a large pueblo can be found on the western point of the mesa above the caves.
To get there, take I-17 Exit 287 for AZ-260. Follow AZ-260 for about 7.2 miles and park in the pullout on the north side of AZ-260. For turn-by-turn directions you can enter 'McDonald Trailhead (Camp Verde Caves)' into your driving app.
From the small parking area near the highway the trail makes a steady climb along an easy to follow route.
A little past the halfway point the trail briefly levels out as it reaches a bench and the caves become more visible.
At this point the route becomes more of a scramble up rocky outcrops and scree covered slopes that are much steeper than the lower portion of the trail.
Even after hundreds of years of decay mortared remains of walls can still be seen in some of the caves. The walls are very fragile though so be sure not to touch or lean on them.
Working your way to the west along the base of the cliffs there appear cave after cave.
In one of the caves we spotted a couple of small corncobs stuffed into a hole.
To see the pueblo ruins you will need to find your way up to the top of the mesa somewhere past the last cave.
Most of the surprisingly large pueblo is pile after pile of rubble where the faint outlines of former rooms can be distinguished. The best remaining walls are found at the northwest corner of the pueblo.
Going back to the first cave that we came to when we scrambled up the mountain and then traversing around to the east there are many more caves.
Some of these caves also have the remains of masonry walls inside of them.
The side of the hill below the caves is littered with shards of pottery. Some of the pieces are very large. Be sure to leave all of them where you find them for others to enjoy remembering that it is illegal to dig for or collect artifacts.
