Round Trip Distance: 1 mile
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 7635 - 7709 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 45 mins.
Trailhead: Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area
Fee: none
Attractions: pueblo, pottery
The Rudd Creek Pueblo is located at the Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area south of Springerville, Arizona. The pueblo was comprised of approximately 50 masonry rooms and had 2 large subterranean great kivas. Presently visible at the site are the rubble pile remains of the pueblo where only the outlines of the rooms can be seen.
To get there drive about 2.5 miles south from Eagar on US 180/191 and turn right onto CR 4131.
After turning off of the highway continue for 5.2 miles to the Visitor Center where you will find restrooms and a small museum. For turn-by-turn direction enter 'Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area' into your driving app.
From the Visitor Center begin hiking south along the shady lane.
After passing the big red barn and other structures the route comes to 2 trail signs where one points left and the other right. Go left at this point where the road begins climbing a small mesa.
Near the top of the small mesa there is another trail sign where you will want to go to the right.
The ruins of the pueblo are inside of a fenced enclosure.
Once through the gate you will find a short interpretive trail with several kiosks.
The first kiosk has an artists rendition of the ruins along with a written description.
The rocks that make up the border of the trail display a surprising variety of pot shards. Be sure to leave all of these where you find them. The broken fragments of pottery makes the ruins as much worth visiting as the ruins themselves.
This exposed section of wall shows an unusual construction design. In many pueblos and cliff dwellings small rocks, called chinking stones, are used to fill the gaps between the larger stones and sometimes poked into the mortar as a decoration. Here small rocks were used to form entire layers that appear to have been dry stacked rather than held into place by mortar.
