About an hour north of Tucson (and Saguaro National Park) on your way to the Phoenix area you will find one of the oldest National Monuments, Casa Grande Ruins.
How to get to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Unlike some National Monuments that require long treks along dubious roads (I’m looking at you Hovenweep) getting to Casa Grande Ruins is relatively simple. Located near a town called Casa Grande (see the connection?) which is on I-10. If you are traveling between Phoenix and Tucson you are almost guaranteed to drive right by the exit, which is 211. Once you exit drive directly North on Highway 87, which will become 287 and you will eventually come to the road to the ruins. This road is called Ruins road and is across the main road from Walmart and some other stores.
You will drive down Ruins drive until you arrive at the parking lot. There is not a ton of parking, but visiting the ruins does not take too long, so it turns over pretty quickly. From the parking lot you will make your way to the visitor center. When we went there was a fee to visit the park, but that fee has since been removed.
What You Will See at the Casa Grande Ruins
Of course the main attraction here is the Casa Grande, or great house. This is a well preserved dwelling that was built by the ancestral Sonoran Desert people. It is very cool to see, but first you should watch the film at the visitor center if you can (it has been closed for Covid-19 as of this writing). When you exit the visitor center you will follow a path out to the Casa Grande which is covered with a large awning. The path will also lead you to other ruins and interpretive signs.
In addition to the historical buildings you can also see desert plants here. After you are done walking around outside you can visit the museum in the visitor center which contains many historical artifacts (note: as of this writing the museum exhibits are also closed for Covid).
Sum Up
Casa Grande Ruins are an awesome National Monument. It doesn’t take long to visit, so it is well worth your time to stop if you are in the area. Since you will likely be passing this way if you are visiting Saguaro National Park it is a great monument to go to on that trip.
