Wupatki's red-stone pueblos stand on open grassland north of Flagstaff, at the far end of the loop road from Sunset Crater. The same $25 pass covers both monuments, and the trails are open from sunrise to sunset.
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The pueblosWupatki National Monument · Photo: SeanMD80 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Credits
Each pueblo has its own short trail from a parking area on the loop road. Coming from Sunset Crater, you reach Wupatki Pueblo at the visitor center first, 19.5 miles on, then Wukoki and, near the northern exit to US 89, the Citadel and Lomaki.
Wupatki Pueblo
WhereBehind the visitor centerWhat you'll see104 rooms, a ballcourt and a natural blowhole. The largest building for at least 50 miles around in the 1100sAccessibilityPaved and accessible to the first overlookWukoki
Where2.5 miles from the visitor centerWhat you'll seeA three-story tower on a sandstone pedestal, with original roof beams; 0.2 mile round tripAccessibilityAccessible to the foot of the puebloCitadel and Nalakihu
Where4 miles from the US 89 entranceWhat you'll seeThe Citadel crowns a small cinder hill, built of basalt and sandstone; Nalakihu stands below itAccessibilityAccessible to the foot of the cinder hillLomaki and Box Canyon
Where4 miles from the US 89 entranceWhat you'll seeLomaki, Hopi for "beautiful house," sits on the edge of an earth crack; 0.5 mile round trip on rough gravelAccessibilityNot accessibleWupatki looks dry and empty today, but in the 1100s it was a busy farming and trading community. Farmers worked the mesa tops, washes and terraces, and a few inches of black cinders from Sunset Crater acted as mulch. Trade reached hundreds of miles in every direction; one cremation burial follows a Hohokam tradition from the south.
In winter the visitor center keeps short weeks, but the road and trails stay open.
The loop road starts off US 89 northeast of town, so the east-side hotels are the quickest start. Sunset Crater in the morning and Wupatki after lunch fits the loop into one day.
Photo: ExpediaBest for road trips and RVsEast Flagstaff and Route 66 9.8/10 on Expedia
Free parkingPets: dogs and catsBreakfast extra
On the east side, where US 89 heads north to the loop road, with a deli and a grocery store for the drive.
Elden Trails Bed and BreakfastEast Flagstaff and Route 66 9.4/10 on Expedia · 124 reviewsFree parkingPets: 1 dog, up to 35 lbBreakfast includedCheck prices
Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Flagstaff NortheastEast Flagstaff and Route 66 9.2/10 on Expedia · 1,000 reviewsParking $7.50 a dayNo petsBreakfast includedCheck prices
Hampton Inn & Suites Flagstaff EastEast Flagstaff and Route 66 8.6/10 on Expedia · 1,001 reviewsParking $7.50 a day (height limit)Pets: dogs only, up to 2, up to 50 lb eachBreakfast includedCheck pricesAncestral Puebloan people built the pueblos in the 1100s, about a century after Sunset Crater erupted. By 1182, perhaps 85 to 100 people lived at Wupatki Pueblo alone. Hopi, Zuni and Navajo people still tell its stories today.
If you're already at Sunset Crater, yes: the same pass covers it, and the pueblo trails are short walks from the loop road.
The loop road is 35 miles. With a stop at Sunset Crater and two or three pueblos, it takes most of a day.
Only on the paved roads and in parking lots, on a 6-foot leash. Dogs aren't allowed on the pueblo trails.
It's open 9 am to 4:30 pm, but from November 2 to March 7 it closes Tuesday to Thursday, and it's closed November 16–26, 2026. The trails stay open from sunrise to sunset.
