Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park

Amidst the urban sprawl and commercial filth of Phoenix, lie the ruins of a 1500 year old civilization, the Hohokam.  Literally meaning "those who have gone," this was the name given to the mysterious Indian culture that thrived in the southwest of Arizona between AD 1 and 1500.  Known throughout the southwest for the irrigation canals, pottery, and ruins they left behind, this is one of the parks that brings you closer to this culture.

Though the ruins are little more than mounds, due to building materials back then being in limited supply (i.e. adobe, caliche, and if you got lucky - some logs) and heat and monsoons eroding away what once was, there are some wonderful full scale homes (replicas) for visitors to explore.

Picture the teepees we know and love in the Westerns, now replace the furs and leather with the surrounding soil.  I can't imagine that their villages were easy to sustain, though their exceedingly large ballcourts survive to this day, seen here at Pueblo Grande.  Walk the trails and walk in the footsteps of this ancient culture, trace the foundations of their homes, look at pottery which has been found at the site, learn about the amazing irrigation canals that helped their civilization thrive as a successful farming community for 1500 years.

Advice: never come here unless it is below 85 degrees.  Locals can talk all they want about it being a dry heat, but you will be doing a lot of walking while here.

Admission is $2, that's all the city gets for sponsoring the research, tours, talks, digs, and displays. 

If you are bored to tears just thinking about walking amidst almost non-existent ruins, visit the visitor center museum and gawk at the artifacts found in or around the site.  Kids can be archeologists for a day and dig around in their life-size excavated trench.