Palatki, Sedona, Arizona

Tourists visiting Sedona, Arizona can explore the Palatki Heritage Site. Sedona is located in the northwest portion of the state near Flagstaff. A short drive from the city for tourists and residents will bring them to the Palatki site. The Palatki Heritage Site is a cliff dwelling and rock art location. The site is governed by the United States Forest Service within the Red Rock Pass Program. The site is open to the public seven days a week. The site will be closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. There is a small visitor center and bookstore at the site.

Visitors are able to learn about the history of the Palatki and the area before taking a short walk out to the site. The Arizona Natural History Association runs the visitor center. The parking lot can accommodate quite a few visitors per day. To reach the Palatki Heritage Site hikers can take two trails. One trail will take visitors to the Sinagua Cliff Dwellings. The second site leads to the alcoves where painted symbols and pictographs are sheltered from the elements. The art has been associated with many of the native cultures that once occupied the Verde Valley.

The two trails are each a quarter of a mile one way. This means visitors have to hike two miles to see both sites. The pictograph trail is the easiest one to go on. The cliff dwelling trail has fifty uneven steps. For individuals that are not in great shape or have trouble walking this cliff dwelling trail could be too difficult. The trails are not wheelchair accessible. It is also recommended that all hikers wear the appropriate shoes. Water and vault toilets are available onsite.

Palatki is not the only site like it in Arizona. It has a sister site called Honaki. Honaki are the largest cliff dwellings in the state. These dwellings date to 1150 to 1300 AD. They are also located in Red Rock Country. The sites were both discovered by Dr. Jesse Walter Fewkes. He was a turn of the century archeologist at the Smithsonian Institute. He gave the Hopi names of Honaki and Palatki to the dwellings. Honaki means bear house and Palatki means red house. The Hopi did not actually have names for the sites at least that were recorded.

It is best to make reservations with the park for between 9:30am and 3pm. Reservations are required to get into the park. The US Forest Service only allows a certain number of visitors to the site each day. It is possible to be turned away if a tourist does not have a reservation. Pets are not allowed at the site at all.

To reach the park access from Sedona is on Highway 89A. One must drive from West Sedona to Forest Road 525. The park is about fifteen miles from Sedona depending on the location a person started from. There are other roads that will take a person to the Palatki site based on the direction they are coming in from.