Coronado National Memorial, Arizona
The Huachucas rise like islands above the surrounding Sonoran desert. This landscape is little changed from Coronado’s day.
Following an ancient Indian trade path up the San Pedro valley, the Coronado expedition crossed the present Mexico-United States border just east of this park. Hikers on the Coronado Peak Trail looking down Montezuma Canyon can see in the far distance cottonwood trees that mark Coronado’s line of march.
The national memorial was established in 1941, 400th anniversary of the expedition. Its setting high in the Huachuca Mountains is a fitting place to recall the first major Spanish entrada into the American Southwest in all its color and fire: the gathering of the army at Compostela, arduous marches across wilderness, encounters with native cultures of great subtlety and art, discovery of a land of vast expanse and power, and above all the record of where they had been and what they had seen.
This is a park to see on foot. Trails lead to good viewing points and connect with others in Coronado National Forest, which surrounds the park.
For information about the park and its programs, write:
Superintendent
Coronado National Memorial
4104 E. Montezuma Canyon
Road, Hereford AZ 85615
The expedition traveled along the San Pedro River, east of the park.