Romero Ruins Interperative Trail, AZ

Cross the street from the parking lot area following the sign that says Romero Ruins Trail. The trail immediately crosses the wide, sandy Sutherland Wash. From here follow another sign for the Romero Ruins Trail that points to the left. Now you will get in all the elevation gain of this hike. A wooden stairway leads you up probably about 100 feet to a bench, here you can rest and get a good view of the Catalina Mountains and if you look behind you have a good view of the Sutherland Wash.

Here is where the loop portion of the hike begins. I will describe the 1/3 mile loop portion taking the right branch since that is the way I completed it. In less than a minute you will find yourself at the Ball Court. An oval shaped depression that the native americans played ball in. A informational sign tells you all about it, then you will climb a small hill. What you will find out when you get to the top of the hill is that you are standing on a native american landfill so to speak. Apparently this is where they threw all their garbage. Continue the loop by descending from the hill until you come to the wall of the indian compound. You can kinda see where the wall is, but its not much. In a shortwhile you will come to the most notable ruin on the trail, the ranch of Francisco Romero. A series of 4 ruined buildings each now about 2 foot high but very noticeable is Romero's Ranch. Another informational sign tells you about the ranch. In another minute you come to the other end of the indian compound wall, this wall was the most notable indian ruin I saw on the trail. Can definitely tell that there was at one point a wall there. Continuing on one last informational sign tells you about the native american way of life, where they got water and what they ate. Now the loop comes to an end. Walk down the stairs, cross the wash and return to the 21st century.

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2008-04-19 rally_toad