Last updated: May 13, 2026
Place
Walhalla Glades Pueblo
NPS Photo/D. Crispin
Quick Facts
Location:
North Rim
Significance:
Cultural Site
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
On May 15, the North Rim reopened for the season. Visitors should plan ahead and be prepared for a more remote experience this year, with limited services available as the park continues recovery and restoration work.
The 2026 season will focus mainly on day use and limited backcountry access, with some scenic drives, viewpoints, and trails open to visitors. Please keep in mind that potable water will not be available on the North Rim, so be sure to bring plenty of water and food for your visit.
Walhalla Glades Pueblo is open during the 2026 season
Note: Post-fire hazards and weather events may result in a temporary closure of this location.
Click and save me before you visit: Walhalla Glades Pueblo Walking Tour Guide
History
Located along Cape Royal Road, this Ancestral site is hidden among the ponderosa pines of the Walhalla Plateau. The site preserves the remains of a small masonry pueblo built around 900 years ago. Archeological sites like this one are sacred to the region's tribes today, and require respect and care when visiting them.
Walhalla Glades Pueblo is reached by a short self-guided trail near the Walhalla Overlook area on Cape Royal Road.
Today, visitors can see the outlines of several stone rooms with low walls within a forest clearing. Though only the foundations remain, the layout gives a sense of how people once lived on the North Rim centuries before the national park existed.
Because archaeological sites are fragile and culturally important, visitors are asked to stay on designated paths and leave artifacts exactly where they are found. Under federal law, removing artifacts or disturbing ruins in national parks is prohibited.
One of the most interesting aspects of Walhalla Glades Pueblo is its location. The North Rim’s high elevation and relatively short growing season might seem challenging for farming, but ancestral communities carefully used small meadows, seasonal moisture, and nearby water sources to grow crops like corn, beans, and squash.
Limestone in this area is fairly soft (for a rock) and may have been one reason people decided to settle here. Wood, plentiful on the canyon ridges overlooking the canyon, is another.
Kettle holes and ponds in the bedrock and nearby landscape may have been a source of water. Seeps and springs, like those found along Cliff Spring Trail (further south on Cape Royal Road), would have been another.
Excavated by Douglas W. Schwartz during the 1960's, this archaeological site is a sample of what used to be at least nine rooms, occupied from 1,100 to 1,150 CE.