Walnut Canyon National Monument was established by President Woodrow Wilson on November 30, 1915, to preserve ancient cliff dwellings. Initially managed by the US Forest Service, the monument was transferred to the National Park Service in 1934. Today a variety of archeological and natural resources are preserved on approximately 3600 acres.Understanding of earlier populations comes from multiple perspectives, including the traditional history of the people themselves and interpretations by archeologists of structures and artifacts that remain. The park has a good visitor center with a small museum; the building is perched on the cliff edge and enjoys panoramic views east and west.

 Many of the ancient dwellings were built around a U-shaped meander in the canyon, where the creek circles around three sides of a high rocky plateau, almost creating an 'island', and this region now forms the central attraction of the national monument. There are many other ruins in the 20 by 10 mile area but none are accessible to the public. visitors can See millions of years of history unraveled in the geology of the rocks at this popular scenic and historic hiking area,