A recently released National Park Service report assesses the impact of Flagstaff Area National Monuments of the local economy. The report shows that during 2011, 526,433 park visitors spent $27,820,000 and supported 367 jobs in the area.
The National Park Service describes the three national monuments near Flagstaff, "Wupatki, Sunset Crater Volcano, and Walnut Canyon National Monuments are managed collectively as the flagstaff Area National Monuments. Together, they protect more than 40,000 acres and 3,000 archeological sites, in a landscape of expansive high deserts, canyons, mountains, mesas, and volcanic features."
The three protected sites within a 35 mile radius of Flagstaff, Arizona, offer an amazing diversity of landscape and can easily be visited in one day. Many visitors who stop in Flagstaff on their way to or from Grand Canyon National Park which is less than 90 miles away choose to spend an extra day exploring these nearby monuments.
- Walnut Canyon National Monument is approximately 8 miles east of Flagstaff just off Interstate 40.
- Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument is located 12 miles north of Flagstaff on Hwy 89.
- Wupatki National Monument is 33 miles north of Flagstaff off Hwy 89 or via the loop road that runs through Sunset Crater.
