Kris Eggle Visitor Center — Attraction in Sonoyta

Beautiful monument and campgrounds. Visitor Center not so much. Very strange set up, you can camp at either of the 2 campgrounds in the monument and never need to pay an entrance fee to the monument. Just don't try walking into the Visitor Center because that's where they fleece you for the $25 before entering. I had paid the fee while I came in asking questions about my camping reservation, but didn't have a chance to look around so I left. I came back the next day, and to my surprise, they asked me for a receipt to prove that I already paid. I told the Ranger that "rung me up" the previous day that I couldn't find it, but that I'm sure he remembered me and he himself clearly said he did remember me. Do you think they let me in? No! I saw like 3 or 4 employees standing around doing nothing, no one tried to help, no one cared to fix my situation. I even asked them if my bank statement would suffice and they kept saying "receipt or you need to pay again." All employees I encountered here were useless. To get treated like that left a huge sour taste in my mouth. Worse visitor center experience ever and I will never step a foot inside this...

It was interesting visiting this national Park so close to the border. Being from Michigan, you hear a lot about the border and how dangerous it is. I'm sure there is dangers but we had a great experience exploring this area! Unfortunately we took the wrong way around the loop drive that goes along the border wall. Ending up having to turn around because of the one way road. Probably should have looked into this before we took off 😂. This is a beautiful land to explore many trails. We only got to do the one Arch canyon trail. But it was definitely worth it! We would like to visit this place again in the future!...

Organ Pipe National Monument is a gem that is often overlooked. Obviously, this is not the place for a middle of summer visit. But, given the right time of year, this is well worth a visit. The organ pipe cactus one finds all over are impressive.

The scenic drive - Ajo Mountain Drive - is great, and some of the hiking along the way is exceptional. Estes Canyon/Bull Pasture is a must do loop hike along the drive.

Thankfully, the border situation around Organ Pipe has stabilized, so visiting this great national monument is quite safe again (aside from summer concerns, such as heat stroke).

Well...