fort-bowie | AZ | Find park

Ruins of the fort with mountains and valley in the background.

San Simon Valley can be seen just beyond the ruins of the cavalry barracks.

The mountain howitzer is a symbolic relic from the active days of Fort Bowie

Ruins of adobe building under a blue sky with white clouds.

The Post Trader's store on a spring day.

Ruined walls of the old buildings and mountains in the background

Fort Bowie was once a bustling frontier military fort. Today, the ruins offer a place of reflection.

Black and white photo of white tombstones in a cemetery, mountains in the background

Fort Bowie cemetery is accessed via the Fort Bowie Trail, and in addition to many US troops buried here, some Apache/Indeh are buried here as well.

A group gathers as a ranger displays the heliograph equipment

The heliograph was an important communications tool in the late 1880s. Stationed on top of high desert peaks, sunlight was reflected off mirrors in coded patterns to send a message miles away.

Physical Address:

3500 South Apache Pass Road

Bowie, AZ 85605

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 158

Bowie, AZ 85605

contact-details

Phone Number: 520-549-6751 Voice

Email Address: chir_interpretation@nps.gov
Description:

Fees

Entrance Fees

Entrance Passes

For nearly 25 years, Fort Bowie stood at the crossroads of the Chiricahua Apache's fight to defend their ancestral homeland and the U.S. Army's westward expansion. Today, visitors embark on a 3-mile scenic loop trail traversing the ground where this profound cultural collision forever altered the course of both American and Indigenous history.

park designation:National Historic Site

Directions:

From Willcox, AZ / points west on I-10: drive 23 miles east of Willcox on Interstate 10 to the the town of Bowie. Exit at the first Bowie exit and drive through the town. Follow the signs for Fort Bowie National Historic Site and turn south on Apache Pass Road. Drive 13 miles to the Fort Bowie Trailhead (the last mile of the road is unpaved). Be prepared to walk the three miles round trip to the ruins and back to your car.

For detailed directions, please visit this link.