The Sears - Kay Hohokam Ruins, located near Cave Creek, Arizona is rather easy to visit; but the one mile loop trail is steep for about 1/2 mile, making an elevation change of over 300 feet. You will need about 3/4 hour to 2 hours to make the walk. Depending upon your ability. But you should plan to take more time in order to appreciate the various views of the village that you will see there. As the trail climbs steadily through the ironwood, cholla, ocotillo and saguaro, you'll gain some very impressive views of Four Peaks, Weavers Needle, Pinnacle Peak, the McDowell Mountains, and Red Mountain. The Sears-Kay Ruin which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 24, 1995, takes its name from J.M. Sears, who founded the Sears-Kay Ranch in the area in 1887. Archaeologists say the 40-room Hohokam village site, built around A.D. 900, once provided shelter for about 100 people. The ruins stand about halfway around a loop, overlooking the normally dry creek bed of Camp Creek. Signs are located throughout the ruins relating the history of the site, which was occupied from about 1,050 AD to 1,200 AD. Most of its 40 rooms are now simply rows of rough rock walls about a foot or two feet high. They were built around open courtyards, that were used for the daily activities of the people. The Sears-Kay Ruin was a perfect place to live because the ridge was easy to defend with a few well - placed scouts who could easily check for any enemies without the need to travel far from home. The Hohokam also had panoramic views including Pinnacle Peak, Four Peaks, the Superstitions, and Weaver�s Needle. These views probably had some bearing upon the so called "Mystery Room." If you stand in that doorway, you can watch the rising of the sun during Summer Solstice over Four Peaks. There also are some rock formations on the southeast side of the ridge including one toward the northeast that modern day hikers have named, �The Foot�, and �The Warrior�. A Google Earth Map search marks the center of the parking lot at the Sears-Kay Ruin Site at about: 33o 53' 07.91" N 111o 48' 58.80" W. The center of the parking area is at about 3,362 feet elevation. The Hohokam: According to oral tradition, the Hohokam may be the ancestors of the historic Akimel O'odham and Tohono O'odham peoples in Southern Arizona. The Hohokam culture, which spanned some 1450 years � from 1 A. D. in the first millennium to A. D. 1450 � suddenly appeared and vanished into the darkness of history. During that time, the Hohokam raised new standards in innovation, art, and craftsmanship. They also had trade and cultural connections into Mesoamerica. Based upon the first archaeological evidence, researchers believed that early Hohokam pioneers into northern Sonora and southern Arizona, imported a more advanced Mesoamerican influence into the area, founding the Hohokam culture, around the beginning of the first millennium. Based upon later archaeological evidence, other researchers believed that local descendants of the ancient hunting and gathering traditions of the desert, responded to influences from Mesoamerica and emerged as the Hohokam. Yet other students have suggested that the Hohokam immigrants arrived from an unknown Mesoamerican region and swept across the deserts of southern Arizona and northern Mexico. It is thought by those researchers that the Hohokam immigrants probably over ran the hunter/gatherers in the region of southern Arizona, sometime in the second half of the first millennium. Yet other investigators say that the Hohokam region was nothing more than a Mesoamerican frontier outpost. And others believe that the Hohokam culture represented nothing more than a local cultural development with a Mesoamerican tint. In any case, not much is known about their origins. The Hohokam occupied a geologically and ecologically diverse region, which extended from the basin and range and the low desert country of northern Sonora and southern Arizona northward into the Mogollon Rim escarpment and onto the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau. The Hohokam people had many settlements in the Gila and Salt River valleys of southern Arizona. They built rectangular pit houses from earth, rather than stone, and lived in small villages. They cremated their dead and placed the ashes in a specially prepared pit Although the Hohokam relied a great deal on hunting and gathering, they also were skilled farmers and excellent engineers. They were a peaceful people who cooperated to build large canal networks. Some of their canals were over ten miles long and used gravity to control water flow and to flush out the silt. Between the 7th and 14th centuries they built and maintained these extensive irrigation networks along the lower Salt and middle Gila rivers that rivaled the complexity of those used in the ancient Near East, Egypt, and China. These were constructed using relatively simple excavation tools, without the benefit of advanced engineering technologies. These highly successful agricultural techniques produced a surplus of food. Villages and populations grew. Over the next 1500 years the Hohokam expanded their settlements into the Tucson Basin, then to the Phoenix area, and as far north as present-day Flagstaff. The Sears - Kay Hohokam Ruins, Near Cave Creek, Arizona is the remnants of one of their villages standing on a hilltop about 10 miles east of Cave Creek. The Sears - Kay Hohokam Ruins is open at no charge, to the general public, for visits seven days a week. Be prepared for variable and extreme weather conditions: cold and windy in winter, hot sun in summer with afternoon thunderstorms from Mid June To Mid September. How To Get There: From central Phoenix, take Interstate 17 north to Carefree Highway, then go east past Carefree toward Bartlett Reservoir. When you reach Bartlett Dam Road (which bears to the right), bear left on Forest Road 24 and go about 2.8 miles to Sears-Kay Ruin Road. Turn east and go about 0.2 mile to the parking area. Admission: Free. Facilities: Toilets, picnic tables, grills. For More Information Contact: CAVE CREEK RANGER DISTRICT 40202 North Cave Creek Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85262 Phone: (480) 595-3300 Fax: (480) 595-3346

If you are planning to visit the Phoenix area to tour the Sears - Kay Hohokam Ruins, located near Cave Creek. And if you are coming from outside of Arizona, you could fly into Phoenix and then rent a car. The Sears - Kay Hohokam Ruins is a short distance north of Phoenix, near Carefree, and Cave Creek, Arizona. There are hotels and motels all along the way in nearby towns. We have some links to Priceline.com on this page since they can arrange all of your air flights, hotels and car. You may need some outdoor clothing and equipment, if you plan to visit the Sears - Kay Hohokam Ruins. We have some links to Altrec on this page since they are a good online source for outdoor gear. We of course, appreciate your use of the advertising on our pages, since it helps us to keep this page active.