Fort Bowie National Historic Site

Apache Pass was the homeland of the Chiricahua Apache, and its spring was a place of life in dry country. When emigrants, a stage line, and the army began using the pass in the mid-1800s, tensions rose, and in 1861 a misunderstanding known as the Bascom Affair set off open conflict between the army and Cochise's people. The following year, a large battle was fought here at Apache Pass, prompting the army to build the first Fort Bowie to guard the spring.

For the next quarter century the fort was a hub of the campaigns against the Chiricahua Apache, and it was from here that the army coordinated the long pursuit that ended in 1886 with the surrender of Geronimo, one of the last Apache leaders to hold out. That surrender marked the end of the Apache Wars, after which many Chiricahua, including Geronimo, were sent into exile far to the east. The Chiricahua Apache endure today as a living people, and Fort Bowie stands as a memorial to a hard chapter of their history.

The only way to reach the fort is on foot, along a trail that winds through the pass and past the landmarks of its story. Along the way the trail passes the ruins of the Butterfield stage station, the post cemetery with its weathered markers, the site of the 1862 battle, and the Apache Pass spring that made the ground so contested.

At the end stands the fort itself, its adobe walls slowly melting back into the earth, with a small visitor center and interpretive signs explaining what once stood there. The walk is not long, but it carries you through the whole layered history of the pass, and the quiet, remote setting lends the ruins a haunting stillness that a roadside stop could never match.

Fort Bowie sits in high desert grassland between the Chiricahua and Dos Cabezas mountains, part of the sky-island country where forested ranges rise from open plains. The pass and its spring create a pocket of greenery and water in a dry land, drawing birds and wildlife to the site.

The grassland and surrounding foothills support hawks, quail, songbirds, and a variety of desert reptiles and mammals, from javelina and coyote to jackrabbit and mule deer. Spring wildflowers and the greening that follows summer rains bring color to the pass, and the wide, quiet landscape gives a sense of the country as it looked when the fort was active.

Spring is mild and often green, with wildflowers along the trail, one of the most comfortable times to make the walk in. Summer is hot and largely shadeless, so an early start and plenty of water are essential, and the July and August monsoon can bring sudden afternoon storms.

Fall brings warm days, cool nights, and thinner crowds, an excellent season to visit the quiet ruins. Winter is cool and clear, with cold nights and bright, pleasant days for the trail, and the occasional dusting of snow on the mountains framing the pass.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.