A few years ago, Stewart Koyiyumptewa took his wife on a surprise day trip. When he told her they were headed to V Bar V, she thought they were going to a cattle ranch. Koyiyumptewa is the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Hopi Tribe. Journalaz.com reported that her mood changed completely once they reached the rock wall. Afterward she told him to get the name changed, because she believed many people would skip the site if they thought it was just a ranch.
The new name became official on March 16, 2024. More than two years later, plenty of people who live a few miles from 6750 Forest Service Road 618 in Rimrock still say V Bar V. The rename was meant to keep drivers from passing the largest petroglyph site in the Verde Valley without stopping, and the old name has lasted longer than that goal. October through May is the stretch when the site opens longest each day. That schedule started this month.
What the Old Name Hid
The Coconino National Forest describes the Crane Petroglyph Heritage Site as the largest known petroglyph site in the Verde Valley and one of the best preserved. The Forest acquired it in 1994. Archaeologists who studied the panels here helped define what the Forest Service calls the Beaver Creek Style of rock art. The style marks the Southern Sinagua between A.D. 1150 and 1400, and this site supplied much of the documentation behind it.
Nothing in "V Bar V" pointed to any of that. The name came from a ranch brand, and Koyiyumptewa's wife read it exactly that way.
How "Crane" Got Chosen
Koyiyumptewa drafted a letter to the Coconino National Forest and to the tribes around the site proposing a new name. According to Journalaz.com, he met with Vincent Randall, then Apache Cultural Director at the Yavapai-Apache Nation, and with Gertrude Smith, the Yavapai Cultural Director.
His first idea was the Hopi word for crane. The site is one of the few with a crane petroglyph, and Koyiyumptewa called that unique. Randall worried that visitors wouldn't be able to pronounce the Hopi word. "I thought it was easy," Koyiyumptewa joked, as the paper reported. The group settled on Crane Petroglyph Heritage Site, and the U.S. Forest Service approved it.
The renaming took place at the site during Beaver Creek Heritage Days, a revival of the old V-Bar-V Archaeology Discovery Days after a six-year break. The Friends of the Forest March 2024 newsletter lists the Verde Valley Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society, the Verde Valley Archaeology Center and the Coconino National Forest as organizers of that March 16–17 weekend. Coconino National Forest archaeologist Peter Pilles also spoke about his years preserving the site.
As Journalaz.com reported, Koyiyumptewa told the crowd:
"What an accomplishment in my heart to see this name change happen."
The Schedule That Started This Month
The site runs on two schedules. Its fenced petroglyph area is only open during regular visiting hours, so the schedule decides whether you can see the panels at all.
| October through May | June through September | |
|---|---|---|
| Open days | Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday | Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday |
| Hours | 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. | 8 a.m. to noon |
| Entrance gate closes | 2:30 p.m. | 11:30 a.m. |
| Daily window | 5.5 hours | 4 hours |
The winter schedule adds an hour and a half each day, and it covers eight months of the year. It also pushes opening time later. In summer you need to arrive by midmorning. In winter, a Saturday visit after a late breakfast in Rimrock still leaves time before the gate closes. Summer has a further limit: the site closes whenever the temperature goes over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Volunteers from the Verde Valley Archaeological Society and Friends of the Forest give guided interpretive tours during visiting hours. The Forest Service and the Arizona Natural History Association run a visitor center and bookstore about 100 yards from the parking area.
Some details to know before you drive down FR 618:
- Parking pass. Every vehicle parked at the site needs a Red Rock Pass or an America the Beautiful Pass. A self-serve machine on site sells Red Rock Passes.
- Fees. A day pass is $5 per vehicle, a week is $15, and an annual pass is $20. At those prices, the annual pass pays for itself on your fourth day visit.
- Pets. Pets aren't allowed, so the dog stays home.
- Holidays. The site closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year those fall on Thursday, November 26, and Friday, December 25.
According to the Forest Service's site page, money from the Red Rock Pass Program goes to protection, improved amenities and facility maintenance at the site. Your parking fee pays for upkeep at this site.
December Is When the Wall Keeps Time
The best-known reason to go in winter is one panel. Ken Zoll, Director Emeritus of the Verde Valley Archaeology Center, interprets it as a solar calendar. In a 2023 Journalaz.com account, Zoll described the panel as having about 125 petroglyph elements, 11 of them thought to have astronomical associations.
At the winter solstice, two daggers of sunlight appear on the panel. The Verde Valley Archaeology Center's 2025 viewing took place Sunday, December 21, 2025, with a schedule built around the light:
- Arrive by 12:30 p.m. for the walk of about a third of a mile to the site
- Zoll's talk at 1 p.m.
- First solstice dagger at 1:50 p.m.
- Second solstice dagger at 3:10 p.m.
- Gates close at 4 p.m.
The second dagger appears after the site's regular 3 p.m. closing time. The Archaeology Center thanked the Forest Service for accommodating the event, and the late hours are the reason that matters. The 2025 viewing was free and non-ticketed. Visitors still needed a Red Rock Pass or equivalent to park, were told to dress warmly and bring a folding camp chair, and were warned the event depended on the weather.
As of late October, the Archaeology Center's events page hasn't posted a 2026 solstice date. That page is where the 2025 listing appeared, so it's the place to watch through November.
The Next Name on the List
Koyiyumptewa told the 2024 crowd he wasn't finished. Journalaz.com reported that he wanted to rename Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well too, and the paper noted that renaming the Castle would take an act of Congress. For the Well, he suggested Sun Springs Well, a reference to the Yavapai creation story in which the people's ancestors emerged from the Well.
So far it has stayed an idea. The National Park Service's Montezuma Well page, updated in September 2026, still uses the name Montezuma Well.
The Well also has its own winter calendar. The Park Service lists Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well as open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., closed November 26, December 25 and January 1. The Well is open seven days a week, while the Crane site opens four. The two schedules overlap Friday through Monday, which leaves room to visit both in one day. Ranger program times at the monument vary with staffing, and the Park Service suggests calling 928-567-3322, extension 0, or asking at the visitor center.
For anyone who still says V Bar V, here's what the new name stands for. Koyiyumptewa wanted a name that tells drivers on FR 618 there's something worth stopping for, and in his telling, crane petroglyphs like the one here are rare.
Sylvia Ray has spent nearly four decades learning which Verde Valley forest roads lead where, including the ones locals still call by their old names. If you own a home in Rimrock or Lake Montezuma and want to know what it's worth this winter, or how a home near the Beaver Creek corridor compares with others in the area, Sylvia Ray offers a free home valuation or market consultation.
