Is Hunt's Tomb in Phoenix's Papago Park Worth a Visit?

A trip to Phoenix isn't complete without at least a brief visit to Papago Park. There's so much to do there, and it's especially a great place to catch a good view. I have an entire other post about our experience watching the sunset from the Hole in the Rock, but if you aren't able to hike up to the rock or don't want to brave the crowd, I highly recommend visiting Hunt's Tomb instead. Or, if you enjoyed the sunset so much the first time, as we did, Hunt's Tomb is a great spot for a second watch party.

Hunt's Tomb is a twenty-foot tall pyramid at the top of a hill in Papago Park. It is as tall as it is wide, which I think makes it extra aesthetically pleasing, and it's covered in white ceramic tiles that help it stand out beautifully from the red ground and the big blue sky. The tomb was built by Arizona's first governor George Hunt in 1931 to honor and entomb his wife. He was later buried there when he died in 1934, and other members of his family were entombed there as well.

Why is Hunt's Tomb a pyramid?

It's actually quite interesting, I think. It's said that Hunt was inspired by the Pyramids of Giza which he saw while traveling abroad. Yeah, him and everyone else... The selection of a pyramid structure really reflects a moment in history when Americans, and the world really, were obsessed with ancient Egyptian architecture, cultural, and design. This followed the 1922 discover of King Tut’s tomb, and this "Egyptomania" movement is considered part of the Art Deco period.

In addition to many small pyramids like Hunt's Tomb, there were around about one hundred Egyptian-style movie theaters constructed during this time, although not many remain in existence today. If you have an Egyptian theater near you, go ahead and check its date of establishment as I bet it will be in the 1920s or 30s.

Why visit Hunt's Tomb in Papago Park

In any case, aside from the cool looking pyramid, there are plenty of other reasons to visit Hunt's Tomb. This spot is on top of one of Papago Park's many hills, so it offers great 360-degree views. You can see the Hole in the Rock (and its many tourists if you zoom in on my last photo), some of the other red sandstone geological formations in the park, downtown Phoenix, and the air traffic control tower at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (as well as planes coming in for landing, which is always fun to watch).

Plus, if you visit at sunset, you will get some great colorful views with silhouettes of downtown Phoenix and the South Mountains. These views are pretty much identical to those at the Hole in the Rock, except for, of course, the getting to include the rock opening in your photos. All that is just to say that if you aren't able to hike or don't want to sit in a rock for an hour, Hunt's Tomb is a short set of stairs from a parking lot, and it has actual benches for sitting comfortably.

In Conclusion

All in all, I would say Hunt's Tomb is definitely worth a visit. It's totally free - no parking or park entrance fee - and it has some really nice views. It's a lot less crowded than the Hole in the Rock, although we did arrive in the middle of a yoga class! I loved how close to downtown Papago Park is, so it's really not out of the way to visit at all.