The trail passes the remains of the Chiricahua Apache Indian Agency.

RVers are used to leaving their unit behind and taking the dinghy or tow vehicle on a day trip. A visit to the Fort Bowie National Historic Site in southeastern Arizona requires a further step: leaving even the get-around vehicle behind. Located at 5,000 feet between the Chiricahua and Dos Cabezas Mountains, Fort Bowie is normally accessible only by a mile-and-a-half-long trail.

But as with RV trips themselves, getting there is half the fun.

Built in 1862, Fort Bowie was an integral part of the country's last major Indian war. The word Apache dominates the history: Apache Pass, Apache Spring, the Chiricahua Apache Reservation, the infamous Apache chiefs Geronimo and Cochise--all were part of the conflict, which stretched to 1886.

Thanks to great interpretative history signs along the access trail, RVers will know most of the story by the time they reach the fort ruins. The trail passes a battleground, the post cemetery, a replica of an Apache wickiup (a common shelter) and the remains of several buildings, including a stagecoach station. Easy enough for both grandparents and grandkids, the trail winds through desert grasslands surrounded by hills and mountains. Signs identify many of the plants along the way.

This vista of Ft. Bowie is from the overlook trail.

After the interesting, scenic walk, the fort is almost an anticlimax. More interpretative signs there point out the mess hall, barracks, guardhouse and other adobe buildings positioned around the old parade ground. The visitor center has restrooms and drinking water and contains dozens of military and Indian artifacts found in the area. Most RVers will assume that the uncollected fragments of glass, metal and pottery they notice here and there around the grounds represent some activity from more modern times, but rangers insist that the debris was actually part of the original nineteenth-century fort operation.

Spence earned the Medal of Honor in action against Apaches.

To return to the trailhead parking lot, take the overlook trail behind the visitor center. It provides great vistas of the fort and countryside and has additional interpretative signs you'd hate to miss. This trail eventually rejoins the main trail. You can also hike the old Butterfield Overland stage route, which intersects the main trail at the station ruins.

The west side of the unpaved Apache Pass Road leading to the parking lot passes the site of an 1861 wagon train massacre. You can reach the Apache Pass Road from either Highway 186 or Interstate 10. The nearest campgrounds are in Willcox, Bowie and the Chiricahua National Monument.

RVers unable to make the walk can still visit the fort via the private road the rangers use. Contact the visitor's center at (520) 847-2500 for details.