Chaco Canyon National Historical Park is an incredible place of immense archaeological beauty and significance. You could spend many a day, week, or month exploring this place and never even come close to seeing it all or coming to an understanding of what its significance to the people who built it was. But its significance to those who visit it today are clearly evident in the reverence shown to the area. I absolutely recommend visiting and exploring and enjoying this ancient place. Be warned though, it can get very hot in the summer and quite cold in the winter. I’ve been in June and January and have felt both extremes.

There are two ways to get to Chaco Canyon and both are bumpy unpaved roads with the occasional washboard patch but the drive is absolutely worth it. The way most people come is from 550 some 21 miles on 7950. The other way is from the south on 57 and is also about 20 miles but is a little rougher. Regardless of which way you arrive, you will immediately notice the intriguing and visually inescapable Fajada Butte as you approach the Park.

The Park has numerous ruins and hikes both short and long with plenty to see and do and take in. The area is a reverent yet exciting place and I recommend spending all the time you need there. It isn’t a place to pass through, even if the people who built it did just that. From the visitor center there’s a small trail to some petroglyphs and a ruin called Una Vida.

Also from the visitor center the one-way street starts that will take you northwest towards the park’s gems. The first stop is Hungo Pavi.

Chetro Ketl’s huge kiva and long wall is up next.

Then the massive Pueblo Bonito comes into view and is worth exploring completely.

Up next is the Pueblo del Arroyo and just a bit of a walk further lies Kin Kletso and the Pueblo Alto Complex hike, one of my favorite hikes of all time. Even further beyond Kin Kletso is a hike (7.4 miles roundtrip) that takes you to Casa Chiquita, the Supernova Pictograph, and Peñasco Blanco. I haven’t visited these treasures yet but I will.

Now the road heads southeast and the first stop is the hike (3.6 miles roundtrip) to Tsin Kletsin and the Casa Rinconada Community. The Tsin Kletsin is another hike I have not yet completed. And another hike I have yet to do but will one day is the Wijiji hike (3 miles roundtrip) which is across the street from the Gallo Campground turn.

I’d heard about Chaco Canyon in my Archaeology classes in college and I couldn’t wait to visit and both times have been magical. I have planned on going four times but sometimes the desert can be a tricky place to visit in the spring when weather can turn roads impassable and make camping uncomfortable.

If you’re interested in the unique and exciting history of Chaco Culture National Historical Park and the surrounding Four Corners Area, listen to my history podcast which details in depth, the people, their culture, and the landscape. I have an entire series, starting with the Ice Age and going right up to the Spanish which covers the Anasazi, Ancestral Puebloans, Mesa Verdeans, Mogollon, Hohokam, and of course, the Chacoans.