Canyon de Chelly National Monument

Understand

Canyon de Chelly is unique among National Park Service (NPS) units, as it is comprised entirely of Navajo Tribal Trust Land that remains home to the canyon community. NPS works in partnership with the Navajo Nation to manage park resources and sustain the living Navajo community.

History

Canyon de Chelly has been occupied for millennia. In several places petroglyphs (rock carvings) and cliff houses of the Anasazi can be seen. The Navajo were living in the canyon when the Spanish arrived in the 1700s. The next century was marked by repeated conflicts with the Spanish and other Indian tribes, and later with the U.S. Finally, in 1864, Kit Carson led a campaign to remove the Navajo to Fort Sumner. Cold and hungry, most surrendered and began the Long Walk to Fort Sumner. After four years of hardship, the Navajo signed a treaty with the U.S., which established the reservation. A few dozen families live in the canyon at least part of the year, farming and herding.

Landscape

The national monument comprises three canyons. Canyon del Muerto and Monument Canyon join to form Canyon de Chelly. At its mouth, the canyon floor is broad and flat. There is sufficient water for patches of lush vegetation. The canyon walls rise steeply for about a thousand feet.

Flora and fauna

Climate

The temperature can reach 100 ℉ (37 ℃) on the canyon floor in the summer. Winter temperatures range from lows around 20 ℉ (-7℃) to highs of 40 ℉ or 60 ℉ (4 ℃ to 15 ℃). With altitudes ranging from 5,500 feet (1,524 m) on the canyon floor to 7,000 feet (2,134 m) on the rim, it can be cold here in the spring and fall even when it is hot at lower altitudes. The weather can be changeable, with a little snow in the winter, and sudden thunderstorms in the summer and fall.

Visitor information

• Park website

Get in

By car

Canyon de Chelly National Monument is off US Route 191, about 1 hour and 15 minutes north of the town of Chambers at the intersection of US-191 and Interstate 40. Chambers is about 2 hours east of Flagstaff (with Petrified Forest National Park en route) and 2 hours and 40 minutes west of Albuquerque on I-40.

If coming from the northeast (e.g. Farmington, New Mexico), it may work nicely to stop at the overlooks on the north rim on your way in rather than driving to the Visitor Center (at the west of the park) and then backtracking.

By train

The closest city with an Amtrak station is Gallup, New Mexico, about 45 minutes east of Chambers on Interstate 40. It is served by the Southwest Chief Los Angeles–Chicago route.

By air

Canyon de Chelly National Monument is very far from any major airport. Your best bet would probably be Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ).

Fees and permits

There are no fees to enter the park. To drive on the canyon bottom, a 4-wheel drive vehicle, a Park Service permit and an authorized Navajo guide are required. The fee is $15 an hour for 1 vehicle, $5 an hour for each additional vehicle with a 5-vehicle limit per guide. Hiking within the canyon requires a Park Service permit and an authorized Navajo guide, except along the 2½-mile (4-km) White House Ruins Trail. One guide may take up to 15 people for $15 per hour.

Stay safe

As with all high-desert locales, it can be hot in the summer, cold in the winter. Dress appropriately and remember a hat. Leave your car locked with valuables out of sight. As in much of the West, animals on the road are a hazard, especially at dusk or in the night; both deer and livestock are drawn to the vegetation supported by rain runoff from the pavement.

Go next

• Monument Valley (north then west) is perhaps the most famous example of the classic American West landscape, with views even more gorgeous at sunset.
• Four Corners (north, then east) where four U.S. states meet at a point, a popular photo opportunity and the best-known attraction in the Navajo Nation (though far from the most beautiful).
• Petrified Forest National Park (south). On the way, the Hubble Trading Post National Historic Site is worth a visit. Avoid Indian Route 15 through Greasewood which is in poor condition and very bumpy to drive on at speed. Take U.S. Route 191 to Interstate 40 for a much better experience.