Chaco Culture National Historic Park, New Mexico

Looking down into the canyon from the rim.

Fajada Butte

The great Kiva Casa Rinconada

Pueblo Alto - one of the smaller ruins in Chaco

Petroglyphs on a cliff behind the Visitor Center

We first visited Chaco Canyon in 1995 on the way from Durango to Albequerque. Back then, it was a long drive from the north on the dirt New Mexico highway 57 to get to Chaco Canyon. This road is now closed due to the number of folks who were taking artifacts from the monument. Now to get to Chaco from the north, you take a shorter and better maintained dirt road from Nageezi, New Mexico. If you are are really brave and have a really good suspension, you can take New Mexico highway 57 from the south. This road is brutal, even in a large four-wheel drive vehicle.

Because we were en route on our first trip, we only had part of the day to tour Chaco Canyon. With only a 9 mile loop drive, you would think part of the day would be enough. However, if you ever get the opportunity to visit Chaco Canyon, you will discover that no matter how long you have, you want to stay longer.

Chaco Culture National Historic Park not only has a large number of ruins compared to other historical sites we have visited, the ruins are also much larger and in better condition than the ruins you see at Wapatki, Hovenweep, Aztec, and even Mesa Verde. In addition to the ruins, there are a large number of petroglyphs you can view.

Since our first visit, we have been drawn to return to Chaco Canyon. This was our third visit to the park and we hope to return again.