Length of stay: 1 day
Visited: May 2024
Chaco Canyon was once a thriving centre of the ancestral Pueblo people between the mid 800s to 1150. It was characterized for its grand architectural design, unique masonry techniques and complexity of its community life, which then had an extensive influence in other places in the southwest including Mesa Verde and Aztec. The monumental stone buildings, known as great houses, are among some of the largest, most complex and best preserved buildings constructed in North America until the late 19th century. The Chaco Culture National Historical Park provides access to five of these major archaeological sites within the canyon.
We got an early start to the day as we had a lot of distance to cover. And we wanted to make a couple of stops along the way, of course. From Grants it was just under a two hour drive to get to Chaco Culture. It was a rather scenic, but fairly uneventful drive. That is until we reached a sign for the park and turned down a dirt road. It was narrow, rocky and bumpy, and in super rough shape. This couldn’t be right, especially since the sign had indicated that it was 20 miles until the park. With no cell reception to double check, we had no choice but to keep going. Thank goodness we had rented a beast of a vehicle, a Ford Expedition.
The dirt road winds through the quiet countryside. There was nothing around, just sand and desert shrubbery. We didn’t see a single car. We kept thinking there is no way this leads to the park. If it was raining, this road would be completely impassable. It turns out this area only receives about nine inches of rainfall annually.
After about an hour of driving along the rough road we had reached the entrance sign for the park. The road from here was paved. We headed to the visitor centre to get a map of the park and check out the indoor exhibits that explain more about the history of the area.
Chaco Canyon contained dozens of great houses that were connected by roads to more than 150 other great houses throughout the Four Corners region (southwestern Colorado, southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico) in the United States. These great houses were built using masonry techniques unique for the time. Construction spanned decades or even centuries. Designed in a D shape, they had multiple stories and contained hundreds of rooms. They were typically oriented to solar, lunar and cardinal directions. As for their purpose, they were thought to have been used as public buildings for ceremony, administration, commerce, storage, trading and other gatherings.
The park contains a 15km (or 9 mile) paved road that passes five major sites. We started with Hungo Pavi, an unexcavated great house that’s located by the base of a towering sandstone cliff. There’s a short trail that loops around the ruins. K scoped it out and kindly took some pictures while I stayed in the car to nurse the baby.
This great house contained over 150 rooms, a great kiva (a circular room in the ground that was used for ceremonial purposes) and an enclosed plaza. When the Chacoans left, it succumbed to the elements. Roofs and upper walls collapsed, sand blew in and vegetation started to grow around the ruins.
We then headed to Pueblo Bonito, the largest and most important site in the canyon. It had more than 600 rooms and was four to five stories high. There’s a short trail, about a kilometre (or half a mile) that leads to the ruins and then loops through and around them. We put the baby in her carrier and got to it.
There’s an option to continue onward to check out the Wetherill Cemetery where Richard Wetherill is buried. He was a rancher and explorer, and is best known for discovering and excavating some of the ruins in the Four Corners region, including Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon. However, his excavating practices were rather questionable and he kept and sold many of the ancient artifacts that were found.
We continued on the path, which crosses the road and leads to the next major site, Pueblo Del Arroyo. It was the fourth largest great house in Chaco Canyon and had about 300 rooms. While the other great houses in the canyon were built near the northern cliff and face south, this one was built in the middle of the canyon and faces east.
Once we completed the loop through the ruins, we walked back along the road to where we parked at Pueblo Bonito. There was a small sheltered picnic area there which seemed like the perfect spot to eat lunch. We then drove to the next site, Chetro Ketl. It is the second largest great house with about 400 rooms and covers more than 3 acres.
The last site along the loop is Casa Rinconada. There’s a short trail that leads through the ruins which contains the largest great kiva in Chaco Canyon. There’s also another short path that passes by several small house sites.
Chaco’s role as a regional centre shifted. People stopped constructing great houses and began to migrate to other locations in the mid 1200s. It’s not clear why they left Chaco Canyon, but it could have been due to prolonged drought, its short growing seasons or the rise of other places in the region such as Mesa Verde.
Once we wrapped up it was time to hit the road again. Thankfully we didn’t have to drive back the way we came and instead took the northern route. It still required driving on a gravel road for several kilometres, but it was in significantly better condition compared to the southern route.
L
The sheer size and scale of these pueblo communities never ceases to amaze me. A very well established community and then it is gone. Always good to bring your own shade along in these kinds of climates. Thanks for sharing Linda. Have a great Sunday. Allan
Oh I know. This was hands down our favourite spot that we visited in New Mexico. It was incredible how extensive and in such great shape the ruins are. I always travel with an umbrella just in case it rains. It came in handy as it provided a bit of shade coverage for the little one (and myself of course). Thanks for reading. Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Linda
Those great houses must have been very impressive in their day. Strange that the road to reach the park is in such poor condition. I wonder how many people turn back before reaching it. Maggie
Oh absolutely. It’s pretty incredible how they managed to build such extensive complexes. They seemed like they were carefully designed and thought out too. The ruins at Chaco Culture were hands down our favourite. We were surprised to hear that it’s one of the least visited national parks or monuments in west because of its remoteness. The park is surrounded by Navajo lands, which is why the roads are in rough shape. They also don’t allow RVs to drive on them. I’m just glad our rental vehicle was up for the challenge (and that it wasn’t raining)!
Great adventure! You guys have discovered more places than we have around that area.
It was an adventure just to get to the park but it was so worth it! We enjoyed exploring the ruins and learning more about the history of the site. It’s amazing how extensive the community was and that many of the ruins are still in such great shape.
Wow, such an impressive community! It would be great to see how the homes looked when they were new. ❤️
Oh I know! Apparently the great houses were planned in advance and then built, which might explain why they were so well-designed. Our local developers could learn some lessons here!
Beautiful 🤗 Thank you for Sharing and for taking us on this journey with you.
Thanks for reading and leaving a comment. It was neat to walk among the ruins and try to imagine what this place was like during its heyday.
I can only imagine.
Interesting ruins, that’s a lot of rooms and people in the various great houses. The great house – a precursor to today’s apartment living?
The great houses were apparently planned in advance before construction even began. No wonder they were so well-designed. It’s amazing to see how well they’ve held up over the years too. And yes, they very well could have been the equivalent to our modern day apartments, but better because a whole community was designed around them.
Such a cool place. Now I want to go back west…
It’s a bit remote and tough to get to, but Chaco Canyon is definitely worth adding to the list. We’re thinking about heading back out west later in the fall. Maybe either to California, Texas or the Dakotas.
All amazing places to visit. Tough choice, but perhaps go with the weather as bot SD and parts of Texas can get extremely hot even in the fall.
Good point. Neither of us are a fan of the heat. It also makes things a bit more uncomfortable when we have to lug the little one (who isn’t so little anymore) around. Hope you’re enjoying the long weekend.
Wonderful share! I love visiting the sacred Pueblo sites. The one you’ve shared has a considerable amount of structure remaining, compared to some I’ve seen. Thank you.
Thanks for your kind words. We visited a few of the ancestral Puebloan sites during our road trip and this one was by far the most extensive and (naturally) our favourite. It was a bit of an adventure to get there, but it was so worth it. And as an added bonus, it wasn’t very busy.
Sounds wonderful! The added adventure can be a bonus too, as long as you’re safe. Thank you for sharing more detail.
For sure, especially since there was no cell reception there. We just took things nice and slow. The bumpiness actually worked out well as the baby ended up napping the entire time!
A beautiful bonus!
Oh wow, driving along this kind of dirt roads always makes me so nervous! But it definitely looks worth it! Thanks for sharing!
The roads were super sketchy. I’m just glad we had rented a large-sized SUV that was up for the challenge. Granted, we still had to drive pretty slow because the roads were rutted.
The road may be in poor condition in order to discourage visitors. It’s apparently something that’s done when there’s short staffing and the site can’t be properly supervised, or so I’ve been told by an Arizona friend. These sites are fascinating and silent testimony to the impermanence of human civilisation. You definitely need portable shade out there! That area can be scorching!
I had mentioned Chaco since I visited the area and spent a few days in New Mexico on 2 separate trips. One of my friends, is from Albequerque who was the driver and very knowledgeable since she’s lived in NM for several decades. She is a retired high school teacher and would care about reliable information. She read this blog post and indicated:
“The truth of the matter is quite basic. The unimproved roads traverse the Navajo Nation (the reservation), and they have sovereignty over their own roads, much like any sovereign nation. The US is not so much in the habit of paving and maintaining another nation’s roadways. Lol…unless we have a military presence there. The segments that are managed by the US Parks Service in cooperation with the Navajo Nation are paved. There’s no staffing shortage, no Parks Service cabal bent on discouraging people from visiting, no weird explanation at all”.
Good to know. I guess that would explain why the roads are in such rough shape. And why this is one of the least visited national parks and monuments in the Four Corners region. I’m so glad we rented an SUV, which seemed up for the challenge. It was quite an adventure to get there, but so worth it. This was our favourite ancestral Puebloan dwelling that we visited on our road trip. And it was kind of nice that it wasn’t very busy.
Bandelier was also great which we did also.
Agreed! It was a lot of fun to climb up some of those ladders!
What a facinating place and people! Beautiful photos and post. 🤩🤗
Thanks for your kind words and for leaving a comment. We visited a few Ancestral Puebloan dwellings and this one was by far our favourite. The ruins are quite extensive and in such good shape. It was neat to learn more about their history.
Wonderful place and amazing photos, must be very interesting
being there. Thank’s for share Linda.
Have an awesome week.
Thanks so much for reading. It was neat to wander through the ruins. The history of the area is fascinating. Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Cheers. Linda
Thank’s for comment Linda sounds very interesting. Yes thank’s, hope yours as well. Cheers. Elvira
It’s great uncovering these ancient sites and imagining what oife would have been like in its heyday
Oh I know. Their design techniques were pretty sophisticated. They apparently did a lot of planning prior to building, which is something that seems a bit lost with developers nowadays.
So great adventures trip dear friend 🌷🙏👍🏻photos all so magnificent beauty and inspiring explanations also 👌✍️✌🏼
Thank you so much for sharing and lovely wishes 💗👏🌷
You are too kind. The history here is fascinating. It was neat to wander among the ruins and try to imagine what it would have been like to live there.
Thank you so much for this lovely reply message 🌷🙏💗
Olden days actually people want to stay there , but can’t
live in a dry land and leave everything, historically 👌✍️
Have a Blessed Thursday my dear friend 💕💐👏
Very true. While the scenery is spectacular, the conditions can be quite harsh in the desert. Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Linda
Thank you so much and sending lots of love my friend 🌷🙏💞🌷
What a neat place to visit! I can’t believe how many rooms they had. Love all the pictures and glad you had an expedition to get you to the sites.
It was fascinating to learn more about the community that once lived here and to see the ruins. And it’s amazing how much is still left standing considering the structures are around a thousand years old. Somehow I don’t think our modern buildings would stand up as well to the test of time.
Another one to add to the bucket list! It looks completely amazing.
Definitley! Out of all the Ancestral Puebloan dwellings that we visited during our road trip, Chaco Canyon was the most extensive and by far our favourite. The roads were a bit rough to get there, but it was so worth it.
Wow, such an incredible place to visit especially for those who are history buffs and outdoor lovers. It must have been an amazing experience to see Chacoan’s great houses, kivas, rock art, and stunning vistas as the hallmark Chacoan roads and the geometric layout of structures can easily captivate visitors. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
Oh I know! It’s pretty incredible how much was still intact from this community, especially considering how old the structures are. It was neat to wander among the ruins and try to imagine what this place was like during its heyday. It’s quite remote and a bit tough to get to, but that also meant there weren’t many people around, which made our visit even more special. Thanks for reading. Enjoy the rest of the week. Linda
🥰🥰🥰
I just think places like this are so fascinating. It is amazing that so much of these great houses are still standing after so long. Even from the ruins you can tell these were certainly great, big, and impressive houses. 🙂
Oh I know! It goes to show how carefully designed and well constructed these buildings were. I wonder if we all disappeared what our current cities would look like in a thousand years.
It’s amazing to see what has endured all these centuries later. I can imagine those stone homes feeling cool in that baking heat!
I hear ya on renting the big cars that can drive through the rougher terrain. I would not want to be stuck in those harsh terrain with no cell signal without the proper car to get outta there! The cemetery alone creeps me out to wanna be stuck there at night!
It’s pretty incredible how they were able to build these structures using materials found in the area and that they’re still around today. It makes me wonder what our newer subdivisions would look like a thousand years from now if we all just left.
We decided to rent a bigger vehicle because of the baby. We wanted the extra space to let her trash around in case the weather wasn’t the greatest or if we needed to change her diaper on the road. I must say, it came in handy on the rough road leading into the park (and again as we were driving through a snowstorm in the mountains, but more on that later). Thankfully gas was much cheaper in the US compared to Canada!
Enjoy the long weekend!
I don’t think there’ll be much left of our subdivisions in a thousand years. 🙂
Getting a bigger vehicle makes so much sense with younger kids.
We’re en route to the East Coast now. Long drive ahead! 😆 Enjoy your long weekend too.
I dont’s think so either. Houses these days aren’t build to last.
Safe travels to New Brunswick! Hope the drives goes/went well!
I thought rough, bumpy roads leading to known historical sites only existed in developing countries! This makes me feel better, in a way. 😆 The ancient ruins look incredible! Given the unique architecture and its setting, I wonder why this place doesn’t get more visitors.
Ha! It turns out I didn’t read the park’s website too clearly as they do mention the rough conditions on the road, especially the southern route which is what we took to get there. I must say, it was quite the bumpy adventure to get there, but so worth it. It’s actually one of the least visited national parks in the United States because of its remoteness and the rough conditions on the road. It ended up being our favourite spot that we visited during our road trip though.
Yes, it helps if one has a vehicle with high ground clearance – especially if you have to drive rough roads! At least it seems to have been worth it. Isn’t it amazing that some of these ancient buildings were up to five stories high? I wanted to ask if it was hot … until I saw you with an umbrella (probably more for the baby than for you, right?).
We normally opt for something smaller when renting a car, but we figured a larger-sized vehicle would come in handy with the baby. It turns out it was also useful when dealing with the tough terrain. It was incredible how extensive and in great shape some of the structures were in Chaco Canyon. It does make you wonder how they were able to build such sturdy, complex buildings with primitive tools. It’s quite fascinating. It was very hot there with little shade coverage. The umbrella definitely came in handy! Even without the baby I probably would have used it! But yes, it was more for her.
Awesome! How great you were able to explore the places of the ancestral Pueblo people. If you return to this part of the USA, Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado is an amazing place to continue learning about the Pueblo people.
We visited a few Ancestral Pueblo dwellings and Chaco Canyon was hands down our favourite. It was impressive how extensive the ruins are. As an added bonus, because it’s a bit hard to get to, it wasn’t very busy. We ended up going to Mesa Verde the next day, which was also pretty incredible. Unfortunately we were a bit too early in the season and the tours weren’t running yet.
Incredible place. Thank you for this virtual visit 😊.
Totally. I was amazed at how extensive the ruins are. It was neat to wander through them and try to imagine what this place would have looked like in its former glory.
How exciting to see this amazing place. I love places like this. My imagination goes wild.
There’s a lot that still remains unknown about the Ancestral Pueblo people, which means its up to our imagination to fill in the blanks. It was a lot of fun to wander among the ruins and try to imagine what it must have been like to live here.
Wow, what a fascinating place to visit! The ruins look to be in really good condition for their age. Did you have the place to yourself? It looks so quiet. Given the scale and historic importance of the site, as well as how much fun they look to explore, I would have expected a lot more visitors (although maybe they were put off by the roads!).
These were the most extensive and some of the best preserved ruins that we visited during our road trip through New Mexico and Colorado. It’s a bit off the beaten path and the road to get there, especially from the south, is pretty sketchy, which explains why it’s one of the least visited national parks in the United States. No complaints as there weren’t many people there, which is just how we like it.
Oh gosh, you guys took the southern route in? Yikes!
This was fun to read! We were just here and I just finished up my post about it (though it won’t be up for a while since others are in the queue), and it was fun to reminisce about my trip and hear about yours.
I totally missed the warning on the park’s website about the rough roads, especially from the southern route. Whoops! Oh well, it just added to the adventure! Glad to hear you’ve been to Chaco Canyon. It was honestly our favourite park that we visited during our road trip. Looking forward to hearing about your experience there.
It seems that some of the structures are quite complex, which makes me reconsider the sophistocation of this civilisation, although we are a long way from the Mayans a little further south.
Agreed! It’s pretty amazing how they were able to design and engineer some of those buildings, especially using such primitive tools. It’s incredible how much still remains as well, which speaks to how advanced their techniques were for the time. Somehow I don’t think our newer subdivisions would be in as good of shape a thousand years from now!
What an adventure! The scale of this place is incredible and makes you admire the people who built here.
Oh absolutely! It’s impressive how they were able to build such large-scale buildings using basic tools and materials found in the area. And given the state of the ruins I’d say they did a pretty quality job with the construction!
Considering modern people can’t design a road that isn’t full of pot holes in a year, I would say they did a superior job with this!!
Ha! Most definitely! And somehow I don’t think our modern day cities would be in nearly as good of shape a thousand years from now!
Oh my gosh, no! We really should be embarrassed by our lack of staying power.
Oh I know! Even though we have more sophisticated building materials, equipment and techniques, houses that are being built now aren’t meant to last. And the quality just seems to be getting worse. My older sister bought a new build a few years ago and has had so many issues already.
It’s such a shame. Why invest that much in something that won’t last? Our modern ways are so backward sometimes!
Right!? Despite all our technological advancements, it seems the quality of everything, whether it’s housing, furniture or clothing, is getting worse. And it’s having such a negative impact on the environment. It makes me wonder what future generations will think of us. I don’t think we’re leaving things better than we found them.
We are certainly not leaving things better than we found them. Our planet is a disaster and our disposable values are bleeding into everything from consumer goods to relationships. It’s a mess, this world of ours, and I can’t imagine how we will ever turn things around. It’s so depressing!
Agreed, it’s super depressing to see the negative impact we’re having on our planet and yet not enough is being done to mitigate our actions and their risks. I also really feel for youths today as our politicians in Canada have pretty much ruined their future. Housing is unaffordable, wages are suppressed, unemployment rates are high, our healthcare system is collapsing and our infrastructure has fallen behind largely because of record high immigration levels. Ugh.
Ugh is right. You just described America as well.
Frown town. Let’s just hope that future generations learn from our mistakes.
It looks like such an interesting place to visit – I still can’t wrap my head around settlements in such a landscape that old. It’s amazing how people could survive almost anywhere and it’s great the buildings have survived.
The landscape here is quite harsh, which I’m sure was also a challenge when they constructed this community. It’s amazing how they built these structures using materials found in the area and that they’re still in such great shape today.
What a fascinating place, you have laid out the accompanying history and culture really well. I found myself fascinated by this Wetherill character so did a bit of Googling and it seems he was more than likely murdered by a Navajo.
Yah, there’s quite a bit of controversy surrounding Wetherill. He was actually murdered in Chaco Canyon, which I guess explains why he’s buried there. It’s great that some of the artifacts that he discovered are in museums, but it makes you wonder how many ended up in someone’s private collection and whether they understood their significance and importance.
Oh dear, I still have to go to so many places. Thought I had seen enough? Every time I do, I come across posts like this and remember… nope… not done yet!
You and me both! Somehow the more I travel, the longer my list of places I want to visit grows. Chaco Canyon is definitely worth adding to your list though. We saw a few ancestral Pueblo sites and this was our favourite. It’s a bit off the beaten path, but so worth it to get there.
Amazing structures. Imagine what it would look like when it was full of the people who built it and lived there!
It’s pretty incredible. I find places like this so fascinating. It’s a great way to let the imagination run wild.
It’s amazing that despite the relatively good condition of this site, we still don’t know much about the culture. (And I’m impressed you made it there, especially with a baby.)
It’s incredible what archeologists have been able to figure out about the ancestral Pueblo people, but you’re right, there’s still so much that’s unknown about their culture and why they left this area.
Chaco Canyon was a bit out of the way to get to, and the road was pretty rough, but it was our favourite spot that we visited during our road trip through New Mexico and Colorado. Our baby was about five months old at the time, which worked out well as she wasn’t on the move yet and still slept quite a bit. I think it would be tougher to travel with her now that she’s crawling!
Oh gosh, I’ve seen some horror films that begin down a narrow, rocky, bumpy road. You persevered and were rewarded. The round casa looks perfectly made. So interesting.
The road was super sketchy, but I’m glad we didn’t turn around as this was our favourite site that we visited during our road trip through New Mexico and Colorado. It was definitely worth the drive! And I’m so glad we rented a bigger-sized vehicle!
I’m amazed how they’re still standing at all. It’s incredible how historically, people built things so well.
It’s pretty incredible how complex these buildings are and that they’re in such great shape. We don’t make things like that anymore despite all our modern technology. It was pretty amazing to explore the ruins and try to imagine what this place was like back during its heyday.