The 45-minute drive along a bumpy dirt road to Chaco Culture National Historic Park—the only route into the 34,000-acre park—serves to put the visitor in the right frame of mind for this land from time gone by. The sky looms large over the nearly treeless desert landscape, and the horizon stretches to the far end of the one's imagination. There is little evidence that the 21st century made it here to northwestern New Mexico. Read More »
Chaco Culture National Historical Park Highlights
- Though today Chaco Canyon is home to crumbling ruins in a dry canyon 30 miles from the nearest paved highway, between the time period of 1,000 and 1,100 C.E., it was the social, economic, and religious center of the most complex and sophisticated society north of Mexico. Much of the canyon and ruins are open to hiking and exploration.
- The Penasco Blanco Trail, also beginning at the parking lot for Pueblo del Arroyo, leads not only to the ruins of the 9th-century pueblo but also to one of the canyon's best concentrations of pictographs on rocks and canyon walls.
- Whether you come in from the north or the south, you've got a good 45-minute, dirt-road ride through canyons and cattle fields and along arroyos and mesa-sides before you find yourself at the museum and visitor center. There's a primitive campground, but no services are available in the canyon.
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Chaco Culture National Historical Park Travel Q&A
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What's your favorite hike? Where's the best campsite? Join the conversation! Ask Your Question
What You Can Do in Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Articles & Advice on Chaco Culture National Historical Park
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- Top Ten Active Baby-Boomer Vacations
- Regardless of imminent retirement or 40th high school reunions, many adventure-loving boomers prefer bicycle seats to beach chairs and kayaks to cruise ships. If you are among the legions of boomers with energy to burn, here are the ten top picks for your next vacation.
- Native Lands
- Drive into the past and capture your family's imagination by visiting the ancient abodes of the Native Americans as you drive across the southwestern stretches of the United States, from Durango to Dolores and beyond.
- Casamero Pueblo
- Past and Present
- Chaco Culture National Historic Park
- Top Picks
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Parks Near Chaco Culture National Historical Park
- Navajo Lake State Park,NM (54 mi.)
- Aztec Ruins National Monument,NM (54 mi.)
- San Juan Skyway,CO (65 mi.)
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