- Hours: Open daily except visitor center closed December 25
- Reservations: Not required
- Cost: Unlike most National Parks, de Chelly charges no entrance fee, but they do accept donations
- Location: Northeast Arizona, driving directions below
- How Long: A half day is best, but allow at least two hours
- Best Time to Visit: Any time
- See It Now: Photo Tour
- Discover more sites on our Northeast Arizona Circle Tour
Canyon de Chelly
Two canyons converge in this place Navajo people call Tsaile (SAY-ih), meaning home. It took Nature 30 million years to sculpt the landscape, compressing sand dunes into a dark red rock layer and cutting the walls up to 1,000 high. Today, visitors enjoy the red cliffs with ancient dwellings along their faces, and the verdant valleys below.Canyon del Muerto (del MWAIR-toe) and Canyon de Chelly (de-SHAY) are on land belonging to the Navajo, who share their peaceful home with park visitors.
Start your exploration at the Visitor Center, where you can learn about the area and the Navajo's six-sided, traditional hogan house. Before you leave, visit the park's only restrooms. Two drives follow the rims of the two canyons from here. They afford the only unescorted access.
If you have limited time, concentrate on the South Rim Drive's Spider Rock and Junction Overlooks, adding others as time allows. Even if you're in a rush, take a few minutes at an overlook to watch ravens soaring and enjoy the quiet.
South Rim Drive: (37 miles round trip, 2 hours) It's easier to go all the way to the end of this drive first, then pull into the overlooks on your way back (all your turns will then be right turns). Overlooks include Spider Rock, an 800-foot-tall sandstone spire and Junction, where the two canyons converge. From White House Ruin Overlook, you can hike down to 1000-year-old structures on the floor. It's about 2.5 miles round trip, and takes about two hours. Get an early start in hot weather and carry plenty of water any time.
North Rim Drive: (34 miles round trip, about 2 hours) North Rim stops overlook Canyon del Muerto and include 900-year-old Lodge Ruin, Antelope Ruin (named for illustrations of antelope painted on the wall), Mummy Cave Ruin, one of largest villages in Canyon de Chelly, and Massacre Cave, where Spanish soldiers killed 115 Navajo warriors in 1805.
Visiting anywhere else in Canyon de Chelly requires a Navajo guide. To fully experience the park and better understand its people, take advantage of this service. Otherwise, you may find yourself on the rim gazing down at the green valley and its ruins, wishing you had.
Guides are available through the visitor center to escort hikers or those touring in their own four-wheel drive vehicles. Jeep tours can be reserved through Thunderbird Lodge, or from Canyon de Chelly Tours, Canyon Jeep Tours, de Chelly Tours, Tseyi Jeep Tours.
Be prepared if you bring your pet to Canyon de Chelly. Not only are they legally required to be leashed at all times, but it's the best way to keep them safe from sheer dropoffs and stray dogs that sometimes roam in the parking lots and on the trails.
If you're visting during the months when Daylight Savings Time is observed, be aware that the Navajo Nation observes the time change even though the surrounding state of Arizona does not.
Canyon de Chelly Lodging
A few small hotels are located in nearby Chinle. Kayak.com can help you find the best hotel rates there.The National Park campground is available on a first-come, first-served. Located in a in green area with trees, it has restrooms, drinking water, and a dump station, but no hookups or showers. No fee, but donations are requested.
Inside the park, privately-owned Spider Rock Campground offers "natural" campsites with solar showers.
Getting to Canyon de Chelly
Canyon de ChellyFrom I-40: Take exit 333 onto US 191 north. Follow US 191 north 60 miles to Chinle, then turn east (right) toward the Canyon de Chelly entrance. This drive takes about 1.5 hours.
Chinle, AZ
926-673-5500
website
From Gallup, NM: Drive 7 miles north on US 491 (this road may be marked as US 666 on older maps) toward Shiprock. Turn west on NM 264 toward Window Rock, and drive about 50 miles to the intersection with US 191 north. Follow US 191 north to Chinle, then turn east (right) toward the Canyon de Chelly entrance.
For much of your drive, you will driving through the Navajo Reservation. The multi-sided structures you see built next to many homes, and even incorporated into the design of a few newer ones, are called hogans. You can learn more about the hogan by visiting the display outside the Canyon de Chelly Visitor Center.
If You Liked Canyon de Chelly, You May Also Like:
- Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado: Extraordinary cliff dwellings built by the Ancestral Pueblo people, who lived in the area from approximately A.D. 600 through A.D. 1300.
- Wupatki National Monument, Arizona
- Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico
- Palatki Heritage Site, Sedona, Arizona
- Montezuma Castle, Sedona, Arizona
