I don’t remember when I first decided I wanted to visit Canyon de Chelly.
I think it was one of those things where I heard about it or saw a photo that really captured my interest, and from that moment on, it was on my list of places to visit one day. So when we started planning this trip to other parks and monuments in the area, I knew I wanted Canyon de Chelly to be part of our itinerary.
Canyon de Chelly (pronounced de-SHAY) is the original homeland of the Ancestral Puebloans, who lived in and around the canyon until about 1300 CE. The Hopi then inhabited the canyon for about 100 years, followed by the Navajo. In fact, some Navajo still live in the canyon today, spending the summers farming on the canyon floor and moving up onto the rim for the winter. The name ‘de Chelly’ is derived from the Navajo word Tséyi’ (tsay-ih) meaning rock canyon, though the spelling and pronunciation have (obviously) been changed.
Though there is a large campground on the canyon rim beneath the shade of dozens of giant cottonwood trees, we decided to take a break from camping for a night and stay at the Thunderbird Lodge instead. After nearly a week sleeping in a tent with no escape from the desert heat, it was so nice to have a bed and showers and air conditioning. We also enjoyed our dinner of Navajo tacos at the on-site restaurant.
Canyon de Chelly is roughly Y-shaped, running in an east-west direction with roads along the north and south rims. A park ranger had recommended driving to the end of South Rim Drive to watch the sunset over the canyon, so we heeded his recommendation and headed out after dinner. I’m very glad we did; it was stunning! I think I can just let my photos do the talking on this one.
Canyon de Chelly is surrounded by the Navajo Reservation, and the floor of the canyon still belongs to the Navajo people. However, the rims of the canyon are administered by the National Park Service. At the NPS visitor center, we learned a bit about the history and geology of the canyon and joined a brief free tour of a hogan (pronounced hoe-GONE), a traditional Navajo dwelling.
There are actually two types of hogans: an 8-sided female hogan which is used as a living space and a 6-sided male hogan used for ceremonies. They typically exist together, and we saw many hogans in and around Canyon de Chelly.
The park rangers giving the tour were also members of the Navajo Nation and shared many stories and insights about the hogans and some of the ceremonies and uses. Perhaps the most striking example was the ceremony that takes place when a woman gets her first menstrual period, something that is celebrated in their culture yet is so secretive – and sometimes even shameful – in ours. They spoke about it so openly; the contrast was stark.
The North Rim and South Rim Roads can be driven for free, and there are various scenic overlooks along the way. There’s also one trail on the south rim that descends into the canyon to White House Ruin, though it was closed when we visited. According to the park website, it has now partially reopened.
We drove both of the rim roads during our visit, and this is definitely worth doing. The view of the canyon is different from every viewpoint, though I would say if you only have time for one rim, pick the south.
The highlight of our visit, though – and honestly, the highlight of our entire roadtrip – was the canyon tour. The interior of the canyon can only be visited with a guide. We booked a half-day tour through Thunderbird Lodge, which was narrated by a Navajo guide who grew up in the canyon! During the tour he pointed out his grandmother’s farm, which is now maintained by his aunt. He also shared memories of his childhood, dozens of stories he learned from his grandmother, and provided so much context to the petroglyphs, pictographs, and ruins that we otherwise wouldn’t have gotten. It was so interesting!
(This isn’t a sponsored post, but I do recommend Thunderbird Lodge. All the employees are members of the Navajo Nation, and we had positive experiences with the lodge, restaurant, and tour.)
The guides picked us up outside the lodge in old Swiss army vehicles. Our group of eleven was split among the two vehicles; one solo gentleman joined the four of us, so we practically had a private tour.
The floor of the canyon is entirely sand – very deep sand, in some places – which is why these robust vehicles are necessary. They’re also very noisy, so the two vehicles split up and our guide would stop in the shade and turn off the engine at the various ruins and other viewpoints so we could hear everything he had to say.
Water from snowmelt from the mountains to the east flows through the canyon in March and April, reaching depths of 1-2 feet (30-60 cm). However, our guide said the water used to flow almost year-round, meaning many more people were able to live and farm in the canyon. Back in the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) planted willow trees in the canyon for erosion control purposes, and the roots of these trees now suck up so much water that very little actually flows through the canyon. Changing climate and weather patterns play a role as well.
Our tour went partway up the northern branch of the Y-shaped canyon first and then backtracked and headed a short distance up the southern branch. We saw quite a few ruins and a lot of rock art; however, much of it was high above us or across the canyon. We were able to see it well with our binoculars, but with just a phone camera it’s difficult to actually see anything in the photos. I’d recommend an actual camera (with a way to protect it from the sand) if you’re hoping for decent photos during your tour.
This tour was a completely different way to experience Canyon de Chelly, and if you’re planning a visit to this national monument, this is a splurge I absolutely recommend adding to your itinerary!
Up next: the towering monoliths of Monument Valley
The Important Stuff:
- Getting there: the main entrance to Canyon de Chelly is located on Indian Route 7 just east of Chinle, Arizona. You technically can enter the park from the east on this road, but this is not recommended, as it’s unpaved and unmaintained beyond the eastern monument border. If you are coming from the east, use Indian Route 64 instead which will bring you into the monument along the north rim.
- Fees and passes: there is no entry fee for the visitor center or rim roads. However, canyon tours require a fee and it’s recommended to book in advance. There are multiple tour companies. We booked a half-day tour with Thunderbird Lodge and it was about $80/person + tip.
- Where to stay: there is a large campground just inside the monument (Cottonwood Campground) as well as the Thunderbird Lodge. There are also a handful of hotels and other amenities in Chinle, though it’s a small town so don’t expect anything fancy. We stayed at Thunderbird Lodge and had a good experience.
- What to do: without hiring a guide, the only options are driving the rim roads and hiking the White House Trail down into the canyon to White House Ruin (2.5 miles/4 km with 600 feet/180 m) elevation gain round-trip. The trail is currently open Friday-Sunday only.
- Other: note that while Arizona does not observe daylight savings time, the Navajo Nation does. From March-November, if you’re arriving from southern or western Arizona, you will jump forward an hour when you cross onto the reservation. If you’re arriving from Colorado, New Mexico, or Utah, there will be no time change.
- Website: more information about the monument can be found on the NPS website.
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