ARIZONA
NATIONAL
PARKS
Canyon de Chelly National Monument
MAILING ADDRESSSuperintendentCanyon de Chelly National Monument PO Box 588, Chinle, AZ 86503 Telephone: 520-674-5500 DIRECTIONSThe Visitor Center is 3 miles (4.8 km) from Route 191 in Chinle.VISITOR ACTIVITIESAuto tours, hiking, pictograph viewing, interpretive exhibits and talks, horseback riding (by prior arrangement), picnicking and photography. Concession jeep tours are available from Thunderbird Lodge, PO Box 548, Chinle, AZ 86503, phone 520-674-5841/5842. Facilities include hiking and auto trails, parking, restrooms, exhibits, concession canyon trips and horse rentals. The Visitor Center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., October to April; and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., May to September. The inner canyons are impassable in winter and at certain other times of the year. For your safety: Quicksand, deep dry sand, cliffs, loose rocks and flash floods make the canyons hazardous.PERMITS AND FEESNo entrance fee. Hiking within the canyon requires a Park Service permit and an authorized Navajo guide, except along the 2.5-mile (4-km) White House Ruins Trail. One guide may take up to 15 people for $10 per hour. To drive on the canyon bottom, a 4-wheel drive vehicle, a Park Service permit and an authorized Navajo guide are required. The fee is $10 an hour for 1 vehicle, $5 an hour for each additional vehicle with a 5-vehicle limit per guide. Autos should use paved roads only.ACCESSIBILITYSome overlook areas are accessible.CAMPING AND LODGINGCampsites are available at no charge on a first-come, first-served basis year-round. Reservations for group sites of 15 or more people can be made by contacting the Monument. No reservations are accepted for RV groups. Backcountry camping is allowed with an authorized guide. Lodging is available at Thunderbird Lodge. Make reservations in advance by writing Thunderbird Lodge, Box 548, Chinle, AZ 86503, or calling 520-674-5841/5842. Other overnight accommodations are available in Chinle; Window Rock, AZ, Monument Valley, and Gallup, NM.FOOD AND SUPPLIESMeals are served at Thunderbird Lodge, but no food or supplies are available in the Monument. Food and supplies are available nearby in Chinle. |
At
the
base
of
sheer
red
cliffs
and
in
canyon
wall
caves
are
ruins
of
Indian
villages
built
between
AD
350
and
1300.
Canyon
de
Chelly
National
Monument
offers
visitors
the
chance
to
learn
about
Southwestern
Indian
history
from
the
earliest
basketmakers
to
the
Navajo
Indians
who
live
and
farm
here.
Authorized
April
1,
1931.
Boundary
change:
March
1,1933.
Acreage-
83,840
all
nonfederal.
