Chaco Culture National Historical Park Visitor Center — Attraction in Crownpoint

Chaco is an amazing collection of ancient Indian dwellings filling a.remote valley in north western New Mexico.

There are several villages that you can walk through on short trails. All of the village trails are relatively flat. Be sure to bring water and sunscreen as there is very little shade.

Kids will love exploring the ruins.

There are picnic shelters and pit toilets at some of the sites, and we were fortunate to have a nice breeze when we visited in mid-June.

If you go, take the highway to Negeezi, not the interstate or the dirt road recommended by Google. The area is so remote that Google Maps didn't show the road we were on, and we lost GPS. Take highway 550 to 7900. The last few miles of road are dirt washboard, but if you keep your speed at about 35, it minimizes the jolting.

The visitors center has a nice exhibit, but all of the artifacts have been in storage for nearly ten years while the display cases are upgraded to provide a safer environment. Unfortunately, the project was done poorly, and there is no timeline for when the artifacts will return.

Skip the movie, unless you want to hear vague narrations about Indian spirituality that provide almost no information about the history or discovery...

Download or keep the Google Map open all the time. No service. From Gallup, a 14-mile dirt rutted washboard. Go slow to not blow a tire. Watch out for cow metal tracks on dirt road tends to be wonky, higher road hills tend to be more bumpy. Likely the only one on road so I drove to smoothest areas. You can see for miles. We'll worth the experience. Wifi and cool a/c at Visitor Center to pay entrance fee or use National Park Pass and to use Google Map on way back. The map will change and keep on best road to my destination Chimayo. Smoother gravel well maintained road.

Real bathrooms, great info and friendly guides. Loop one way drive. Pueblo Bonito is best. Loved walking through with reverance. Before going to sacred places I close my eyes to connect with the place and ask permission. A yes can be felt.

Peaceful, still, home of ancients. Loved the reconstructed dark room. Cool in hot sun. Early morning visit in July. Water, hat, sunscreen, and snacks are your friends. Ranger will give a tour if it's your thing. Free to walk around. Can drive and walk to smaller sites Ioop. Vaulted bathrooms in loop. Went back to the visitor center to download GPS and refresh. Beautiful...

A wonderful UN World Heritage site that is very difficult to get to. When you turn off the highway to get to Chaco, you start a miles long drive on rough, unpaved stretch of road that has uneven gravel spread on it. The result is a drive that is terrible on your bones and your vehicle. Be sure to have good tires before you set out on this drive and be prepared to get rattled. To add to the misery there are no signs (except at the beginning and end), that tell you whether you are headed in the right direction. Miles and miles of brush and no sign if anything can be a little forbidding. Not sure who is to blame - Is it the Parks authority, State/local govt, or other groups? But something clearly needs to be done about the long unpaved gravel road that leads to this site to make it more accessible. The $25 that is charged at the visitor center may need to be given to people brave enough to make the trip there. The site itself has many sites that give much information about the Chacos. But I would be reluctant to make the trip there again even if they waived the entry fee! Someone needs to take the initiative to...