Navajo National Monument — Attraction in Kayenta

Navajo NM is a place where you must really make a dedicated effort to visit. To the west, Page AZ sits 88 miles away. The towns of Bluff and Blanding lie farther to the east. Its nearest town is Shonto, located 10 miles away. For most who visit Navajo NM, the trip will certainly be worthwhile.

This NPS site protects the ancient ruins located on the Shonto Plateau within the Betatakin and Tsegi Canyons. Built by ‘Ancestral Puebloans’ between the years of AD 1250-1300, the canyon structures were built into the red cliff walls with the combined use of sandstone blocks, mud mortar, and wooden roof beams.

From the visitor center, three short trails take you to separate destinations along the canyon rim. The Sandal Trail is a one mile RT trip that overlooks the Betatakin Ruins. The Aspen Trail (0.8 miles RT) drops 300 ft in elevation into an aspen forest. The Canyon View Trail (0.6 miles RT) takes you to the head of the Betatakin Canyon.

The ruins were discovered in 1895. Betatakin (meaning ‘house built on a ledge’ in Navajo) was built between 1267-1286 in an enormous alcove 425 ft high. With 120 rooms (only 80 remain), it housed an estimated population of 125. Keet Seel (meaning ‘broken pottery/broken house’ in Navajo) was built between 1272-1275 and is thought to have housed 150 people. A third site, the Inscription House ruin was closed to public visitation in 1968. This 360 acre area became a national monument in 1909, protecting these three large canyon cliff dwellings.

Visitation within the canyon is permitted in the summer only from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Two morning ranger tours occur daily to the Betatakin Ruins, limited to 25 people maximum on a first-come basis.

The hike to the ruins at Keet Seel requires a park-issued permit, limited to 20 persons per day, and is 8.5 miles each way (17 miles RT). Keet Seel is considered to be one of the best preserved ruins within...

This is a hidden gem of a park and campground. The campground has flush toilets and an outside washing sink with running water. There are 31 very nicely shaded camp sites, all paved roads, very clean modern facilities (but no showers), visitor center, and open all year around. Drinking water was readily available along with ample trash cans. Camping is first come, first served with no reservations. Amazingly, given the high quality of the park and facilities, camping is free. The campsites were generally level. Small picnic area, great for a relaxing meal. Easy walk from campground to visitor center and trails with canyon views.

The park has several trails, one with views of a cliff dwelling. It was a 30 minute fairly easy hike, well worth the time and effort. The visitor center staff were very nice and informative. While dogs are not generally permitted on trails during the busy part of the day, they did allow hikers with leashed dogs after 5 PM when we were there in October. This is a wonderful compromise to allow everyone greater access to this beautiful park. One rarely finds a national or state park so accommodating. This park is a huge step up from boondocking and well-worth the 9 mile drive down a paved road from highway 160.

Overall, we would rate this park and campground as 5 star as it far exceeded our expectations. Based on our experience, we would definitely go back and would stay longer...

I came late in the day on a Saturday (3:15pm). I found no one working in the visitors center. I walked the mile trail down to the viewing point for Betatakin and again saw no one working for the park to get answers for my questions. I got back to the visitors center at 4:07 and the door was locked and the closed sign was up. Even though this National Park is located in Arizona, they go by day-light savings time. My advice is to make sure you get to the park early in the day if you want to see the exhibit inside the visitors center. The restroom are on the outside of the building and were still open after they closed the visitors center. The trails are not open year round, they open on April 15th. Make sure you have the information as to which trails you need to have a guide. This is an amazing park and to see where they built their pueblos and learn about their beliefs is a must for anyone who loves the Southwest. The paved path to the observation area has some inclines so I would have to say that if there were additional people to help someone in a wheelchair, the path would be...