Hiking with dogs at Chaco Canyon

Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwest New Mexico is the nation’s premiere archaeological destination and well deserving of its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One thousand years ago, Chaco Canyon was the center of an ancestral Puebloan cultural phenomena that extended into Arizona, Utah and Colorado. The fantastic monumental structures from that era are worth a trip across the country to check out.

Although dogs are not allowed inside the ruins, you can take them on Chaco’s backcountry trails. Two of those trails start from parking area of Pueblo del Arroyo (one of Chaco’s many Great Houses). From there you’ll reach the Kin Kletso Great House in less than a third of a mile. There you can continue west toward the Peñasco Blanco Great House or walk behind Kin Kletso to follow the Pueblo Alto trail up to the top of the canyon.

The Pueblo Alto trail has a challenging scramble through rocks and a narrow crack in the canyon wall to reach the top. (You may have to coax your dog through this portion of the hike.) Once on top, the trail levels off to offer incredible views of the canyon and structures down below. For a shorter walk, you can hike to the Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl (Chaco’s two largest Great Houses) overlooks. The views at both overlooks are breathtaking. You can also do the full 4.8-mile loop and pass a ceremonial stairway, a Chacoan road and the Pueblo Alto Great House. Again, they too are wonderful. Regardless of your decision, the return is the same way as you came up.

If you head west from Kin Kletso, you’ll have a generally level walk along the floor of the canyon. For a shorter 4-mile round trip walk, you can walk to the petroglyph panels that are beyond the Casa Chiquita Great House. And if you’re up for a longer eight-mile round trip walk, you can continue to Peñasco Blanca. Along the way, you’ll pass the pictograph of the Supernova of 1054. The pictograph of the supernova is clearly the highlight of this walk.

Another great hike begins from the Casa Rinconada parking area. On this hike you’ll walk by the amazing Casa Rinconada (a Great Kiva) and then hike to the top of South Mesa and eventually reach the Tsin Kletsin Great House. The only real obstacle on this route is navigating a very short and narrow crack in the mesa wall to reach the mesa top. Once on top, you can look back to see how Pueblo Alto on the far horizon lines up with both Pueblo Bonito and Casa Rinconada on the canyon floor. That view alone makes your entire trip worthwhile. It’s 3 miles out-and-back to Tsin Kletsin, and around 4 miles if you do the full loop.