Chaco Culture Natioanal Historical Park

Chaco Cultural Historical National Park is located outside of Farmington, NM. It is a beautiful park once you get there. Getting there is not so hot. There are 13 miles of unpaved gravel, dirt, sand, and washboard road to cover before you reach the gate to the park. It is really rough so for those of us including myself, who drive smaller vehicles it takes a long time to get there. Most of the time I was doing 7 miles an hour. At the gate it is paved again. I drove from Mesa Verde to this park and it took me 3.5 hours. Since I did not have much time for exploring, I chose to walk through the Pueblo Ruins which were amazing. These are some of the few Native American Ruins I have been able to actually walk through the doorways which are very low. I do not recommend visiting this area in the heat of the summer there is no shade. After tooling around here for a bit, my friend and I decided to hike to the top of Pueblo Bonita Mesa. If you are up for a strenuous hike and I mean three points of contact sort of hike this is the one. You must get a permit to do this hike, but they are provided in the box at the trail head. It starts of with some serious boulders to get around. Even poles can't help you here. Then you skinny through and amazing canyon and get out on the mesa. There is a bit of a hike from this point to the overlook, but it is well worth it. This hike is not meant for those with heart conditions, knee problems, or fear of heights. You have to come back down the way you went up. The views are spectacular. If I could have stayed longer I would have taken the Petroglyph trail that is 6 miles round trip, but I would need to spend the night. There is a campground here. If you only have a day and are really interested in the history I would take the time to explore that. A great teaching area. Ranger interpretive programs are offered as well. If I were going to return to this park I would come in the fall.

This park can be fun and educational for kids. They are allowed to climb in and out of the ruins and there are some great trails to where them out. I wouldn't take any children under the age of 8. As for wheelchair access not so much.