A couple of weekends ago I visited Navajo National Monument and was blown away! If you follow me on instagram you might have seen a couple of photos.
I consider myself a National Park guru (if you have not noticed). I work for the park service, I participated in the JR Ranger while growing up, I visit and recreate in the national parks on the weekends. But some how I had never heard of Navajo National Monument (NNM) . It is a tiny park, located in the middle of the Navajo Nation in Northern Arizona (a place I had not spent much time, until this summer). It may be a small park, but what it has to offer is world-class.
If you are like me, you may be wondering whats at NNM that’s so great, that I need to trek all the way to the middle of the Navajo Nation? Two words: cliff dwellings. Once inhabited by the Ancerstral Puebloan people (also known as Anasazi) about 750 years ago are in supurb condition. These cliff dwelling are the best you will see in the southwest. Think Mesa Verde without the crowds, without the paved walking trails and without being reconstructed. Basically, the cliff dwellings look and still are how they were, when they were first discovered in the late 1800’s. Complete with pottery shards scattered on the ground.
The Dwellings
Navajo National Monument protects three sites, Keet Seel, Betatakin, and Inscription House. Two of the three sites are open to the public. Inscription House is too fragile to even be viewed by visitors.
Keet Seel
To reach or see Keet Seel you must hike 8 1/2 miles one way, through Tsegi Canyon with several stream crossings. Once you do this you are greeted with the largest and best preserved dwelling in NNM. Many people choose to make it a 2 day hike and camp overnight near the dwelling. When you arrive at Keet Seel you are able to join a ranger, who will walk you through the 750 year old dwelling. It is the only cliff dwelling at NNM that you are able go in and tour.
One of the most interesting facts I read about Keet Seel was, when the Ancerstral Puebloan people abandoned the dwelling around 300 AD, they sealed many of the entry ways and left jars filled with corn… to maybe one day return to?? I guess we will never know.
Betatakin
Betatakin meaning “ledge house” in Navajo is a 130 room (at one time, some rooms were destroyed by a rock fall) cliff dwelling that can be reached via two ranger guided hikes. The Tsegi Point Trail is 5 miles round trip and the Aspen Trail is 3 miles round trip, both are offered daily during the summer months. You are also able to view Betatakin from an overlook, the one mile trail leaves from the visitor center.
When I was at NNM I choose to hike the Tsegi Point Trail (5miles). At 8am I met the ranger and the one other visitor at the Visitor Center, we than caravan to the trailhead. The trail begins by following an old road and then a trail that the CCC built during the 1930’s. While descending down into the canyon (about 700ft) our ranger stopped to talk about the history of the area, geology, and identified plants (including what Navajo used them for). The trail eventually evens out at about mile 2, where we stopped for a short break in the shade of juniper trees. After our break we continued hiking the last half mile through a shady oak grove that fills the bottom of the canyon, before we approached the dwellings.
The Betatakin cliff dwellings are too fragile for groups to tour through. We were able to stand about 50 yards from the dwelling, took pictures and asked questions for a good 20 minutes. After viewing the dwelling the ranger took us to view both petroglyphs (rock carvings) and pictographs (rock painting) near the dwelling. From these were able to see the dwellings at a higher perspective. In total, we viewed the dwellings for 45-60 minutes. After the viewing the ranger released us to hike back to the trailhead on our own. I thought this was great because it gave us more time to stop and take pictures of the canyon.
Even though we were not able to tour the Betatakin dwellings, just viewing it at such a close distance was incredible. Being able to view Betatakin close up made it easy for me to see how the Ancerstral Puebloan people lived in the small rooms and navigated steep cliffs. The dwellings are in such good condition still, that it almost felt like people would step out of the entry ways and go about daily life.
Park Facilities
Not only does the park offer world-class cliff dwellings, but it also offers other facilities to make for an awesome trip.
The visitor center has a great museum on the Ancerstral Puebloan people including artifacts found in the dwellings. There is a bookstore, and also a Navajo Art store also located at the Visitor Center. A picnic area is located across the parking lot from the VC. There are three short self guided trails, that leave from the VC. The park also has two free campgrounds, making the morning ranger guided hikes easier to wake up for.
Over all I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Navajo National Monument! I am constantly being surprised by the small National Park gems!
Have you ever toured cliff dwellings?
Have you been to Navajo National Monument?
Trekking Kate 