US Historical Parks

The dirt roads into the park are rough and rattle your teeth, but this place is worth the effort. Come in on north side, Nageezi, for least amount of rough road driving. Pueblo Alto loop is a great hike. Challenge of climbing up the ‘stairs’ at start of trail that opens to splendid views of the canyon. If visiting April – October pick a Tuesday, Friday or Saturday night to camp at Chaco and check out the Chaco Night Sky Program. Rangers explain the importance of astronomy in Chaco Culture and allow visitors to view the stars through one of several telescopes at the center.

To really see all there is in this area, you need more than a day. There's the historic area downtown, the Appalachian Trail section that runs through the area, the C+O Canal towpath to hike, the outlying battlefields of Bolivar, Murphy Farm, and Schoolhouse Ridge. And if you want to get into the river, there are a few companies that do river trips on the Shenandoah and Potomac. Weekends are very busy with so many people from the Balto-Wash area coming out with kayaks, etc. And hot days are busy too.