CHACO FAQ’S
Chaco Culture National Historical Park preserves a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture dating between 850 and 1250 CE. Chaco is a very special place. Remote and isolated, it offers few amenities.
Come prepared. You will find the rewards unlimited. The benefits of being “off the grid” for a few days are too numerous to list here.
Details you want to know:
Camping
You will be camping in a tent that you bring. Each site offers a flat sandy pad to anchor your tent, a picnic table for relaxing and a campfire ring.
The sites are located close to the parking lot so it is easy and close to bring things from the car. We will all help each other set up our camps – so the entire community is involved.
A reliable air-mattress will make the sleeping experience wonderful. Battery operated pumps with fresh batteries are the best – though it is possible to charge the chargers in the car or in the bathrooms.
Smudging
Once camp is set up – we will create a Native American “smudging” ceremony at all the sites to release the old energies and call forth the energies aligned with our frequencies and intentions.
Services at Chaco
Once you are there services are very limited. The visitor center has a nice bookstore and small museum with a theater room to see films about Chaco. It is open from 8:00 to 5:00 pm. No other services are offered there and few necessities to purchase.
Drinking water
The water in the bathrooms is not potable. Drinking water is offered outside the visitor center and available 24 hours a day to fill our containers.
Cell Service / Internet
Cell service in Chaco Canyon ranges from extremely limited to virtually non-existent. Most carriers will NOT work there or will do so very weakly / intermittently.
Do NOT expect to have service. You likely will not. Plan accordingly.
On some of the trails the carriers might pick up signal – but it is unpredictable.
There is no internet connection. Don’t plan on it.
Emergencies
There is a pay phone (really – at least one still exists!) and there are direct land lines numbers to the park staff located on their website if there is an emergency and you need to be reached.
https://www.nps.gov/chcu/learn/management/our-staff-and-offices.htm
Bathrooms
There are bathrooms in the campground with flush toilets, electricity and cold running water.
There is a bathroom at the visitor center with flush toilets, electricity and hot/cold water.
There are no shower facilities.
Showers
We will bring solar showers and a solar shower tent for the late afternoons when the sun has heated the water. In the morning – we will heat individual buckets of water to use for cleaning. Bring a washcloth and towel.
Food
All meals will be provided and snacks for the day and hiking. If you have any special snacks and food that you need just for yourself – please bring that. More info here:
Money / Valuables
There is no need for a great deal of money or valuables. The visitor center takes credit cards for souvenirs and books. The only place you will have to lock things up is in the car – so please plan accordingly.
Driving
Driving Directions and pilgrimage to Chaco info here:
Pricing
The price for this transformational journey is $650
Includes: Camp site, all meals, snacks, kitchen supplies, firewood, pre-trip preparation, guide services / education, solar showers, medicine journey, smudging ceremony, cacao ceremony, (observatory)
Not included: personal items, gas, lodging in Gallop
Great information:
The Chaco Culture National Park website is also full of great information about the conditions at Chaco and the nature / history.
Please remember – on these and many other websites – you will get general visitor information about the sites. What you will be experiencing is far beyond that – and perhaps something completely different… tuning into the “truth” of the place.
https://www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm
