The drive between Tuba City and Canyon de Chelly may be the most intriguing road trip in Arizona.
The drive between Tuba City and Canyon de Chelly may be the most intriguing road trip in Arizona.
State Route 264 is the only major highway that crosses both the Navajo and Hopi reservations, sampling the cultures and providing a time-capsule experience. And it’s set amid a bewitching landscape of stark badlands, high desert plains and rock-crowned mesas.
Begin the 154-mile journey in Tuba City where the two reservations meet. U.S. 160 serves as the dividing line. On the north side of the highway is the Navajo community of Tuba City. On the south side is Moenkopi Village, the western gateway to Hopiland.
Chief Tuuvi founded Moenkopi in the 1870s as a summer farming area using the numerous springs for irrigation. Businesses include the Tuuvi Travel Center, which features a gas station, stores and a cafe, and the Moenkopi Legacy Inn & Suites. Opened in 2010, the hotel pays homage to Hopi villages with its use of color, symbols and pueblo-style architecture.
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Experience Hopi Tours
This summer Moenkopi Legacy Inn & Suites introduced a daylong tour to let visitors learn the history and customs of the tribe and explore the scenic beauty of the Hopi Reservation. Experience Hopi Tours begin at 8:30 a.m. in the hotel lobby with a quick overview of the facility and introduction to tribal art.
From there, the tour continues to stunning overlooks of colorful Coal Mine Canyon and two petroglyph sites, including Dawa Park, a box canyon lined with thousands of images etched into the rocks. Participants meet Hopi artists such as acclaimed silversmith Duane Tawahongva, who demonstrates the detailed process of creating silver overlay jewelry.
Lunch is included at the Hopi Cultural Center with the option of sampling traditional dishes such as noqkwivi, a corn hominy and lamb stew with blue fry bread. Guests also walk through Oraibi Village, one of the longest continuously inhabited places in North America. The tour ends back at the hotel at about 4 p.m.
Details: Tours cost $145 for adults and $89 for children. Contact Moenkopi Legacy Inn & Suites, 928-283-4500, www.experiencehopi.com.
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Hopi villages
Visitors are welcome to drive across the Hopi Reservation on their own. The Hopi people live in 12 villages scattered across First Mesa, Second Mesa and Third Mesa, lofty buttes that are fingerlike extensions of sprawling Black Mesa. SR 264 threads them together as it crosses high plains that break apart against the rising tablelands.
While language, customs and traditions are similar, each village conducts its own ceremonies and has unique characteristics. That’s why it’s important to follow proper etiquette. Photography, videotaping and sketching are prohibited. Do not explore non-designated areas. Do not pick up feathers, pottery bits or other items. If you are fortunate enough to encounter a ceremony or dance, observe quietly from the background.
The best approach is to stop at the galleries along the drive. You’ll have a chance to discover beautiful artwork such as woven baskets, hand-carved kachinas, pottery, painting, silver jewelry and more. While browsing you can ask the shopkeepers about events in the village.
Details: www.hopiartstrail.com.
The exception is historic Walpi Village on First Mesa, which can only be visited in the company of a guide. Unlike other villages, Walpi does not have running water or electricity. But being perched atop a narrow thrust of stone 300 feet above the valley floor makes for a particularly dramatic setting.
Details: Walking tours ($20, $10 for children) last about an hour and can be scheduled at 928-737-2670.
Trading posts
After leaving First Mesa behind, you’ll soon reach Keams Canyon, the easternmost community on the Hopi Reservation. Thomas Keam built a small trading post here in the 1870s. The McGee family purchased it in 1938 and established McGee’s Indian Art. It has a longstanding reputation for kachinas, jewelry and pottery. There also are a service station, store and cafe.
Details: 928-738-2295, www.hopiart.com.
Hubbell Trading Post was founded on the Navajo Reservation a mile west of Ganado in 1876. This is the Louvre of trading posts. Named for John Lorenzo Hubbell, this National Historic Site is part museum, part art gallery and still a fully functioning trading post.
Scuffed floors creak at every step. The store is crowded with goods and spicy with aromas. A trader sits in the jewelry room, which also contains carvings, paintings and clay work. In a third room, gorgeous hand-woven rugs are stacked in casual piles. Admission to the site is free. Wander the grounds at your leisure. Ranger-guided tours through the Hubbell home are offered daily for $5.
Details: 928-755-3475, www.nps.gov/hutr.
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Canyon de Chelly
From Hubbell, backtrack west on SR 264 for about 5 miles and go north on U.S. 191 at the big traffic circle. It’s 30 miles to the entrance of Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Chinle.
The park contains a complex of canyons unlike anything else in the state. When we peer over a canyon edge we expect to see a landscape rugged and wild. At Canyon de Chelly we’re greeted by a peaceful bucolic scene. Sheer cliffs plunge hundreds of feet to lush bottomlands lined with corn crops, pastures and cottonwoods. It’s a staggering blend of high drama and pastoral beauty. Canyon de Chelly shelters thousands of archaeological sites and dozens of Navajo families who still live and farm there during summer.
Two rim drives offer stunning vistas and access to the park’s lone hiking trail. The North Rim Drive (17 miles) traces the edge of Canyon del Muerto with three overlooks at prominent cliff dwellings. The South Rim Drive (19 miles) explores seven overlooks, each more spectacular than the last.
At White House Overlook, visitors can hike into the canyon along a trail that switchbacks down the sandstone wall for a close-up look at a multi-tiered pueblo dating back 1,000 years. The moderate 2.5-mile round-trip hike is the only way to access the canyon bottom without a guide. South Rim Drive ends at Spider Rock, a breathtaking spire soaring 800 feet from the canyon floor.
Further exploration requires visitors to book a group tour or hire a Navajo guide for jeep, horseback or hiking outings.
Details: Canyon de Chelly National Monument is open daily. Admission is free. 928-674-5500, www.nps.gov/cach.
Find the reporter at www.rogernaylor.com. Or follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RogerNaylorinAZ or Twitter @AZRogerNaylor.
If you go
Getting there: Take Interstate 17 north to Flagstaff, then go north on U.S. 89 for 63 miles. Turn east on U.S. 160 and continue 10 miles to Tuba City and Moenkopi.
Coal Mine Canyon: This canyon, off SR 264 about 15 miles east of Tuba City, crosses the Hopi and Navajo reservations. With its multicolored hoodoos, the gorge is reminiscent of Bryce Canyon, but more savage. The formations are sharper, the colors more vivid. Faint trails skirt the rim. It’s well worth a visit but requires planning. You'll need a permit from the Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation Department. The fee is $12. The closest permit location is the tribal visitor center at the intersection of U.S. 89 and SR 64 in Cameron. It's usually open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays. You also can apply for a permit online; allow three to four weeks. 928-679-2303, www.navajonationparks.org.
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