Best place to stay for Canyon de Chelly
 

Hi Guys-
I'm going to Navajoland for the first time and am very excited! I'll be checking out Canyon de Chelly and the Navajo Fair in Sept and would love any insights into best location to stay or if there are off- the beaten track suggestions you may have!
Thanks!!
Christine

I've stayed at thunderbird lodge both times I've gone. Nothing exciting but compared to what's available in the area, it's not bad.

Lodging in the area is pretty much Holiday Inn/Best Western type motels, and they aren't overly numerous, IIRC. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere. If you are going for the Navajo Fair, you ought to make reservations as soon as possible.

We stayed at Thunderbird also, very basic motel, but there are chain hotels in Chinle that you could check out.

In any case, get a Navajo guide to take you into the canyon, don't do the "shake and bake" tour from Thunderbird. We used a guide from the National Park Visitor's Center who drove our 4wd, but there are also guides from the motels in Chinle who have 4wds. Our guide was great, she grew up there and knew where all the petroglyphs and pictographs were and used a little mirror to shine sunlight to point out things that were not easy to see.

There are also horseback tours with guides.

Pack a lunch and take water/soda/coffee/tea with you. No alcohol is allowed in CdC.

The only parts of the canyon you can visit without a guide are the rim roads with overlooks and one trail down to White House Ruin. There is much more to see down in the canyon.

Have a wonderful trip.

Has anyone stayed at the lodge within the park?

We stayed at the Best Western in Chinle. It was basic but fine. Liked that there was a restaurant in the parking lot. Not a lot of restaurants in town. The best thing was that the front desk staff arranged for a private Navajo tour and we were picked up at the hotel in a Jeep. Didn't have to do the "shake and bake" at the park. Our guide was fabulous - the niece of the guy who owned the tour company. She was back home after serving in the Army and not only gave us a great tour of the canyon but had an interesting perspective of the east (she hated the trees crowding in on her) and the west (wide open spaces). Highly recommend.

Be sure to go to Hubbell's Trading Post while you are out there.

But to answer your question, "no". My first question would be re food if you stay at the lodge. The reviews on TA are about the same for the 2 hotels in Chinle and the lodge in the park.

What time of year are you planning to go? Friends who just moved to the Navajo reservation reported "Snow, all night rain and lots of mud" and church services were cancelled today.

"Navajoland?"

Several years ago we stayed at the lodge "in the park", really right at the mouth of the canyon. It was very basic, a bit worn looking, but was very close to everything.

We got our private guide at the National Park Visitor's Center (which is up on the rim) and she was great. She drove our 4wd car which was nice because we could all look and she didn't have to tell a driver where to cross streams or avoid soft sand.

If you plan to go for a longer trip, do bring sandwiches, snacks, non-alcoholic drinks, etc. for the time you will be in the canyon.

CdC is an experience and I'm sure each guide gives a bit of a different one.

The lodge was called Thunderbird at the time we went.

It looks like it is called Sacred Canyon Lodge now.

We stayed at the Sacred Canyon Lodge (formerly called Thunderbird Lodge)in September 2013. It was fine but pretty basic. For us, it was a much better location than the chain hotels on the road leading in. It is Navajo owned and operated. The food in the cafeteria/restaurant was bad for meals other than breakfast (especially liked the blue corn pancakes). This may have improved. It is run by the same family that owns the View at Monument Valley where the food was fine.

No alcohol in the Navajo Nation.

Acks - I cringed when I saw that too. I am hoping the OP means this - http://www.episcopalchurch.org/dioce...d-area-mission

If not, OP, please refrain from using that term to describe the Navajo Nation.

Food is a reason we were glad we stayed at the BW. Other visitors said the adjacent restaurant was the best place to eat in the area. I may have randomly chosen the BW or utahtea recommended it. We went to CdeC on her advice and were so glad we did!

The OP was three years ago; perhaps he or she didn't know the correct name for the Navajo Nation.

Jubilada, be flexible with your plans. We tried to go to Canyon de Chelly a couple of years ago, but ran into a serious sandstorm before we got to Chinle which lasted almost all the way to Kayenta. We could only see a few feet in front of our car - not a fun driving experience. So if you're going in the spring, the winds can be a problem.

Lee Ann

And the OP has posted less than a dozen times since 2008. I doubt she'll be around to read the correction.

Missed the OP date as did others; but since jubilada obviously found the post- others could as well. The correction of the proper name stands for future reference.

I'm sure christregs will be appreciative.

Whether she is or not -- it is a very offensive thing to call a Native American by that name. I am sure you are aware of that "kind" of thing.

Given that she attended the Navajo Fair in September 2012, I imagine she was enlightened a few years ago. But if she finds her way back to this thread, she'll be schooled again. I'm sure she'll be appreciative.

Wait. What?!

"..it is a very offensive thing to call a Native American by that name"

By what name? Navajo?

I'm not sure I'm following.