I am interested in driving to Chaco Canyon for a long day of it. We would be coming from Albuquerque. I know that if it rains the road can be virtual impassable without a 4 wheel or all wheel drive vehicle.
If dry, is a high clearance, AWD or 4 wheel Drive vehicle recommended?
Tell me anything else you can about the road.
I know some of it is dirt, but are we talking ungraded dirt with deep ruts, or a fairly passable dirt road that sees a road scraper 2 or 3 times a year?

This info is a couple years out of date but should be pretty close/. Check the NPS web site for updates: Chaco (Canyon) Culture Nat'l Historic Park (AAA Map of SW US Ref J26): http://www.nps.gov/chcu/
Center of Ancestral Puebloan Native American culture. About a 3 hour drive from Albuquerque, this is the center of the Anasasi Native American culture. Note: The term ‘Anasazi’ is being phased out and the term ‘Ancestral Puebloan’ is being used more often. The ruins are wonderful and there are several nice day hikes. Chaco Canyon is located northwest of Albuquerque and almost due north of Grants. There are no services off of highway 44/550 (north route) or I-40 (south route). Note: The AAA maps of US Southwest and New Mexico for 1999 identify NM-44 as US-550. This highway is being upgraded and renamed to US-550 From NM-44/US550 (Bloomfield-Bernalillo), the turn off is indicated by signs just south of Nageezi at County Road 7900. The first 5 miles are paved and then you turn (at the sign) onto the dirt road for the remaining 16 miles. Beware of livestock on the roads. Note: The south route is not currently recommended by the Park Service.From I-40 heading west, turn north on #605 at Milan/Grants (Exit 79) and then #509 to Whitehorse. Then right on #9 to Pueblo Pintado where you take the marked dirt roads. From I-40 heading east, turn north at Thoreau (Exit 53) on #371 to just past Crownpoint. Then right on #9 to Pueblo Pintado and onto the marked dirt roads. It is about 31 miles of dirt roads from Pueblo Pintado and you end up on the same road as from NM-44. Rain may make the dirt portions difficult to impassible. Note: The southern route has changed in 1999 and may be changed again. Follow the signs and you will get there just fine. The road within the Park is paved. There are no current plans to pave either of the entrance roads as the belief is that too many visitors would then enter and the Park just can not handle large crowds. No services are available in the Park.

Did the ride in a normal rental car, not 4 wheel drive - very bumpy but otherwise no problem. Go with 4 wheel drive and your "tushie" will like it but don't worry, this isn't the rickies
Lisa

Thanks for the responses and the information contained therein.
Dirt roads are no problem for me.
I grew up in the rural south for part of my life and driving dirt roads is nothing new. So if a regular car can make it at all, it should not be too bad. I had trouble posting this question and I might have put it in twice. I think now that the approach from the north is the best route.
I am sure I can find some kind of high clearance vehicle with optional 4 wheel drive at an auto rental agency somewhere around there. I am fascinated by the place and would like to visit. A friend of ours was an interpretive ranger at Mesa Verde for 7 summers, and she knows a heck of a lot about the culture.

We were there around Labor Day weekend this year. We had a Toyota Camry and had no problem, but I could see that if it rained, there would be some really sticky places (low washes that were probably underwater in a rain). Compared to some of the dirt roads I've driven on in NW PA, this one was in fairly good condition. Keep in mind though, that if you are in a rental car, some of the contracts stipulate that the car is not to be driven on dirt roads.

Make sure you bring your own drinks - there's nothing much there otherwise. There is a gas station relatively near the turn off of 550 onto the dirt roads.

.....don't have much to add to the above....only that we missed the turn-off for the dirt road so be alert. i wasn't in the mood for a 30 mile dirt road excursion so we headed back to Grants...but the road looked OK to me (this was the last week in Oct). we had a 4WD though i think a passenger car would be fine....but it would probably be "slow going".if you're renting, check Alamo for a 4WD...sometimes it doesn't cost much more than a mid-sized car.

We took the road last year. It's quite a drive from Albequerque. It was the summer, and dry, so we took a really nice scenic graded dirt road just north of Los Alamos to Cuba. #550 was just repaved, and no problem. The road from #550 to Chaco is graded dirt, with pockets of washboard and occasional slight steepness. We did have a 4 WD. and did use it once. You can do it in a front or rear wheel drive in dry weather, but there are a few places you need to hold the steering wheel tightly because of slight vertical ruts. (There was only one section that was a little difficult-most of the road was fine.)Much easier than most Colorado mountain 4WD roads. No rocks, no ledges, not much steepness, just minimal ruts. It's pretty dry there, so I think they only see a scraper once a year. By the way, I was not as impressed by Chaco Canyon as I thought I would be-nothing like Mesa Verde. Seeing it once is plenty-I'd never make a second trip to it (unlike Mesa Verde).

You should have no trouble driving if there is no snow or rain. We did the drive in one day from Santa Fe and it was a very long day. Next time I go I'll probably camp out. I put our vehicle in 4WD only because we were sliding on the road after a slight rain. I could have driven slower and done just fine.
Take plenty of snacks/beverages and sunscreen. The high altitude increases the intensity of the UV rays. Make sure you have plenty of fuel. Have fun.