🚙 Drive America’s Highways for 23 miles south along County Road 7950 from Nageezi to Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico.

The route from U.S. Route 550 in Nageezi to Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a scenic, yet challenging 20 or so mile trek through the stunning high desert of New Mexico. Starting out on a relatively smooth, paved road, County Road 7900, we travel south for five miles, winding between various ranches. Although paved, we recommend keeping your speed low as the road is bumpy in places and there are a few cattle grates that we cross along the way.

The scenery on this part of the drive is typical high-desert: lots of grasses and small bushes dotted with the occasional tree. There are a few hills, the peaks of which offer stunning panoramas of the surrounding areas. Five miles or so south of the start of the drive, the route turns southwest on CR-7950. Starting out paved for the first 2 miles or so, CR-7950 takes us deeper into the New Mexican desert with fewer and fewer signs of civilization along the way.

As the pavement ends, County Road 7950 goes through various surface materials. From packed earth to gravel to the rocky banks of a wash, we travel 15 miles through some pretty rugged terrain. Cars can make the drive, at least when it’s dry. This road will take its toll on your vehicle. We drove this in a full-sized pickup truck and you can see how rough it was for us. Imagine that in a car!

Continuing southwest, we eventually cross the Escavada Wash and climb a small hill before flattening out for the final approach to Chaco Canyon. This is by far one of the roughest parts of the drive. Take it slow through here, your car will thank you. Descending into the canyon, the road turns to sandy dirt and while smoother than the stuff before it, presenting its own set of challenges. we didn’t get much faster than 10 miles per hour during parts of this.

Entering the park, the road becomes paved again – why they even bothered at this point is beyond our understanding – and we take a brief stop for the obligatory entrance sign photo. Entering Chaco Culture National Historical Park, we continue towards the visitors center where we stop to learn about the area and a much needed rest.

The road to Chaco National Historical Park is a scenic, yet rough trip through the high desert of New Mexico. While slow-going, the journey offers panoramic views unmatched anywhere else. Be sure to check road conditions before setting out and respect the local tribal lands. Despite the challenging drive, the destination is well worth the effort.

The remastering of this video was sponsored, in part, by Vestra Interactive — providing small to medium-sized businesses and non-profits with managed web and IT services for an affordable price. Mention this video at signup for 50% off your first 3 months of service. https://vestrainteractive.com

—
🎵 Music:

https://interstate411.us/music/nm-drive-to-chaco-canyon.txt

🗣️ Narration:

Jennifer Angstrom
Michael Jensen

❤ If you liked this video, please help us out and click the share button to share it with all your friends.