Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Four Corners: Mesa Verde, Monument Valley and Chaco Canyon
8 days from Durango to Santa Fe: a ranger-led cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde, Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly with Navajo guides, Hubbell Trading Post and Chaco Canyon from Gallup.
8 days · Durango to Santa Fe · up to 12 guests
A cliff dwelling in its alcove at Mesa Verde National Park Photo: mark byzewski, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2024-06-08_Mesa_Verde_National_Park_-_015.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 8 days, 7 nights
- Start and end
- Durango to Santa Fe
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Longest drive
- 4.5 h on day 6
- Activity level
Moderate
Mostly walks of 1 to 4 km on dirt paths and uneven stone at 1,700 to 2,200 m, where you tire sooner. The Mesa Verde cliff dwelling tour climbs ladders (up to about 10 m at Balcony House), the Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly tours are about three bumpy hours each in open or 4x4 vehicles, and Chaco is about four hours on foot in the sun after an hour on a dirt road. Every demanding part has an easier choice, and you can sit any walk out.
- Meals included
- 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 3 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 1,130 (estimated price)
- Season
- May to October
Highlights
Why this trip
- A ranger-led tour inside a Mesa Verde cliff dwelling, booked for the earliest slot we can get
- The Four Corners Monument, then a Navajo-guided drive into Monument Valley's backcountry, ending at sunset below the Mittens
- Sunrise behind the Mittens from where you slept
- The floor of Canyon de Chelly with a Diné guide, among farms, rock art and cliff houses
- Hubbell Trading Post, trading on the Navajo Nation since 1878
- Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Canyon, reached by the south road from a two-night base in Gallup
- The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, run by New Mexico's 19 Pueblos, then a last night and morning in Santa Fe
What makes this trip different
Short drives, all published
Every drive is listed day by day. The longest is 4.5 h, on day 6.
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 1,130 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
The longest drive is 4.5 h, on day 6.
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Durango
Durango-La Plata County Airport to your hotel in historic Durango
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Durango
- Drive about 30 min
Fly into Durango-La Plata County Airport (DRO), about 25 km south-east of town, where a driver meets you for the short ride in. Durango sits at about 1,990 m in the valley of the Animas River, a railway town founded in 1880, and the brick blocks of Main Avenue still look much as they did when the narrow-gauge line to Silverton opened.
Afternoon
Check in, drink plenty of water and take the afternoon gently, because the altitude is noticeable on the first day. In the late afternoon your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short walk along Main Avenue to the old railway depot, then a briefing on the week: the Mesa Verde ladders, how the Navajo-guided days work, the dirt road to Chaco and what to pack for cool mornings and hot afternoons.
Evening
Then we sit down together to a welcome dinner in town.
Included
- Pick-up at Durango-La Plata County Airport (DRO)
- Welcome walk along Main Avenue with your guide
- Welcome briefing
- Welcome dinner
Free time: Free until the late-afternoon walk
Activity: Plan to land by about 3 pm to join the walk and the briefing; later arrivals are met and join us at dinner.
Mesa Verde with a park ranger
Durango to Mesa Verde National Park (Chapin Mesa) and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Durango
- Drive about 3 h
We leave Durango at about 7:30 am and drive west for an hour to the Mesa Verde entrance, then climb for another 40 minutes on the winding park road onto Chapin Mesa, at about 2,100 m. Mesa Verde was one of the first places on the UNESCO World Heritage list, in 1978, and protects thousands of Ancestral Puebloan sites, from 7th-century pithouses to the cliff dwellings built in sandstone alcoves in the 1200s.
Afternoon
The heart of the day is a ranger-led tour of a cliff dwelling, Cliff Palace or Balcony House, at the earliest morning slot we can book for the group as soon as tickets are released, so we are on the ladders before the midday crowds and heat. Before or after it, the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum sets the story in order, and the Mesa Top Loop takes in pithouse sites, Sun Temple and the overlooks across to Cliff Palace and Square Tower House. Lunch is a sit-down meal on the mesa.
Evening
We are back in Durango in the late afternoon, with the evening free.
Included
- Mesa Verde National Park entry
- Ranger-led tour of Cliff Palace or Balcony House, with ladders
- Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum
- The Mesa Top Loop: pithouse sites, Sun Temple, the Cliff Palace and Square Tower House overlooks
- Lunch on the mesa
Optional experiences
- Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, on a day added before the trip
Easier option: Skip the ladders: stay on the Mesa Top Loop with your guide and see Cliff Palace from the overlook across the canyon.
More active option: Petroglyph Point Trail, a 3.9 km loop below the rim to a rock-art panel, when the park has it open.
Free time: Evening free in Durango
Activity: Cliff Palace has several short ladders and about 120 uneven stone steps; Balcony House has a ladder of about 10 m and a narrow crawl-through tunnel. Which tour runs depends on the season and the park's ticket release, and we confirm it with your final itinerary.
Through the Four Corners to Monument Valley
Durango to Cortez and the Four Corners Monument, then Kayenta and Monument Valley
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Monument Valley
- Drive about 4 h
Morning
We leave Durango after breakfast and drive west through Cortez, past the long green shoulder of Mesa Verde, and down into the high desert where Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico meet. The Four Corners Monument, run by the Navajo Nation, is a short stop to stand in four states at once and buy from Native craft sellers at their stalls.
Afternoon
From there the road crosses the Navajo Nation, the largest reservation in the United States, to Kayenta for a sit-down lunch, then north into Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, about 300 km and three and three-quarter hours of driving in all. We check in and rest through the heat. In the late afternoon a Navajo guide takes us in an open vehicle beyond the public loop into areas only guided visitors may enter, to rock arches such as Ear of the Wind and Big Hogan, and to petroglyphs.
Evening
We finish at sunset below the Mittens, then dinner together.
Included
- Four Corners Monument (when open)
- Sit-down lunch in Kayenta
- Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park entry
- Navajo-guided backcountry drive in an open vehicle to Ear of the Wind, Big Hogan and rock art, ending at sunset
- Dinner in Monument Valley
Free time: Mid-afternoon free to rest before the drive
Activity: The backcountry drive is on unpaved, bumpy sand tracks for about three hours. Bring a scarf or buff for the dust.
Sunrise in Monument Valley, then Canyon de Chelly
Monument Valley to Kayenta, Many Farms and Chinle, then the South Rim Drive
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Chinle
- Drive about 2.5 h
Set an early alarm: the sun rises behind the Mittens and Merrick Butte, and from the visitor centre terrace the buttes stand black against the light before they turn red.
Evening
After breakfast we drive about two and a quarter hours south through Kayenta and Many Farms to Chinle, the Navajo town at the mouth of Canyon de Chelly, where we stay the night. Lunch is sit-down in Chinle. Canyon de Chelly National Monument is unusual: the National Park Service and the Navajo Nation manage it together, and Diné families still live and farm on the canyon floor. In the afternoon your guide drives the South Rim Drive with stops at Tsegi, Junction and White House overlooks, and we reach Spider Rock Overlook as the light lowers, with the sandstone spire standing about 230 m above the canyon floor. Dinner together in Chinle.
Included
- Sunrise over the Mittens in Monument Valley
- Sit-down lunch in Chinle
- The South Rim Drive of Canyon de Chelly with your guide: Tsegi, Junction, White House and Spider Rock overlooks
- Dinner in Chinle
More active option: Walk down the White House Trail, about 4 km return with about 180 m of descent and climb back, the only trail into the canyon open without a Navajo guide, when it is open.
Free time: Early afternoon free in Chinle
Activity: Sunrise is optional and on your own from the terrace, a two-minute walk if we stay inside the tribal park; it is not a second guided drive.
Canyon de Chelly with a Diné guide, then Gallup
Canyon de Chelly floor, then Chinle to Ganado, Window Rock and Gallup
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Gallup
- Drive about 2 h
Morning
Visitors may enter the floor of Canyon de Chelly only with an authorised Navajo guide, and this morning is the reason to come. We go in at about 8 am, while the sand is cool, for about three hours in the guide's 4x4 along the wash between walls that rise from a few metres at the mouth to hundreds of metres further in. Your Diné guide shows pictographs and petroglyphs, the cliff houses of First Ruin and Junction Ruin, and White House Ruin from below, and talks about the canyon as home: the farms, the orchards and the families who still live here.
Afternoon
After a sit-down lunch in Chinle we drive south to Ganado and Hubbell Trading Post, where Navajo families have traded wool, rugs and silver since 1878, then east to Window Rock, the Navajo Nation's capital, to see the sandstone arch it is named for. We reach Gallup, just off the Navajo Nation, by about 4:30 pm, about two hours of driving in all, and settle in for two nights.
Evening
The evening is free.
Included
- Diné-guided tour of the Canyon de Chelly floor, about three hours
- Sit-down lunch in Chinle
- Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, Ganado
- Window Rock and the Navajo Code Talkers memorial
Free time: Evening free in Gallup
Activity: The canyon tour is in a 4x4 over sand and shallow water, with short walks. Ask before photographing people or homes in the canyon. Hubbell's rugs and jewellery are for sale, but there is no pressure to buy.
Chaco Canyon by the south road
Gallup to Thoreau, Highway 9 and Road 57 to Chaco Culture National Historical Park, and back to Gallup
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Gallup
- Drive about 4.5 h
This is the one long driving day. Chaco's north road has been closed since storm damage on 30 September 2026, so the only way in is the south road, 34 km of dirt, and Gallup is the nearest town with hotels on that side. We leave at 6:45 am: an hour and a quarter east on the interstate and north past Crownpoint, then about an hour on the dirt road, reaching the visitor centre soon after it opens at 9 am. Chaco was the centre of the Ancestral Puebloan world between about 850 and 1150, and UNESCO listed it in 1987.
Afternoon
Your guide walks you through Pueblo Bonito, a great house of several hundred rooms built over three centuries, then Chetro Ketl, Pueblo del Arroyo and the great kiva of Casa Rinconada, about four hours on foot with a picnic lunch, since no food is sold here. We leave at about 1:30 pm and are back in Gallup by about 4 pm.
Evening
Dinner is your choice.
Included
- Chaco Culture National Historical Park entry
- Guided walks at Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl, Pueblo del Arroyo and Casa Rinconada
- Picnic lunch in the park
Easier option: Stay near the visitor centre and take its short walk to Una Vida, and rejoin the group for Pueblo Bonito.
More active option: The Pueblo Alto Trail, about 8 km, climbing through a crack in the cliff to the mesa top above Pueblo Bonito, in place of the Casa Rinconada walk.
Free time: Evening free in Gallup
Activity: About four and a half hours of driving, in two halves of about two and a quarter hours, with about four and a half hours at Chaco between them and a comfort stop each way. If rain or snow makes the dirt road impassable, we go to El Morro National Monument instead, with Inscription Rock and a Puebloan ruin on the mesa top.
Pueblo culture in Albuquerque, then Santa Fe
Gallup to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, then Santa Fe
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Santa Fe
- Drive about 3.5 h
Morning
We leave Gallup after breakfast and drive east on the interstate along the old Route 66 corridor, past red sandstone cliffs and the lava flows near Grants, about two and a quarter hours to Albuquerque. The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center is owned and run by New Mexico's 19 Pueblos, and its museum tells their story in their own words, from Chaco's descendants to the present, with murals by Pueblo artists in the courtyard and, on many weekends, traditional dances.
Afternoon
After a sit-down lunch at the centre we drive about an hour north to Santa Fe, arriving by mid-afternoon. The rest of the afternoon is yours: Canyon Road's galleries, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture on Museum Hill, or a rest after a week on the road.
Evening
In the evening we meet for a farewell dinner in town. Driving today is about three and a half hours, split in two by the cultural centre.
Included
- Indian Pueblo Cultural Center entry, Albuquerque
- Sit-down lunch at the cultural centre
- Farewell dinner in Santa Fe
Optional experiences
- Acoma Pueblo's Sky City on the way, if the Pueblo of Acoma is running in-person tours on your date
- Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Georgia O'Keeffe Museum or Canyon Road galleries in your free afternoon
Free time: Afternoon free in Santa Fe
Activity: Dance days at the cultural centre vary; we tell you with your final itinerary whether one falls on our day.
Santa Fe's Plaza and home
Santa Fe Plaza, then Albuquerque International Sunport or Santa Fe Regional Airport
- Breakfast
- Drive about 1.5 h
Evening
A last walk with your guide, after a night in town, in the cool of the morning around the Plaza, laid out in the early 1600s when Santa Fe became the capital of the Spanish province of New Mexico. Under the long portal of the Palace of the Governors, Native American artists sell their own jewellery and pottery on blankets, each piece made by the seller under a programme run by the museum, so you can buy directly from the maker. From there it is a few minutes to the adobe San Miguel Chapel and the Loretto Chapel with its spiral staircase. Late in the morning we drive about an hour and a quarter south to the Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ), arriving by about 1 pm, or drop you at Santa Fe Regional Airport (SAF), about 20 minutes from the Plaza. Your guide checks your flight before saying goodbye.
Included
- Walk around the Santa Fe Plaza with your guide: the Palace of the Governors portal, San Miguel Chapel and Loretto Chapel
- Drop-off at Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) or Santa Fe Regional Airport (SAF)
Activity: Book a flight from Albuquerque leaving after about 3 pm, or from Santa Fe after about 1 pm.
- Durango2 nights
- Monument Valley1 night
- Chinle1 night
- Gallup2 nights
- Santa Fe1 night
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: Days are hot and dry in June, and from July to September afternoon storms can make the dirt road to Chaco impassable and fill Canyon de Chelly's washes, so we start early and keep a backup plan for each.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want the Ancestral Puebloan and Navajo story told by the people whose homeland it is
- Small-group travel with a guide and short walks, not long hikes
- Photographers who want sunset and sunrise in Monument Valley
- Anyone who wants Chaco Canyon without driving its dirt road themselves
Not for you if you want
- Step-free access: Mesa Verde has ladders and Chaco has uneven stone paths
- Travellers who want the Grand Canyon or Utah's national parks on the same trip
- A drink with dinner every night: Monument Valley and Chinle are dry
- Anyone sensitive to dusty, bumpy rides in open vehicles or a long day on a dirt road
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
7 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Durango2 nights
- Monument Valley1 night
- Chinle1 night
- Gallup2 nights
- Santa Fe1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 7 nights: 2 in Durango, 1 in Monument Valley, 1 in Chinle at Canyon de Chelly, 2 in Gallup for Chaco Canyon, 1 in Santa Fe
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Durango-La Plata County Airport (DRO) and drop-off at Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) or Santa Fe Regional Airport (SAF)
- Our own air-conditioned vehicle and driver for the group, with a seat for every guest, room for luggage and the clearance for Chaco's dirt road
- Luggage loaded and unloaded by your driver at every hotel
- Open-vehicle and 4x4 tours with Navajo guides in Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group for the whole trip
- Navajo guides in Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly and a National Park Service ranger at Mesa Verde, with the Navajo guides booked directly at their own rates and their tips included
Activities
- Mesa Verde National Park: entry, a ranger-led tour of Cliff Palace or Balcony House, the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum and the Mesa Top Loop
- Four Corners Monument (when open)
- Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park: entry and a Navajo-guided backcountry drive ending at sunset below the Mittens
- Canyon de Chelly: the South Rim Drive and a Diné-guided tour of the canyon floor
- Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site and Window Rock
- Chaco Culture National Historical Park: entry and guided walks at Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl, Pueblo del Arroyo and Casa Rinconada
- Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Albuquerque
- Guided walks on Main Avenue in Durango and around the Santa Fe Plaza
Meals
- Breakfast daily (7)
- Lunch on days 2 to 7 (6), with a picnic at Chaco
- Welcome dinner in Durango, dinners in Monument Valley and Chinle, and a farewell dinner in Santa Fe (4)
Not included
- International flights to Durango and home from Albuquerque or Santa Fe
- US visa or ESTA
- Travel insurance
- Dinners on days 2, 5 and 6
- Lunch on days 1 and 8
- Drinks, other than water, coffee and tea with included meals
- Tips for your See Sight Tours guide and driver
- Optional activities, such as the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Acoma Sky City and Santa Fe museums
- Crafts and personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 1,130 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the Four Corners tour price include?
Seven nights in hotels, breakfast daily, six lunches, four dinners, airport transfers at both ends, our own vehicle and driver, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, and every entry and tour in the day plan: Mesa Verde with a ranger-led cliff dwelling, the Navajo-guided Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly tours, Hubbell Trading Post, Chaco and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, with tips for the Navajo guides.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests in one vehicle with a seat for everyone. That size fits a Mesa Verde ranger tour, a single Navajo guide's vehicles and one table at lunch, and it lets the group stay together on the narrow paths at Chaco.
Who leads the trip, and who are the local guides?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group for all eight days and a professional driver drives. Navajo guides lead the Monument Valley backcountry drive and the Canyon de Chelly floor, and a park ranger leads the Mesa Verde cliff dwelling. We book the Navajo guides directly at their own rates and include their tips.
How fit do I need to be?
Moderately fit. Walks are mostly 1 to 4 km, but at 1,700 to 2,200 m. The Mesa Verde cliff dwelling tour climbs ladders, up to about 10 m at Balcony House, and Chaco means about four hours on foot in the sun. You can skip the ladders and see Cliff Palace from the overlook, and sit out any walk.
I'm travelling solo. Do I have to pay a single supplement?
Only if you want a room of your own, which is from CAD 1,130 more. If you would rather share, tell us when you request to book and we will try to arrange sharing with another solo traveller where possible. Our sharing policy and your room and price are confirmed at booking, before anything is charged.
When is the best time to visit the Four Corners?
May to October, when the Mesa Verde cliff dwelling tours run. May, June, September and October are the most settled. June is hot in Monument Valley, and from July to September afternoon storms are common and can make the dirt road to Chaco impassable for a day. Mornings are cool all season at this altitude.
Is the road to Chaco Canyon open, and what if it closes?
Chaco is open, but only by the south road: the National Park Service closed the north road after storm damage on 30 September 2026. That is why we stay in Gallup and drive 34 km of dirt in from the south. If rain makes that road impassable, we visit El Morro National Monument instead, and your guide decides on the morning.
Why does the trip start in Durango and end in Santa Fe?
Starting in Durango puts Mesa Verde on day 2 with no long drive on arrival day, and ending in Santa Fe saves a long drive back. Fly into Durango through Denver, Phoenix or Dallas and home from Albuquerque, an hour away, or Santa Fe's small airport. We drop you at either.
Are there rules for visiting the Navajo Nation?
Yes. Alcohol is generally not sold on the Navajo Nation, so plan on two dry nights. Ask before photographing people or homes, and stay with your Navajo guide inside Canyon de Chelly and Monument Valley's backcountry, where visitors may not go alone. Your guide explains local etiquette before each visit, and your driver handles your luggage at every hotel.
Do I need a visa to visit the US?
Canadian citizens normally do not need a visa for a tourist visit. Travellers from Visa Waiver Program countries need an approved ESTA before flying, and others need a visitor visa. Requirements change, so check your own before you book flights.
How does booking work?
Choose your start date and request to book. We confirm your place within 24 hours, and no payment is taken when you send the request. The small group starts from CAD 6,650 per person sharing, taxes included.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. The trip also runs as a private trip for your party only, with your own guide and vehicle, on a date you choose, from CAD 11,970 per person sharing. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the hotels, Navajo guides and entries for you.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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