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Navajo National Monument protects three hidden Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings. It’s located in northern Arizona within Navajo Nation.
Introduction to Navajo National Monument
Navajo National Monument was established on March 20, 1909, to protect three well-preserved cliff dwellings: Keet Seel (Kitsʼiil), Betatakin (Bitátʼahkin), and Inscription House (Tsʼah Biiʼ Kin). Keet Seel is the largest Ancestral Puebloan structure in Arizona and was occupied around the middle of the 13th century until the first decade of the 14th century.
Although they were known to the local Navajo people, the cliff dwellings weren’t rediscovered by non-Natives until Richard Wetherill (1858-1910) arrived in 1895. Wetherill and his brother made a living giving guided tours of the dwellings here and in other locations in the region. Unfortunately, they removed several artifacts from these sites and sold them. Very little is known about the whereabouts of these artifacts.
Planning Your Trip to Navajo National Monument
Before getting into some of the trails and highlights of the park, here’s some essential information to help you plan your trip:
Entrance Fees to Navajo National Monument
There’s no fee to visit Navajo National Monument (as of October 2025).
Campgrounds at Navajo National Monument
There are two free campgrounds near the visitor center. Sunset View Campground has 31 sites on a first-come, first-served basis. It’s open year-round and has a modern restroom facility. Canyon View Campground is open from April through September and is a primitive tent campground with 14 sites and a pit toilet.
Navajo National Monument Visitor Center
The visitor center is open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day, from 9am to 5pm. It contains a small museum with information about the cliff dwellings, an information desk, and gift shop. There’s a replica hogan behind the building.
Tsegi Point Overlook
The Tsegi Point Overlook, where you can get a good look at the landscape, is just before the visitor center.
Self-Guided Trails at Navajo National Monument
There are three self-guided trails open until sunset. The trailheads are behind the visitor center.
Sandal Trail
The most interesting trail is the Sandal Trail. It’s 1.3 miles round-trip with an elevation change of about 150 feet. The Sandal Trail is the only trail from which you can see a cliff dwelling.
The Sandal Trail ends at the Betatakin Overlook, where you can view the Betatakin Cliff Dwelling. It was populated between 1267 and 1286 and about 125 people lived there. It had about 120 rooms and 1 kiva at the time it was abandoned, but only 80 remain today due to rock falls.
Betatakin, which translates to House Built on a Ledge, was built in an alcove measuring 452 feet (138 meters) high and 370 feet (110 meters) wide. It was first excavated in 1909 under Byron Cummings (1860-1954) of the University of Utah, and into the 1950s and 1960s.
Canyon View Trail
The Canyon View Trail is an easy 0.8 mile round-trip trail following the rim of Betatakin Canyon. It’s not possible to view any cliff dwellings from the trail but the views are spectacular.
At the end of the trail is a historic contact station. It was originally built in 1939 as a cook shack for park employees and park custodians Jim and Sallie Brewer. It was moved to its current location a year later and converted into the first visitor contact station in 1941.
The contact station contained a projector with a slide show featuring scenes of the park. Visitors had to power it using their own car batteries. It was remodeled in 1952 with a coat of brown paint and a new window on the west side. Exhibits and artifacts were on display, and a diorama of Keet Seel was added in 1954.
The shack functioned as a contact station until the current visitor center was built in 1965. It became a storage shed and fell into disrepair. Thankfully, it was renovated in 2007 to its 1950s appearance and is now an interpretive center with exhibits.
Aspen Trail
The third trail is the Aspen Trail, which is a strenuous 0.8 mile round-trip trail to an overlook with a view of a primitive forest at the bottom of Betatakin Canyon. It has an elevation change of 350 feet and no cliff dwellings can be seen.
Cliff Dwelling Tours at Navajo National Monument
You can take guided tours to two cliff dwellings at Navajo National Monument. The third, Inscription House, is indefinitely closed to the public due to its fragility and remote location.
- Tours of the Betatakin Cliff Dwelling are available daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Please note tours do not enter the alcove for safety reasons. Reservations are on a first-come, first-served basis, and you can sign up at the visitor center. Tours take between 3 and 5 hours depending on the route you sign up for and the hike is strenuous. Both trails have an elevation change of 700 feet (218 meters).
The 7am tour uses the Tsegi Point Trail, which is 5 miles round-trip, and you’re required to drive to the trailhead.
The other tour uses the Aspen Trail, which is 3 miles round-trip. Part of the trail is on a steep 927-step staircase without handrails. You must be in good physical health and not be afraid of heights.
- Overnight tours of Keet Seel are offered when staffing is available. The only way to reach it is via a 17-mile round-trip hike with 1,000 feet of elevation change. Reservations are on a first-come, first-served basis, and you can sign up online. Tours are limited to 20 people.
The trail is very strenuous over rocky switchbacks, sand dunes, and water crossings. You’ll have to attend a mandatory safety meeting before the hike and carry all your gear and food. This includes the recommended two gallons of water per person, tent, sleeping bags, headlamp or flashlight, emergency rain poncho, personal first aid kit, WAG bags and toilet paper, hiking boots, and clothing appropriate for forecasted weather. You’ll also have to pack out all trash and solid human waste.
