We stopped at the visitor's center and picked up a self-guided auto tour brochure. We started by taking the South Rim. The highlights of this tour are the White House Ruins and Spider Rock. It's interesting, though, stopping at the various overlooks along the rim. We were amazed at the farmlands at the floor of the canyon. The tall, straight cliffs of the canyon walls were impressive. The roadways at the floor of the canyon weaving between the different canyon areas and providing a path for the jeep tours were intriguing.
An ancient building, The White House (wide view on left; close up right-click for larger view) was occupied an estimated 1,000 years ago by Puebloan people. The trail down to the White House area is the only trail within the canyon that can be hiked without a Navajo guide or park ranger. Since we had our dog with us and dogs aren't allowed beyond the rim, we didn't make the hike but we saw hikers along the trail.
The far end of the South Rim drive is Spider Rock. This is the landmark of Canyon de Chelly; an 800-foot sandstone spire that rises from the canyon floor. It's just there, standing. Amazing. The view of this from the canyon floor has to be nothing short of spectacular.The North Rim offers a more overlooks. We didn't take the quarter of a mile walk to see the Antelope House Ruins but we
stopped at the other overlooks. We would recommend taking the North Rim tour first or, if little time, take just the South Rim tour.Although there isn't a lot of hiking to do on your own, taking the quick 2.5 mile roundtrip White House trail would provide an option for getting to the canyon floor. Taking a jeep tour with a Navajo guide to learn more about this and other features of the canyon is another good option. The vantage point from the canyon floor plus learning about the Navajo culture would make for a worthwhile adventure and one we have added to our list for the future.
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