Chaco Culture Backcountry Roads Network

The prehistoric road system radiating from Chaco Canyon forms one of North America’s most remarkable ancient transportation networks, with modern dirt roads roughly following routes that connected Chaco to outlying great houses 30 miles away. These backcountry tracks cross high desert mesas and deep arroyos in the San Juan Basin, linking sites like Pueblo Pintado and Kin Bineola to the main Chaco complex. The 13-mile route to Pueblo Pintado follows an actual prehistoric roadway, complete with stone-lined segments and ancient stairways carved into sandstone cliffs.

This is easy to moderate terrain suitable for most high-clearance vehicles, though flash flood potential in washes makes timing critical — avoid during monsoon season. The National Park Service maintains basic access, but these are primitive dirt roads requiring attention to weather conditions. Best visited spring and fall when temperatures are reasonable and flash flood risk is lower. The payoff is stepping into a 1,000-year-old transportation system that moved turquoise, pottery, and ideas across hundreds of miles of high desert. Dispersed camping isn’t allowed, but nearby BLM land offers alternatives.