White House Trail

The White House Trail is the only public trail in Canyon de Chelly National Monument that you can hike without a permit or a Navajo guide. It drops about 600 feet from White House Overlook on the South Rim Drive to the canyon floor. It is 2.5 miles round trip, and the Park Service suggests allowing two hours. The reward at the bottom is White House, one of the largest and best preserved ruins in the monument.

The village has two parts. One stands against the base of the cliff on the canyon floor. The other sits in a small cave directly above. According to the US Geological Survey, people lived here between about 1060 and 1275. The lower section has 60 rooms and four kivas. A 1973 Park Service history says tree rings show most of the lower building went up after 1070, and that marks on the cliff show it once stood several stories high. The name goes back to Lt. J. H. Simpson. He visited in 1849 and called the ruin Casa Blanca, after a white-plastered wall in the upper part. The Navajo name is Kini-na-e-kai.

Check the trail's status before you go. Park Service pages updated in late October 2026 say the overlook and trail are open with no fee. One older park page still says they are closed. The Park Service also says the Navajo Nation may later run the area seasonally with a fee. Call the park at 928-674-5500 if you're unsure.

The trail is moderately strenuous, with switchbacks down the cliff. There are vault toilets at the top and the bottom. Hike at your own risk, because help is limited. Stay on the trail, carry plenty of water and know your limits. The Park Service advises avoiding the hottest part of the day, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rain can bring flash floods, waterfalls and rockfall. Remember that the canyon floor is home to Navajo families. Everywhere beyond the trail and the ruin needs an authorized guide and a backcountry permit. Drones are not allowed anywhere in the monument.

White House Overlook is about 6 miles along the South Rim Drive from the Welcome Center, which is about 3 miles east of US 191 in Chinle. Like the rest of the Navajo Nation, the monument keeps daylight saving time, an hour ahead of the rest of Arizona from March to November. There is no entrance fee.