2 Best Sights in Northeast Arizona, Arizona

To the north of Tsaile are the impressive Chuska Mountains, covered with sprawling stands of ponderosa pine. There are no established hiking trails in the mountains, but up-to-date hiking information and backcountry-use permits (rarely granted if a Navajo guide does not accompany) can be obtained through the Navajo Nation.

Beyond Hotevilla, AZ 264 descends from Third Mesa, exits the Hopi Reservation, and crosses into Navajo territory, past Coal Canyon, where Native Americans have long mined coal from the dark seam just below the rim. The colorful mudstone, dark lines of coal, and bleached white rock have an eerie appearance, especially by the light of the moon. A guide, who can be booked through the Moenkopi Legacy Inn & Suites, is required to visit the canyon. Twenty miles west of the canyon, at the junction of AZ 264 and U.S. 160, is the town of Moenkopi, the last Hopi outpost. Established as a farming community, it was settled by the descendants of former Oraibi residents.