One thing to consider aside from the heat is the humidity, or lack thereof. Chaco Canyon is very dry. It's also very windy and 6,200 ft (+/-) above sea level. The altitude combined with the heat, constant wind and dry climate is fatiguing if you're not accustomed to it. Also, as the previous poster stated, the road there can be challenging on the best days and impassable on bad ones, so making the most of your time there is key. My opinion, 4 nights, if you plan to break up your activities and spend the mid-day hours sheltered from the sun and wind, would be the absolute longest I'd want to be there unless it was in a really nice (overland capable) RV. Remember, you have to bring EVERYTHING you're going to need for the trip with you or make the drive back to Nageezi or Bloomfield at some point to resupply. FYI: the water at the water point next to the visitor center is excellent.

Call ahead for road conditions if there has been any rain in the previous 48 hours. If it's still wet, it may be impassable. That said, the paved segment is no problem. The gravel section isn't too bad but very dusty when it's dry. The segment just past the ford is by far the worst. Expect bumps and a lot of torquing along the length of the vehicle as you navigate the ruts. It would be a good idea to check your plumbing as best you can to make sure no connections came loose before using it. Be aware that the area is open range, so livestock crossing the road is likely. The good news, the water at the visitor center fill point is really good.

Farmington and Bloomfield are the closest towns with motels. They are about 1.5 hours away from Chaco. If you are camping, you can stay at the park campground when it reopens.

Hey, I don’t know the best answer except to say that the ranger suggested we take the road we came in on back out. We took 550 south from Farmington. When you are driving the last 10 miles or so on deeply rutted dirt roads and the park ranger says the other route is worse, we could only assume he knew what he was talking about. If and when they regrade the road it may be different. If you are in 4wd trucks you may not care I hope this helps.

Albq has pretty limited options for rv rental, and noplace I could find for a westfalia type. After researching (and not liking the terms and the lack of ANY promise of roadside assistance) the options on rv share and similar platforms (sort of like air bnb for rvs) we wound up renting from the local franchise of cruise america. They were inefficient, took forever to do the rental (and my credit card was cloned on that trip - could have been them or any of the gas stations) but we got a great deal on an old beater of a cruise america rv, and we had fun in our first time in a "real" rv. Their smallest one aint small, but it was fun and the bed was great. All in all, we had a blast and enjoyed having the full kitchen and bathroom in the rv, learning to use all the crazy features, and even the dump station (we spend our first and last night on the outskirts of albq at Coronado Campground, which is adjacent to an ancient/late prehistoric pueblo that we enjoyed visting too. all in all, it wasn't our usual, but was very fun. We felt totally independent and enjoyed the luxurious life. I'm no convert (inveterate car camper/sleep on the ground or in a tent) but would do it again for a lark. The only other option I could find out of albq was just renting a regular vehicle and either bringing you camping gear or renting from the albq rei and my traveling companions weren't up to sleep on the ground so. Have a great trip!

With no allocation for potty or snack breaks, you should allow for right at three hours from Albuquerque. You should also take the northern route, entering from the park from the side near Nageezi. As far as time in the park, we camped for two nights and spent one full day exploring. That one full day was enough to have a very full experience of Chaco, including two ranger-led programs and visits to three of the great houses. We also could have enjoyed two full days.

We did the self drive tour so I have no details on the Kailo tour

The day we were there they had no ranger available to do tours but honestly you can buy guide books for all sites for only a couple of dollars each and take a self guided tour. The sites are well signposted.

As long as it is not raining or snowing you should be just fine. We didn’t need our 4-wheel drive when we visited. You would only need it if the roads were washing out. It has been very dry so you should be a-ok! Have fun!!!