The oldest continuously operating trading post on the Navajo Nation — still a working store, not a museum of one.
Photo: Ron Cogswell · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Walk through the door at Hubbell and the first thing you notice is that nobody is performing anything. There is a worn wooden counter, shelves of flour and coffee and canned goods, a glass case of silver, and a back room stacked with Navajo weavings. People from Ganado come in to buy groceries. This is a store. It has been a store since John Lorenzo Hubbell bought it in 1878, a decade after the Diné returned from forced exile at Bosque Redondo, and it has never stopped being one — which makes it the oldest continuously operating trading post on the Navajo Nation.
That continuity is the entire reason to come. Most historic sites ask you to imagine the past; here you participate in the present of something very old. In the bullpen — the general-store room, named for the counter that pens customers in — the transaction is the same one that has happened across that wood for well over a century. In the Rug Room, Navajo weavings hang in stacks you are allowed to lift and turn, and weavers and silversmiths frequently work on site, adding an inch or two to a rug in the course of a day. The visitor center keeps a loom. Out back the homestead grounds hold the Hubbell family home, a barn, a bunkhouse, a guest hogan, and a small flock of Navajo-Churro sheep, the breed whose wool made the weaving tradition possible.
The honest history is more complicated than the charm suggests. Hubbell had real and lasting relationships with Navajo families, and he pushed weavers and silversmiths toward technical ambition — the deep-red bordered style still called Ganado Red traces to this post. He also built a trading empire on it. Trading posts across the reservation ran on credit, pawn, and a captive market, and they were instruments of economic dependency as much as they were lifelines during hard years. Both things are true, and the site does not hide either.
Congress authorized Hubbell Trading Post as a National Historic Site on August 28, 1965; the Hubbell family sold it to the National Park Service in 1967. The store is run today by the nonprofit Western National Parks Association in partnership with the NPS. There is no entrance fee. Give it an hour and a half, more if the Rug Room gets its hooks in you — and note that Canyon de Chelly is only about 40 minutes north, which makes the two an obvious single day.
Groceries, dry goods, hardware, coffee, and candy across a counter that has been in use since 1878. Local families shop here. It is not a re-creation and it is not staged — the shelves are stocked because people need what is on them.
Insider tipBuy something small. A bag of coffee or a soda is the least self-conscious way to take part in what makes this place different from every other historic site you'll visit.
Plan a trip to this spot →Navajo weavings stacked and hung by the hundred — Ganado Reds with their deep crimson grounds and black borders, plus Klagetoh, Two Grey Hills, pictorials, and contemporary work. Staff will pull pieces down and talk you through regional styles, wool, dye, and who wove what.
Insider tipPrices reflect months of work at a loom, and the money goes to the artists. Treat it as buying art, not shopping for a souvenir — and if a weaving is beyond your budget, say so plainly and ask about smaller pieces. Nobody here minds the question.
Artists frequently work on site — a weaver at the loom in the visitor center, silversmiths demonstrating at the bench. A large rug advances by an inch or two a day, which is the fastest way to understand what you're looking at in the Rug Room.
Insider tipAsk before photographing anyone or their work in progress, and accept a no gracefully. Watching quietly and asking a real question is welcome; a camera in someone's face while they work is not.
The family's adobe home is largely furnished as the Hubbells left it, with baskets on the ceilings and a notable collection of Southwestern art and Navajo textiles. Rangers offer short 15-minute "peeks" and longer 30-minute tours.
Insider tipTours are free but depend on staff availability and are not on a posted schedule — ask at the visitor center the moment you arrive rather than at the end of your visit.
A stone barn, bunkhouse, wagons, a guest hogan, chickens, horses, and a small flock of Navajo-Churro sheep — the long-wool breed whose fleece underpins Navajo weaving and which was nearly wiped out by federal livestock reduction in the 1930s.
Insider tipWalk the grounds after the Rug Room, not before. Seeing the wool on the animal changes how the weavings read.
Plan a trip to this spot →A compact visitor center covering the trading era, the Hubbell family, and Navajo art, drawn from a museum collection of hundreds of thousands of items including the family's business records. A working loom usually sits in the room.
Insider tipStart here for fifteen minutes of context, then spend the rest of your time in the store where the history is still running.
One entrance, off AZ-264 just west of Ganado — free, open daily.
About a mile west of Ganado on AZ-264, near the junction with US-191. No entrance fee and no pass required. Set your expectations on time before you arrive: the Navajo Nation observes daylight saving time from roughly March through November while the rest of Arizona stays on Mountain Standard Time, so during those months the site runs an hour ahead of Flagstaff and Phoenix. Phones on Arizona carriers frequently show the wrong hour here. Confirm current hours and the time change on nps.gov/hutr before you build a schedule around a closing time.
No lodging or camping at the site. Ganado has minimal services — plan to base in a larger town nearby.
The community immediately east of the site, with a chapter house, a hospital, and basic services. Lodging and dining options are very limited.
Booking tipFine for fuel and a quick stop, but don't count on finding a room or a sit-down meal here.
About 40 minutes north via US-191, at the mouth of Canyon de Chelly. The natural overnight if you're pairing the two sites, with several lodging options and restaurants serving the monument's visitors.
Booking tipBook well ahead in summer — Canyon de Chelly traffic fills Chinle's limited rooms fast.
Roughly 30 miles east on AZ-264, the capital of the Navajo Nation, with lodging, dining, fuel, and the Navajo Nation Museum. A good base if you want more time on the Nation itself.
Booking tipPair a night here with the museum for far better context on everything you saw at the trading post.
About 55 miles southeast, the largest town in the region and the widest choice of lodging, chain and independent restaurants, groceries, and services. A long-standing hub for Southwestern trading and Native art.
Booking tipThe most reliable place to find a room on short notice, and a sensible anchor if you're working the corridor over a few days.
Is there an entrance fee?
No. Admission to Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site is free, and tours of the historic Hubbell Home are also free. Some older third-party listings still quote a $5 home-tour fee — the current NPS fee page lists tours at no charge. Confirm on nps.gov/hutr if it matters to your budget.
What time is it at Hubbell?
This is the single thing that trips travelers up. The Navajo Nation observes daylight saving time from roughly March through November; the rest of Arizona does not. During those months the site is an hour ahead of Flagstaff, Phoenix, and the Grand Canyon. A phone connected to an Arizona carrier tower may show the wrong time. If you're driving in from the west with a 5:00 p.m. closing in mind, you may actually have until 4:00 p.m. on your dashboard clock — build in the buffer.
Is the trading post really still a store?
Yes. It has operated continuously since 1878 and is the oldest continuously operating trading post on the Navajo Nation. You can buy groceries, dry goods, Navajo weavings, jewelry, and baskets across the same counter people have used for generations. The store is run by the nonprofit Western National Parks Association in partnership with the National Park Service.
Can I tour the Hubbell Home?
Usually — but it depends on staffing rather than a fixed schedule. Rangers offer roughly 15-minute "peeks" and roughly 30-minute tours through the year, with group size limits, and the home closes in bad weather. Ask at the visitor center as soon as you arrive. Organized and school groups should submit a written request well in advance.
What should I know before visiting the Navajo Nation?
You are a visitor on sovereign tribal land, and a few things differ from the rest of Arizona. The Nation observes daylight saving time when the rest of the state does not. It is also dry — the sale, possession, and transport of alcohol are prohibited Nation-wide, so plan accordingly if you are driving through. Ask before photographing people or their work, respect a no, and follow guidance from park staff and tribal authorities.
How much do the weavings cost, and why?
Anywhere from modest for a small piece to several thousand dollars for a large one. A big rug represents months of work at a loom, often preceded by carding, spinning, and dyeing the wool. The Rug Room is a direct market for Navajo artists, and prices reflect the labor. Staff are happy to explain regional styles and what drives value — asking is expected, and haggling is not.
Weren't trading posts exploitative?
The record is mixed and worth knowing. Posts like this one provided goods, credit, and a route to market during genuinely hard decades, and Hubbell's push for quality shaped Navajo weaving and silverwork in ways artists still build on. They also operated on credit, pawn, and a captive market, and functioned as instruments of economic dependency. Both are part of the history of this building.
How long should I allow, and what should I combine it with?
An hour and a half to two hours covers the visitor center, the trading post, the grounds, and a home tour if one is running. Canyon de Chelly National Monument is about 40 minutes north via US-191, and the two together make a full, well-paced day.
Are there services at the site?
There are restrooms and the trading post's own shelves, but no restaurant. Ganado's services are limited and distances out here are long — arrive fueled, carry water, and don't assume cell coverage between towns.
Pick your vehicle, line up the stops on the way in and out, and carry the whole route in your pocket.
