HELP CRIA KEEP CULTURAL HISTORY ALIVE
Chimney Rock Interpretive Association (CRIA) invites you to support our efforts to provide a meaningful, enjoyable educational experience through interpretive tours and special programs and to the long term preservation of our National Monument by making a donation. CRIA receives no federal funding and relies on donations, tour fees and grants to run the interpretive program. Donations help to recruit, train and retain volunteers that are the backbone of this organization. Your donation also supports the interpretive program at the Monument which includes daily tours/special programs, complimentary school group tours and the Junior Archaeologist program.
If you would like to become a supporter of the volunteer interpretive program at Chimney Rock National Monument please click on the Donate button below. This is a one-time donation at the level of your choosing. We collect donations through ColoradoGives.org because it saves us a great deal on credit card processing fees. Not only does it save us money, but it is also a very secure way of making a donation.
Support CRIA through Colorado Gives
CRIA is important because it preserves history & culture and without protection and preservation it is lost forever. When you donate to CRIA you are supporting an organization that is devoted to educating, preserving, protecting a culturally significant piece of history in Southwest Colorado.
Chimney Rock Interpretive Association (CRIA) has provided the interpretive program at Chimney Rock for more than 25 years. CRIA obtained non-profit 501(c)(3) status in 2004 and has maintained 85+ volunteers who are the backbone of this organization. These amazing volunteers are passionate about this small, remote outlier of Chaco Canyon. They love to tell the roughly 12,000 visitors to the site each season (May 15 through October 15) about the solar and lunar alignments that would have been important to the ancient residents, alignments that most likely were of critical importance to the ancient culture throughout the Four Corners area.
The story is presented through daily guided tours, monthly lunar and solar programs, and a free ancient arts festivals focusing on the people and the place as it was a thousand years ago. CRIA also performs daily maintenance of the site and visitors cabin. CRIA’s volunteers operate under partnership authority agreement with the San Juan National Forest, Pagosa Springs District.