Monument Valley: Recognisable Before You Arrive

You’ve seen the image: two sandstone buttes rising from a flat red plain, Forrest Gump jogging between them, John Wayne riding past them. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park is the most photographed landscape in the American Southwest and one of the most photographed places on earth. It still impresses in person. The scale is different from what photographs communicate.

The park is operated by the Navajo Nation, not the US National Park Service. Entry is $20 per vehicle. It sits on the Arizona-Utah border near US-163, roughly 60 miles north of Kayenta, Arizona.

The Valley Drive

The self-guided Valley Drive is a 17-mile unpaved loop through the main formation area. In a standard hire car on a dry day, it’s fine. After rain, the red clay becomes extremely slippery and 4WD is useful. Allow 1.5-2 hours to complete the loop with stops.

The Mittens (West and East Mitten Buttes) are the central formation: two tabletop sandstone towers each about 300 metres tall, each with a distinct thumb formation to one side. Merrick Butte across the valley is the largest formation at around 400 metres. Sunrise and sunset are when the red colour is most saturated; early morning also avoids the tour bus timing.

Guided Tours

The section beyond the self-guided loop requires a licensed Navajo guide. Several operators work from the visitor centre, charging $50-100 per person for 2-3 hour tours by jeep or horseback. This gets you to Mystery Valley, where there are Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings, and areas like Hub of the Earth that the drive loop doesn’t cover. The guides provide context about Navajo history and culture that the visitor centre boards don’t.

Horseback rides are available from roughly $40-60 per hour through operators near the visitor centre.

John Ford’s Point

The overlook where Ford staged cavalry scenes in Stagecoach (1939), The Searchers (1956), and others. There’s a photographic re-creation spot where you can duplicate the exact composition Ford used. It’s slightly kitsch and genuinely interesting at the same time.

Staying

Goulding’s Lodge (from around $180/night) is on the Utah side, 3 miles from the visitor centre, and has been hosting visitors since the 1920s when Harry Goulding convinced John Ford to come and film here. The lodge has a museum about the filming history. The View Hotel inside the park itself (from $220/night) has rooms with direct views of the Mittens from private balconies; the sunrise view from bed is the genuine luxury item.

The campground adjacent to the visitor centre is basic and open year-round, $20-25/night.

Practical Notes

The nearest grocery store and fuel are in Kayenta, 60 miles south on US-163. Don’t arrive at Monument Valley with less than half a tank of petrol. Summer temperatures regularly exceed 38°C; carry more water than you think you need, especially if hiking.

The Navajo Nation operates on Mountain Daylight Time year-round, which differs from Arizona (no daylight saving) in summer. The time change at the border is occasionally confusing.