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Monument Valley travel guide

Towering sandstone buttes rising straight out of a red desert, a 17-mile dirt road between them and a backcountry you can only enter with a Navajo guide. Plan your trip to Monument Valley, from driving the Valley Drive and booking a tour to where to stay and when to go.

Julianna BarnabyTravel and culture writer

Monument Valley might just take the title for the strangest landscape in America. Towering sandstone buttes and mesas rise straight out of a flat red desert on the Arizona-Utah border, and they’ve starred in so many Westerns that the view feels familiar before you’ve even arrived. It’s a Navajo Nation tribal park, not a national park, and much of it is sacred land you can only visit with a Navajo guide.

I visited on a day trip from Page during an early-summer road trip, staying at the Best Western View of Lake Powell. It’s a longish drive, but it’s worth it: there’s nothing quite like steering your own car along the sandy Valley Drive with the Mittens and Merrick Butte towering over the windscreen. I stopped at Forrest Gump Point for the classic road shot on the way.

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Start here

Monument Valley travel guide: how to visit the Navajo Nation’s valley of the rocks

A guide to the Monument Valley scenic drive: what to know and unmissable stops

Straight highway running through desert towards Monument Valley

The ultimate guide to Forrest Gump Point in Monument Valley

West Mitten Butte rising above red sand and scrub in Monument Valley

Stunning hikes in Monument Valley: trails to help you discover towering sandstone buttes

When to go

Spring (April to May) and autumn (September to October) are the best times to visit, with milder temperatures and fewer crowds than in high summer. I went in early summer, when days regularly reach the 90s Fahrenheit (over 32°C), so bring plenty of water.

Storms are common from July to mid-September and can close the Valley Drive. Winter is quiet and cold, with occasional light snow on the buttes that usually melts within a couple of days.

For photos, mornings and the middle of the day are easiest on the Valley Drive, as late in the afternoon you’ll be shooting into the sun at many of the viewpoints.

Getting there and around

Navajo Nation Parks: fees, opening hours and the authorised tour operators.
The View Hotel: rooms, cabins and the campground inside the park.
Rentalcars.com: car hire; check your agreement covers unpaved roads.
Booking.com: places to stay near the valley.
GetYourGuide: Navajo-guided jeep, sunrise and sunset tours.

You’ll need a car, or a tour from Sedona, Flagstaff or Page. The park is reached by Monument Valley Road (Indian Route 42), which leaves US-163 about 20 miles south of Mexican Hat; the visitor centre is about four miles further east.

Drive times to the visitor centre: Kayenta about 30 minutes, Page about two hours and 15 minutes, the Grand Canyon’s South Rim about three hours, Moab about 2.5 hours and Phoenix or Las Vegas five to 6.5 hours.

Where to stay

Page

The base for a day trip, with far more hotels and restaurants, about two hours and 15 minutes away. It’s a long day, but it works: I stayed in a good-value hotel on the rim of the mesa, with a pool and a free breakfast. Stay at the Best Western View of Lake Powell.

Inside the park

The only hotel inside Monument Valley, with balconies facing the Mittens, valley-rim cabins and a campground, so you can see sunrise and sunset over the buttes. Stay at The View Hotel.

Goulding’s, Utah

About five miles from the park entrance, with rooms and villas looking out to the buttes, the Stagecoach Restaurant, a museum, fuel and its own Navajo-guided tours. Stay at Goulding’s Lodge.

Kayenta, Arizona

About half an hour south, and usually cheaper than the hotels by the park. Stay at Hampton Inn Kayenta, with a pool and a free breakfast.

Best Western View of Lake Powell Page, Arizona Check availability

The View Hotel Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park Check availability

Goulding's Lodge Oljato-Monument Valley, Utah Check availability

Tours

Monument Valley: 2.5-hour backcountry tour with a Navajo guide Monument Valley: 2.5-hour Mystery Valley tour Monument Valley: 3-hour sunset tour with a Navajo guide More tours

Know before you go

Top things to do

Drive the 17-mile Valley Drive

The one thing everyone should do: an unpaved loop from the visitor centre past 11 numbered viewpoints, including the Mittens, the Three Sisters and John Ford’s Point. It takes two to three hours with stops. I drove it myself; take it slowly, as it’s rutted and sandy in places.

Snap the classic view from John Ford’s Point

The panorama named after the director of Stagecoach (1939). There’s usually a Navajo rider with a horse on the ledge: tip them and you can pose overlooking the valley.

Peer through the North Window

A gap between Elephant Butte and Cly Butte that frames East Mitten, three miles away, near the end of the Valley Drive.

Head into the backcountry with a Navajo guide

Much of the valley is sacred land you can only visit with a licensed Navajo guide, who’ll take you to places such as Ear of the Wind and Moccasin Arch and share the valley’s significance to the Diné.

Hike the Wildcat Trail

The park’s best-known self-guided trail, a 3.2-mile loop round West Mitten Butte from the visitor centre car park. It takes about two hours; sign in and out at the visitor centre.

Stop at Forrest Gump Point

On US-163, about 12 miles north of the park turning, the road runs dead straight towards the buttes. I stopped on my way through, and it’s well worth the short detour, but park in the pullouts and watch the traffic.

Watch the sunrise or sunset

The free option is the viewpoint by the visitor centre and The View, looking straight at the Mittens. To be out among the buttes, take a guided sunrise or sunset tour.

Explore Mystery Valley

A quieter maze of arches and red rock south-west of the main valley, with Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings and rock art. Guided tours only.

Suggested itineraries

Monument Valley as a day trip

One day

Page – Forrest Gump Point – the Valley Drive – John Ford’s Point – the North Window – Page

My own route: a longish drive, but worth it.

A night in Monument Valley

Two days

The Valley Drive – the Wildcat Trail – sunset from The View – a Navajo-guided sunrise tour – Mystery Valley

Stay overnight to see the buttes at either end of the day.

The Southwest loop

Ten days

Las Vegas – the Grand Canyon’s South Rim – Page – Monument Valley – Zion – Bryce Canyon – Las Vegas

My Southwest road trip spends day 5 in Monument Valley.

Hidden Monument Valley

Valley of the Gods

A miniature Monument Valley on Bureau of Land Management land about 45 minutes north, free to enter, with a 17-mile gravel road fine for ordinary cars when it’s dry.

Goosenecks State Park

The San Juan River twisting through tight meanders 1,000 feet below the rim near Mexican Hat, a quick stop from the car park.

Goulding’s Trading Post Museum

The 1920s trading post where Harry Goulding persuaded John Ford to film here, with film memorabilia and John Wayne’s Cabin. Entry is by donation.

Hunts Mesa

The ultimate view back across the valley, reached only with a licensed Navajo guide, often on an overnight camping trip.

Dishes and drinks to try

Dishes to try

Frybread – a fried Navajo flatbread, at Linda’s stand near John Ford’s Point.
Navajo tacos – frybread topped with beans, chilli and cheese, a staple on the Navajo Nation.
A picnic – the easiest lunch for the Valley Drive, as food options are limited.

Drinks to try

Water, and lots of it – alcohol is banned on the Navajo Nation, and there’s no water along the Valley Drive.

Costs and budgeting

A day trip is cheap; staying overnight near the buttes and adding guided tours is where the money goes.

Park entry: $10 per person per day, plus $15 per vehicle (national park passes aren’t accepted)
Wildcat Trail: no extra fee
Goulding’s Trading Post Museum: by donation
Valley of the Gods: free

Safety, health and tipping

Safety

Take the Valley Drive slowly: it’s rutted and sandy, and it can close after heavy rain. At Forrest Gump Point, park in the pullouts and keep an eye on both directions of fast traffic. Don’t walk onto the back roads, which are for guided tours only.

Health

Summer days regularly top 32°C and there’s no shade on the trails, so carry plenty of water, wear sunscreen and a hat, and avoid hiking in the middle of the day.

Tipping

Tip your Navajo guide on a tour, and the rider if you pose with the horse at John Ford’s Point. Tip 18% to 22% at sit-down restaurants.

Practical tips and info

Tips for travelling

Respect the Navajo Nation’s rules: don’t photograph residents or their homes without permission, keep to the marked route and trails, and leave rocks and artefacts where they are.
Arrive in time: the Valley Drive opens at 8am, with last entry at 2:30pm in winter and 4:30pm in summer.
RVs, camper vans, motorcycles and large off-road vehicles aren’t allowed on the Valley Drive.
Dogs aren’t allowed in Navajo tribal parks.
UK and other Visa Waiver visitors need an approved ESTA (US$40.27) before flying.

How to see the best for free

Inside the park, entry covers the Valley Drive and the Wildcat Trail, with no extra fee for the hike (just sign in at the visitor centre), and the viewpoint by the visitor centre looks straight out at the Mittens at sunrise and sunset.

Outside it, Forrest Gump Point is a free roadside stop, the Valley of the Gods is free to enter, and Goulding’s Trading Post Museum asks only for a donation.

Packing

Packing for Monument Valley? Don’t forget…

Plenty of water and a picnic: there’s water at the visitor centre but nothing along the Valley Drive, and food options are limited.
Comfy shoes, a sunhat and sunscreen: the Wildcat Trail is sandy, with no shade.
Cash: for the frybread stand, the craft stalls and tips for the horse photo at John Ford’s Point.
A full tank: fuel stations are few and far between, so fill up in Kayenta, at Goulding’s or in Mexican Hat.
A paper map: mobile signal is patchy.

Travel insurance

US medical bills are notoriously high, so make sure your policy has generous medical cover for the USA, and check whether your car hire agreement and insurance cover driving on unpaved roads like the Valley Drive. Compare policies with AXA Travel Insurance.

Suggested guidebooks

Interesting facts

The park’s Navajo name is Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, and it covers 91,696 acres on the Arizona-Utah border.
Its buttes and mesas rise 400 to 1,000 feet above the valley floor, which sits at about 5,500 feet.
John Ford’s Stagecoach (1939) introduced the valley to cinema audiences, after Harry Goulding sent him photographs of it.
Forrest Gump ends his cross-country run on US-163, at what’s now Forrest Gump Point.

Time zone

The Navajo Nation uses Mountain Time with daylight saving, so it’s seven hours behind the UK all year. In summer, that puts it an hour ahead of Page and Phoenix, so double-check the time of any tour you book.