Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
Utah's Beautiful Monument Valley Tribal Park, straddling the Utah-
Arizona-
1999, 2003, 2009
About The Park
On our first trip to Monument Valley we were enchanted by the stark beauty of the red rock buttes rising above the desert landscape. It sits entirely within the Navajo nation’s lands and unlike Canyon de Chelly, which is designated a national monument, Monument Valley is not.
It is another one of those truly beautiful places in the Southwest. The iconic scenery has been used in many western movies starting back with John Ford and the John Wayne movie Stagecoach. A link to a listing of them is at bottom.
Since it is located on Navajo land, and is home to many people, entrance is restricted and, in general, hiking is prohibited. There is a 17 mile loop drive that you can take your vehicle on that snakes its way around many of the buttes and is certainly a worthwhile way to spend your day there. The road is unpaved, but graded and generally in good shape. The one exception was at the very start when the road descends the hill near The View Hotel down to the floor of the valley. This road is generally not in good shape due to the effects of rain. Watching some of the people, obviously in rental cars, bouncing down that road much too fast, with no regard for the vehicle that they were driving, was appalling. No one would drive their own car that way and you don’t have to – all you have to do is go slow. This is true for any graded road that I mention -
If I recall correctly you could watch the cars going down the hill from the rise on which The View Hotel stands. That will tell you quickly what shape the road is in that day.
The picture above, of the Two Mittens and Merrick’s Butte, is perhaps the iconic picture of the Valley. If you stay at The View Hotel every room has this few from its balcony. I have my own photo of it, enlarged with a matte finish, over my mantle.
Having driven the 17 mile drive on an earlier trip we decided to take a tour. The tour will take you to places that you don’t get to see on the loop drive. You also have the advantage of a knowledgeable Navajo guide who can fill you in on the Valley, the people, and point out the location of petroglyphs that you wouldn’t otherwise have seen even if you were able to pass nearby. We were also brought to a Navajo homestead, the home of Betty Yazzie, a famous Navajo rug weaver. It was nice to meet her, see how she lived and watch her at work.
Our tour guide also told us the story of how Merrick’s Butte got its name. It seems that a prospector by the name of Merrick kept coming back to the Valley after the natives had repeatedly told him he should not. Apparently they finally got tired of telling him not to come back and made sure he didn’t. He’s alleged to be buried somewhere at the foot of butte underneath a pile of rocks. I guess the story of his demise filtered back to other’s who knew him in the area and the butte came to bear his name. It is doubtful that the Navajo would have named it that.
Wildlife
This is a desert environment and the wildlife generally consists of snakes, lizards, jack rabbits, prairie dogs and coyotes. Since there is active farming and ranching going on, with their dogs and sheep, it is not a favorable habitat for other larger wildlife typically found in the southwest.
Lodging
Lodging within the park consists of The View Hotel and the historic Goulding’s Lodge.
The View Hotel
The View Hotel was opened in 2008 and is Navajo owned. It faces east and the picture at the top of the page is that view -
Goulding’s Lodge
The historic Goulding’s Lodge is on the other side of the highway from the View Hotel and faces north. All of the rooms all have balconies have beautiful views of the valley although different than the view at the View Hotel. From this side you can look west and catch the sunset. Goulding’s also has a small museum and they also do valley tours.
Lodging is also available in Kayenta, Arizona 20 miles to the south.
in Mexican Hat, Utah which is about 20 miles north of Monument valley there is The San Juan Inn, situated on a bluff overlooking the river, looked very nice. There’s also the Hat Rock Inn.
Hiking
Wildcat trail
The only unguided hike that you can take in Monument Valley is the 3.2 mile Wildcat trail. The trailhead is near The View Hotel and you can hike out to the West Mitten butte. It’s an easy hike, well marked, basically flat, and a nice little walk in the park.
Attractions in the Monument Valley Area
If you’re staying for a few days there are a number of other things in this, the four corners area, that you wouldn’t regret seeing. A bit north of Mexican hat there’s the Mexican Hat Rock, the Valley of the Gods in the new Bears Ears National Monument, which has an easy graded road that snakes for 17 miles among some beautiful formations and the Moki Dugway on highway 261 which was an old uranium mining road that travels in a series of switchbacks up Cedar Mesa. Highway 261 is a paved road going into the switchbacks which are graded and in great shape. They are also very wide and easy for any street vehicle. At the top of the mesa, just down the road, there’s an easy dirt and gravel road to Muley Point. A few miles further down highway 261 there’s a paved road to Goosenecks State Park. Both of these can be visited easily and have spectacular views. If you can’t stay in Monument Valley I would recommend staying in Mexican Hat if touring the other places that I just mentioned sounds interesting. All of these places are within 20 miles north of Mexican Hat. Another 25 miles up highway 261 from the Moki Dugway, through the Grand Gulch Primitive Area, there is the Natural Bridges National Monument.
You could also go to the actual Four Corners Monument. There’s not much there but a little plaza were you can stand in four states at once. From Goulding’s or The View Hotel it’s about 100 miles, one-
Monument Valley Tribal Park Photo Gallery
Other Resources
*NOTE* Monument Valley Tribal Park is not a U.S. national park so there is no web page for it on the NPS.gov website.
Monument Valley -
Movies made in Monument Valley
Bears Ears National Monument-
Muley Point -
Other National Parks and National Monuments Within a Day’s Drive
Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park These are places of steep canyons and iconic arches and are both outside of Moab, Utah and are about 155 miles to the north and about 4 hours.
Grand Canyon National Park The most famous canyon in the world is 300 miles to the southwest and about 3 hours to get to the South Rim. The North Rim is 240 miles to the west and about 4 hours.
Petrified Forest National Park Home of the Painted Desert and 225 million year old petrified logs 200 miles to the south and about 3.5 hours.
Mesa Verde National Park Home to ancient cliff dwellings set into a beautiful mesa is 140 miles to the east and about 2.5 hours.
This national monument is on Navajo Tribal land and is as worthwhile to visit as any national park.
Canyon De Chelly National Monument Ancient cliff dwellings carved into the sides of a steep canyon is about 80 miles southeast and about a 2 hour drive.
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Updated 02/11/23 7:04 PM
National Parks Zone