Monument Valley was part of our big Utah adventure and it did not disappoint. Monument Valley is a Navajo Tribal Park on the Navajo Reservation and encompasses 91,696 acres. The Tribal Park was established in 1958 and is located on the border of Arizona and Utah. Monument Valley has a desert climate with a low elevation of 4300 ft and a high elevation of 6300 ft. The Navajo name for Monument Valley is Tse’Bii’Ndzisgaii.

Approaching Monument Valley on US route 163 in Utah, you come to Forest Gump Point. This is the area during the Forest Gump movie, where he stopped running and you can see several of the rock formations in the background. This area was very busy with cars pulled to the side of the road and in the middle of the road taking pictures. Continue to follow US route 163 to Monument Valley Drive, take a left to enter the park.

We arrived early afternoon, perused the gift shop and headed to our private tour with Monument Valley Safari, (http://Monumentvalleysafari.com) that was scheduled for 1p. We had booked a 3.5 hour tour with a Native Navajo guide. The cost of the tour was $95 for an adult and $75 for youth 8-17. Children under 7 are free. The tour is the only way you can traverse the restricted backroads in the park, and covers approximately 36 miles. We met our tour guide Bobby, in the lower parking lot of the Visitor Center and headed off on our tour. The scenic drive stretches down a very sandy dirt road with 11 pull offs, to view the rock formations. The first formations that you can see are the East and West Mitten Buttes and are quite impressive. The next formation is Elephant Butte. I had a hard time seeing this formation as an elephant 🤷‍♀️. You come to the Three Sisters next and it is very easy to see the three spires. John Ford’s Point is the last stop before the restricted roads. In the 1900’s John Ford filmed several movie scenes on this point. In the 1939 film Stagecoach, featuring John Wayne, there is a scene at the point with a horse and rider. You can pay to have your picture taken on a horse to depict that scene. There are several Native American roadside stands to purchase souvenirs at the beginning of the loop and at Ford’s Point. After Ford’s Point we headed to the back country section of our private tour.

If you want to visit the Tribal Park independently, the first 17 miles of the tour is accessible by all visitors. The 17 mile loop is on a first come, first served entry and during peak season be prepared for long wait times. The entry fee for the driving tour is $8 per person. Motorcycles are not allowed on the Loop drive, due to rough terrain and deep sand dunes.

As we were traversing the restricted backroads, our tour guide Bobby gave us a great deal of information on the area and Navajo history. We stopped at a homestead where we were able to enter a traditional Navajo hogan, to observe a Navajo woman weaving. Her works were gorgeous, but expensive. I completely understand why, due to the time involved and the the way she dyes them with all natural dyes. You also will be asked to leave a donation for your visit. We stopped at several areas where you could view petroglyphs in the rock formations. I am totally fascinated by them. It really makes you think about the time and life before us. We also visited 2 arches. In one of the arches, Bobby played a song on the Native American flute.

We headed further into the back country after the arches and we were able to see more petroglyphs and the tower. Several movies have been filmed on this site including Mission Impossible II. After this we headed back to the Tribal Park Visitor Center, which is where we began our tour.

Our accommodations for the night was The View hotel. The View Hotel is the only hotel located inside Monument Valley Tribal Park and it is adjacent to the Visitor Center. We chose to stay in cabins with decks overlooking the valley. Hotel rooms are also available. There is a restaurant on site and that is where we had dinner. Due to covid restrictions the traditional Navajo takeout menu was not available. Keep in mind that the restaurant is closed for lunch. I also recommend making reservations for dinner, especially if you have a large party like we had. Reservations for the hotel can be made on the National Park Reservation site. The site also has a few other available lodging sites listed. Nationalparkreservation.com

Monument Valley is a beautiful Tribal Park with extraordinary sandstone buttes. I would highly suggest the backcountry tour with a Navajo guide and staying at The View Hotel. One day is sufficient due to the fact that the park is isolated from other activities.