This post will provide you with everything you need to know when visiting Monument Valley. When to go, what to visit, how to get there, tours to take, & more!

What is Monument Valley?

Located on the Utah-Arizona border in the Navajo Nation Reservation, Monument Valley is part of the Colorado Plateau. It’s made up of sandstone buttes, colossal mesas, and panoramic vistas. Due to its location on the reservation, it’s not an official National Park. 

It’s been featured in a large array of popular films and TV shows, including Forrest Gump, National Lampoons Vacation, Mission: Impossible II, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the HBO series Westworld!

How to get to Monument Valley

Monument Valley isn’t exactly close to anything, but it’s on the way to lots of destinations, making it the perfect pit stop on road trips!

 I personally drove from Durango to Monument Valley, about a 3-hour drive.

Distances and Driving times to nearby cities & parks:

Arizona:

Flagstaff – 3 hours, 170 miles

Page – 2 hours, 121 miles

Pheonix – 5 hours, 315 miles

Utah:

Salt Lake City – 6 hours, 380 miles

Moab – 2 ½ hours, 150 miles

Colorado:

Durango – 3 hours, 165 miles

Grand Junction – 4 hours, 260 miles

New Mexico

Albuquerque – 5 hours, 317 miles

Nevada:

Las Vegas – 6 hours, 390 miles

National Parks:

Grand Canyon (south rim) – 1 ½ hours, 105 miles

Four Corners – 3 hours, 180 miles

The entrance to Monument Valley is located off of US-163, just north of the Utah-Arizona border. The entrance fee is $8 per person. Once you pay this fee, you can come and go as often as you like.

✨Pro Tip✨ Get there as early as you can to avoid a long wait to get in, and to avoid large crowds inside. Before noon is ideal, but the earlier the better. If you can stay somewhere nearby that will help, plus it will allow you to stay for sunset or sunrise, which is absolutely magical at Monument Valley!

Things to do

Monument Valley Overlook:

Before you dive into all of your Monument Valley activities, you’ve got to stop at The View Hotel/Visitors Center and walk over to the viewpoint. It’s a great introduction to the valley, and you’ll feel like you’re walking up to Mars!

Valley Drive / Tribal Park Loop:

This scenic drive is a 17-mile loop that begins and ends at the Monument Valley Visitors Center. It’s a very bumpy dirt & gravel road that stops by many of the most popular sites in Monument Valley. A 4×4 is not necessary, but if you don’t have it, you will want to drive nice & slow! There are places for cars to pull off and park so you can get out and take photos along the way. 

If you don’t have much time to stop at Monument Valley, this is what I’d recommend doing to get the most out of your visit!

*Note – this is the only part of Monument Valley you can go to without a tour. To access other parts of the tribal park, you’ll need to book in advance with a tour group.

Here’s a glance into what you’ll see on the drive:

✨Pro Tip✨ For the best photos go in the morning, midday, or evening (for sunset)… if you go in the afternoon/early evening, you’ll be facing the sun and it will make for some bad-quality photos. 

Hike the Wildcat Trail:

This is the only self-guided trail available in Monument Valley. It’s a 3.2-mile loop that circles Mitten Buttes and Merrick Butte. You’ll get a few different angles of the monuments than you would on Valley Drive, and it’s a great way to get some exercise in while enjoying the views!

Forrest Gump Point:

Located on US-163, 20 minutes past the visitors center, is the iconic film location from the movie Forrest Gump,  GPS coordinates 37.101393, -109.990973. Apart from being well known for its film location, it’s a gorgeous viewpoint!

Please keep in mind that this viewpoint is on a highway. Per the Utah Tourism Website:

“Please be aware this iconic photo-op is located along a highly trafficked road. Due to the road’s traffic leading to past injuries and fatalities, we urge you to take your safety seriously and refrain from taking photos from the middle of the road. Visitors are welcome to pull off safely on the side of the road and take photos from the shoulder only.”

Tours to take

The Valley Drive Tour

If you don’t feel comfortable making the bumpy dirt road drive yourself or just want to sit back and relax and enjoy the view, then you can sign up for a Valley Drive tour with a Navajo guide! It stops at all the same spots as you can with your vehicle.

Lower Monument Valley

There is another loop that goes off of Valley Drive, which is only accessible by tour. You’ll go up close to the Totem Pole and a few other rock formations not scene from Valley Drive. They have sunrise lower Monument Valley tours, which are a great way to watch the sunrise in the valley at a lower tour price.

Prices average around $80 per person, depending on the tour company, and last approx. 3 hours. If you go on one of the photography-specific lower monument tours (typically offered at sunrise/sunset), it’s about $125 per person.

Teardrop Arch

This tour is not as popular as others, which means you have a good chance of getting this view all to yourself! You’ll do some light hiking, explore some caves, and stop at Teardrop Arch for a unique view of Monument Valley!

Prices average around $80 per person and lasts 2-3 hours.

Backcountry Access Tour of Monument Valley

This tour goes along the Tribal Loop road as well as some backcountry sights that can only be visited with a Navajo guide, including a Navajo Hogan (traditional Navajo home) and a musical performance. This tour is a good combination of scenery and culture!

Prices average $80 per person and lasts about 3-4 hours.

Mystery Valley

This is a pretty popular tour that takes visitors to see the petroglyphs and Anasazi sites, for a total of three hours. This tour is more cultural than it is scenic. 

Prices average around $90 per person and last 3-4 hours.

Hunts Mesa

The Hunts Mesa tour is a full-day trip (with an optional overnight stay) and is the most comprehensive and ultimate excursion available! You’ll spend a few hours driving through some of the best views of Monument Valley. You’ll end at Hunts Mesa, where you’ll get a steak dinner cooked over a campfire while you watch the sunset over the monuments! If you want the best Monument Valley has to offer, it’s this tour!

The price is a little steeper on this one, at around $300 per person, and lasts about 7 hours (unless you do the overnight).

Where to stay in Monument Valley

The View Hotel

The View Hotel is located just inside Monument Valley next to the visitor center. It boasts incredible views of the monuments (and it looks really cool when looked at from out in the valley!). The higher up a room you get, the better the view, but also the pricer the cost!.

The Premium Cabins

These cabins overlook the Mittens and come with a deck to watch the sunrise and sunset! The cabins are small, but clean, warm, and cozy and offer everything you need for a night in the desert!

Goulding’s Lodge

This spot is located just outside of Monument Valley and offers both rooms and a campground.

Firetree B&B Hogan

If you stay at Firetree B&B, you’ll be sleeping in a traditional Navajo Hogan!

Camping

This is going to be the cheapest option available at Monument Valley. The campground is located between The View Hotel and the Premium Cabins, with a beautiful view of the Mittens. RV’s welcome!

How much time do you need in Monument Valley

Since it takes so long to get to Monument Valley from any nearby towns, you’d definitely get the most out of your trip if you could stay overnight, but if you’re planning to just check it out along your road trip, a couple of hours is just fine! 

If you only have a short amount of time, then the Valley Drive and Forrest Gump Point are your go-to’s!

When to visit Monument Valley

The best time to visit Monument Valley, similar to the rest of the southwest, is going to be spring and fall when the temperatures are far milder but still nice and warm! Summer months can get incredibly hot & crowded, and the winter can sometimes bring snow (which could still be a really cool photo-op!)

What to Pack for Monument Valley & Photo Gear

Personal gear:

• Water Bottle – I love my Grayl filter bottle so I never have to worry about drinking unsafe water
• Sunscreen – I use Toup & Co’s all-natural & reef-safe sunscreen – use code ‘BEYONDTHESHIRE11’ for 10% off!

• Sunglasses – I love my GoodR’s!
• Sun Hat – Carve Designs makes some super cute, packable sun hats!
• Sturdy footwear – If you plan on doing a lot of hiking or rock exploring, you’ll want some sturdy shoes, I used my hiking boots from Xero Shoes.
• Sturdy Hiking Backpack – My Gregory daypack holds an incredible amount of stuff – including three lenses, a camera body, my travel tripod, water, snacks, and a jacket!

Photography Gear

• Camera
• Peak Design Capture Clip – Easily the best camera accessory investment I’ve made!
• Tripod – Peak Designs tripod is the ultimate travel-friendly option, but if you want something more budget-friendly, go for this one.
• Lenses – I brought my Canon 50mm prime lens, my Canon 24-70mm lens, and my Canon 100-300 telephoto. If you have a wide angle, such as a 16mm, that would also be a great option for landscape shots.
• Polarizer Filter – exceptionally important to make sure you can expose the bright red rocks correctly without losing the exposure of the blue sky behind them.
• Extra batteries and memory cards