Monument Valley, utah
Attractions Guide

The famous Monument Valley is a stunning desert landscape with massive sandstone buttes and mesas that rise above rise high above the valley floor. This valley has been depicted in many films and TV shows as an idyllic portrayal of the great American Southwest. The valley has been featured in a large percentage of Western films, as well as newer films such as Cars, The Lone Ranger, Fantastic Beasts, Jurassic World, and the Westworld TV show.

Monument Valley sits along the border of Arizona and Utah and is a Navajo Tribal Park, separate from America's national park system.

One of the best views in Monument Valley can actually be admired near the Visitor Center, which overlooks three iconic buttes, the Merrick Butte and the West and East Mittens. These buttes are especially picturesque at sunrise and sunset, as well as under the moonlight.

From the Visitor Center you can drive along the 17 mile (27.5 km) dirt road loop through the valley, which is incredibly scenic and offers many viewpoints along the way. This road can be driven by practically any vehicle as long as it's not very low to the ground, nor a motorhome or bus.

Within Monument Valley and especially at John Ford Point you'll find many vendors selling beautiful handmade Navajo jewelry and crafts at low prices, just be sure to purchase within the park as the vendors along the highway outside of Monument Valley charge much higher prices for very similar items.

The most iconic part of Monument Valley is John Ford Point, which looks out over many buttes and mesas. John Ford Point is frequently used as a setting in many western movies where the cowboys sit on their horses looking out over the wild desert landscape. In fact, you can even pay to have your picture taken sitting atop a horse at John Ford Point.

The only hiking trail within the park is the 3.9 mile (6.3 km) round-trip Wildcat Trail which loops around the stunning West Mitten butte, while also passing close by the East Mitten and Merrick Butte. You'll fined the trailhead for the Wildcat Trail just north of the Visitors Center near the View Campground parking lot.

To see more of Monument Valley you can book one of several Navajo-led tours, which will take you through parts of Lower Monument Valley that you can't access without a tour. It's highly recommended to book these tours ahead of time, as they are often in high demand (especially the shorter tours).

Most of these amazing tours include sights such as the Ear of the Wind Arch, Moccasin Arch, Big Hogan, Suns Eye Arch, Anasazi ruins, petroglyphs, and even a cultural performance. The longer tours (2-3 hours) include all of these sights, with the longest adding more time for exploring at photos at each stop.

Another way to experience the majestic beauty of Monument Valley is via guided horseback tour around the mesas, along trails reserved for horseback only. These tours are a great way to feel like a cowboy experiencing the great American Wild West.

About 20 minutes north of the Monument Valley Visitor Center along Highway 163 is Forrest Gump Point / Hill, which is the famous viewpoint looking down the long desert road featured in many movies, the most notable obviously being Forrest Gump.

Just be sure that you're cautious when taking photos on this road, as it is part of a highway. Luckily you can see cars coming from miles away, and there are often times with no vehicles around for miles so that you can take a great photo.

Mexican Hat

North of Monument Valley and Forrest Gump Point you might like to stop to view the interesting Mexican Hat rock formation, located just off the highway near the town of Mexican Hat, which was named after the formation.

Goosenecks State Park

To the east of Mexican Hat is Goosenecks State Park, where you can drive right up to a stunning viewpoint which overlooks several massive deep winding canyons carved out by the San Juan River. Notably this state park hosts several very inexpensive primitive campsites, a possible alternative to the more developed hotels and campsites around Monument Valley.

Valley of the Gods, Natural Bridges, & More

To the north of Monument Valley is the similar Valley of the Gods, which is free to drive through. A bit further north is Utah's Natural bridges State Park. Due to their extremely remote locations, you'd want an addtional day to properly explore these incredible places after seeing Monument Valley. A destination guide for this can be found below.