Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
4.5
Points of Interest & LandmarksGeologic Formations
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Duration: More than 3 hours
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  • GoPlaces766002
    6 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Most amazing natural place I have seen.
    This was a bucket list place. It far exceed my expectations. The natural beauty blew my sister and myself away. If you can possibly drive your vehicle down into the valley that's the best way. You can take your time to just...enjoy the awe and air of it all. Words can't really explain the feelings you have when you go down to see what is there. I ask some natives of the area if the view ever gets old and they all said NO! I can understand that lol.
    Visited September 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 18 September 2023
  • Sherry R
    Coldwater, Ohio30 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Better than the movies
    I’ve been wanting to visit Monument Valley ever since I saw Clark Griswold make his journey through the desert, and I’m so glad I finally went. First thing is first, the loop drive is not that bad. We had an SUV, but saw many similar vehicles and sedans making the drive. A higher clearance vehicle definitely helps but it wasn’t a requirement when we went. Yes, you need to drive slowly, be cautious, avoid pot holes and share the road with others (sometimes waiting for oncoming traffic to pass so you can drive on the better side to avoid a rough area), but it is doable. Of course the recent weather can have an effect on road conditions, making them worse, but our driving experience was nothing to complain about. It is a rough road and may do some long term wear and tear on your vehicle, but if you’re careful it can be done by the average driver. The scenery is beautiful and an absolute bargain for the entrance fee. We loved seeing the iconic spots that were familiar from the movies, but each spot in the drive was unique. Would recommend a visit to anyone!
    Visited September 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 18 September 2023
  • Laurence_Brussels
    Montreal, Canada453 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    If you have a SUV, the drive is really worth it!
    It was our 2d time there but 1st time with a SUV so we decided to drive in the valley. The beginning of the tour is quite rough on the car and our backs, but it's easier afterwards. The view are very nice from down there, it's definitely a plus to drive though it rather than just looking at it from the visitor's centre. If we had to do it again, it would be later in the day to see part of it at sunset.
    Visited September 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 2 October 2023
  • Richard N
    Stroud, United Kingdom459 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    The best Guided Tour!
    In anyone's language this is undeniably a must-see place. How you do it is up to you, but to really experience the land, culture and history, you really need to go on a guided tour with a Navajo guide. Not only do they go into detail you can't possibly get from a book or by self-touring, they take you to unique parts of the Valley to really immerse you in the whole experience. Plus they know the best spots for taking the perfect photo, and heaven knows there's plenty of those opportunities. The price for me as realistic too. We paid around £70 each for a 3.5 hour sunset guide which included unlimited bottled water. An unforgettable experience.
    Visited July 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 2 October 2023
  • swissms333
    18 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Monument valley with Navajo Guide
    We had a wonderful tour w Vera. We traveled on part of the scenic drive but then went out in the outback of monument valley and she pointed out amazing rock formations such as the Suns Eye, camel & elephant Butte and petroglyphs by Anasazi people We learned about the many films and commercials that were filmed at Monument Valley. In the Navajo land we stopped and learned a bit about their way of life and culture. She was very personable and ended the tour with a beautiful song, that was a chant that her father sang to her and her 11 siblings. I would highly recommend this tour.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 14 October 2023
  • Heather B
    Norwich, Connecticut551 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Run Forest, Run!
    How fun it was to see this famous view that I have seen so often in pop culture. Be careful driving though, because people are all over the road getting pictures. You feel so small, but so alive! Definitely drive through here, but be sure to make a reservation!
    Visited August 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 19 October 2023
  • Highexpects
    London, United Kingdom71 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Stunning unique landscape
    Amazing natural beauty, came back after 15 years, well worth it. Stunning views. Follow the trails by car (SUV only, don't attempt with a saloon car you will regret it as the tracks are rocky and very rough in places). Many opportunities for amazing pictures.
    Visited August 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 25 October 2023
  • deanwebb2016
    Brisbane, Australia332 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    FREE SELF DRIVE - Tribal Park Loop - View Hotel
    The first time we visited Monument Valley (staying at The View Hotel), we took a Navajo guided tour of the monuments, which was great. This time, we drove our own car, around the designated trail (TRIBAL PARK LOOP) without having to pay a cent. Obviously, you don’t get the informative commentary of a local, but I think most tourists remember none of what we’re told anyway. The self Drive still takes in all the main highlights, and at the end of the day, it’s the scenery that most of us are there for. The track is a little rough in spots, but a regular sedan is capable of completing the trip. Just take it slow, avoid the soft sand, and you’ll be fine. A 4WD is not required. We completed the round trip in under 2 hours, so I’d recommend starting the loop by 2pm , to avoid any stress.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 1 November 2023
  • Louisianatraveler11
    Lake Charles, Louisiana1,130 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    $8 per person
    What a beautiful place to drive through. $8 per person to enter. We drove the 17 mile loo-A little bumpy not bad. There are several pull offs for pictures. There were several Native Americans selling beautiful jewelry . Scenic beauty everywhere. A nice gift shop & hotel overlooking the valley! Just stunning.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 9 November 2023
  • Gabriela B
    26 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    The Amazing Monument Valley
    It was the most amazing experience of my life. If the Grand Canyon is Wonderful, Monument Valley is majestic. We also did the horse back ride, guieded for a navaja named Eric who took us to famous movie places and really near of the atonishing rock formations, what a treat it was. This Park is absolutely a must see, minimally, once in a lifetime.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 11 November 2023
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WanderingWithUsTwo
Phoenix, AZ796 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2019
Most people who visit Monument Valley drive in from a nearby major airport. The most popular one to fly to is Phoenix which is located around 5.5 hours away depending on the time you leave. We had never been here before and wanted to visit for sunrise which is listed at around 6AM in the summer. Considering we live in and are familiar with AZ we forgot to consider the change in time we would encounter. Monument Valley is located on tribal land and is in Navajo Nation which has a few time changes within the region. In the summer this region is one hour ahead of Phoenix so we missed our planned arrival of sunrise by about an hour. Many might not know this so if you are trying to make it at a certain time especially for sunrise or set make sure you take that into consideration. Once there you can opt in to enter the official Monument Valley visitor center for 20 USD cash for a standard vehicle with 4 people. This park is run by the Navajo Nation and therefore annual parks passes etc. will not be applicable to these fees. This park is very large and there are several spots to park on the side of the road to take pictures. Keep in mind that drone photography is not permitted in this park or in other Navajo Tribal Parks without a permit. If you will only be in town for a few days to visit you can also check out other local scenery/parks. Monument valley is within two hours of Natural Bridges National Monument, Horseshoe Bend, and Antelope Canyon to name a few. We were crunched for time so we only visited one other location but we hope to be back soon and camp in the area!
- @wanderingwithustwo
Written 16 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jane G
Royal Tunbridge Wells, UK96 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
Be prepared to have your breath taken away. It was a truly memorable drive ( we had a 4x4) the track is very rough in some places with rutted gullies. So be advised about clearance in a saloon car. Take it easy. You can take a special tour bus that will take you around the site, so that might be a better option if you have a saloon car.

The wind was bitterly cold, though sunny, we were going to hike but it was just too cold. We have all the cold weather gear.
There are places to stop and buy locally made artefacts. I bought our grandchildren handmade bracelets

The scenery is just mind boggling, we felt compelled to stop at every viewpoint to take photographs.

A must see and do.
Written 22 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mary
Las Vegas, NV222 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2022
Definitely a bucket list item. Such a beautiful area to visit. Many rock formations located in this park. Gorgeous views during sunrise and sunset. Also, you will recognize areas where they filmed movies such as Back to the Future III, Forrest Gump, Wind Talkers and more. There is one hotel located in the park called The View Hotel. Highly recommend to stay here if your budget allows. Waking up to the beauty and fresh air in the day and the views of the bright stars at night. This park is located on the Navajo Reservation. Extremely large reservation. So there are mandated Covid restrictions. They are only allowing a limited number of cars per hour through the 20 mile loop drive. Recommend buying your tickets online way in advance. There are many tours that you can pay for to enjoy the park. The tours varies from horse back to an open jeep. I recommend a tour if your budget allows. We went in an open vehicle. What is nice about the tour is they take you off roading to other monuments that are not accessible to the general public. You will also be informed where famous film sites are. Travel tip: Bring food with you. There are no restaurants in the park. The restaurant in the hotel has been closed since March 2020 when the pandemic started. There is a restaurant outside the entrance of the park but it closes around 7pm.
Written 24 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ecosse_posse
Chipping Sodbury, UK50 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022 • Couples
Being brought up on the Road Runner cartoons, I have always wanted to visit this amazing location and have been lucky enough to do it this October. The drive in from Kayenta, AZ just sets you up for what you are about to experience, some of the world's most awesome vistas! We stayed at Gouldings Lodge which I have reviewed separately to see the sunset over the monuments, this was a truly magical experience for my wife and I. Then following day we drove to the visitors centre which has an $8 cover charge per person, this includes the drive round the monuments which is fantastic value for money. The off road drive although very uneven in places is tremendous and well worth it, plenty amazing photo stops and a good laugh actually especially in our compact hire car! The visitors centre itself it's very overpriced so we bought our souvenirs from the Navajo stalls on the valley drive, fantastic prices and lovely to meet these graceful people who love to share a story or two and ask you about your story! Would 100% go again.
Written 20 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Edward
Santa Rosa, CA2,670 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2021
The Navajo Tribal Park in Monument Valley contains much of the most stunning and iconic scenery in the area. There is a hotel and visitor centre with shop.

One must pay to enter and even if paid ahead of time must queue up to drive in. We paid in advance to enter around a certain time, but still had to wait in the queue, which took some time.

There is a rough dirt rood loop to drive on for the scenery. Visitors may drive on their own on the drive if early enough in the day. However, after a certain time of day, one may no longer drive on it and must instead pay to take a tour. These see to be readily available at the parking lot at the visitor centre and we ended up having to take one since we were only there for that day as we drove through. We researched it ahead of time (given the time we had to plan this trip, a replacement for a UK trip cancelled due to Omicron), and found out about the park, scenic drive, entrance fee which we could pay in advance, but did not discover any information about the time limit for driving through the park on one's own.

Either way, if you want to see this, it is well worth it. The tour was great and took us all over the place. In fact, the road is extremely rough in places and even though we have a Subaru all well drive, we were thankful not to have to negotiate that ourselves. We loved the magnificent and iconic setting, magnificent in its own right, but also so iconic and famous from many Westerns.
Written 18 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MichaelS
Billings, MT30 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019
What else can be said about this?
I have been here multiple times, and I will go back again!
Driving the loop trail is a “must do”, but I would also highly recommend taking one of the tours as well.
A side note: Please be respectful. Stay on the road or pathways, this is not the place for bushwhacking or blazing your own trail. Also, please be courteous to other travelers by obeying the speed limit.
Written 21 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

F4981JCmichaels
Vancouver, WA2,649 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2021
We've been here before. The last visit, we did not have time to see the visitors center. Sadly, this time it was closed due to COVID-19.
We still enjoyed the drive through the dramatic scenery.
Both this time as well as the last visit, we saw native jewelry stands along the sides of the road, particularly where people stop to mimic the Forrest Gump movie. There are pullouts on either side of the road there, and vendors set up nearby.
This time we purchased some items from both vendors set up. Pricing is reasonable for what it is: handmade local jewelry. We paid $20 and $30 each for what we selected. Prices range from $10-$30 on average, at least for the ones we visited. This is a poor region of America, so I have no problem with the pricing, and the quality is good. Nice people too.
Written 14 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mbeifield
Shekef, Israel1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2021 • Family
1/5 Big disappointment. As of December 29, 2021, the Navajo nation is limiting the loop trail to 25 cars an hour. the sign doesn’t communicate information clearly, people (Including us)waited for over an hour at the entrance to be told they couldn’t go in or they could pay the entry fee and go see the gift shop. I don’t know if there’s a better way of doing this, but right now I would recommend either getting here really really early in the morning or not coming at all. this was a big disappointment And really the only disappointment on a two week trip in the general area.
Written 29 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Conan L
Ontario, Canada432 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2019
I fell more in love with this place every time I saw it as a child as a setting for a John Ford/John Wayne movie. It is a romantic vision. The operation is run by the Navajo nation on the border between Utah and Arizona. We were surprised that there was no one collecting an entry fee at the gate. The park has a multiple story hotel attached to an extensive souvenir shop situated with the best panoramic view overlooking "The Mittens". Parking was free. At one's leisure you can drive the scenic road that wends its way amongst the various sandstone features including the Sisters, The Hub, The Camel, The Elephant, the names coming from interpretations of the shape that is seen. We used a map printed online from an internet site for guidance. At John Ford overlook there is a coffee shop and a place where one can arrange, for a fee, for a person to take a horse out to Ford Point, you climb aboard and someone in your party takes a long lens photo. Many others have written critically here about the condition of the road. Yes, it is rutted and a roller coaster but its base is rock and running a grader over the road won't improve it much. We had no difficulty navigating the route in a van. We spent almost 3 hours here.
Written 9 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

307leven
Stroudsburg, PA296 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022
Visited the week before Thanksgiving (Tuesday) and did the self driving tour. I only had about 4 hours since I drove up from Flagstaff in the morning. I had a pre-paid ticket ($8.00 plus $1.00 admin fee) so I entered the park and started the tour. The scenery was stunning and I repeatedly pulled over during the 17 mile course and took photos while admiring the great views.

I had read other posts about the poor road conditions, so I had rented an SUV and I was glad I did. The road was in terrible condition as I constantly had to slow up for potholes, dips in the road, rocky areas and deep ruts. In fact, an SUV in front of me (Nissan Armada) actually hit the bottom of his vehicle on a deep rut as he pulled out from a scenic pullover. I do not recommend taking the self driving tour with a lower sitting sedan as you will risk causing damage to the underneath of your vehicle. If you do drive a sedan, you may want to consider taking one of the several jeep tours offered by the Navajo. The posted speed limit was 15 mph, but there were many times I had to drive slower than that. The road is also very dusty which resulted in a heavy coat of dust on my vehicle at the end of my visit.

I saw at least 2-3 portable toilets at the scenic pullover sections for those needing a bathroom break. I also brought my own water and snacks which saved time from going to the visitor's center. The entire tour lasted just under 3 hours which included taking a lot of stops to admire the scenery and take photos. It wasn't crowded and I didn't have to wait to get it, but I'm sure it does get more crowded during holiday weeks and weekends so plan accordingly.

If you go, have fun and enjoy the stunning views as it was a thrill to finally see this famous icon of the southwest.
Written 16 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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