MONUMENT VALLEY the classic

West Mitten Butte (enlargeable, click on photo)

Location: 22 miles north of Kayenta on Navajoland, just off US-163 (near border to Utah)
Distance: 315 miles from Phoenix, 120 miles from Page.
Opening hours: open year-round (except Christmas Day), Thanksgiving Day 8:00 am to noon; summer (May-September) from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm, winter (October-April): 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Fees: entrance fee $5 (spring 2004), the National Parks Pass is not accepted.
Direction from Phoenix: use I-17 north to Flagstaff, then I-40 east to Exit towards AZ-89/Page/Grand Canyon, go north on AZ-89, turn right on US-160 east, stay on US-160 till Kayenta, there turn north (= left) onto US-163 (follow the sign), drive a few miles till past the Utah border sign. The access road to the Monument Valley Tribal Park is on your right and will bring you back into Arizona and the tribal park;
Direction from Page: go southeast on AZ-98, turn left onto US-160 and again left (in Kayenta) onto US-163.



All photos: © by gbintheworld.com
Monument Valley. It is an area of free standing sandstone rock forms that rise majestically from the desert floor. Up to 1,000 feet tall, they create a truly magical desert landscape. The Monument Valley, the icon of the Old West, is the eighth wonder of the world and some parts of it is sacred to the Navajo People (Diné).

Native Americans call it Tsébii´ nidzisgai (the valley within the rocks) and still live there, some without electricity, no running water or any other comfort we are so used to. They choose to live there in the traditional way, practice their traditional beliefs, live in traditional hogans and make a living with sheep herding, making Navajo rugs and silversmithing. The same way as their parents and grandparents did.

US-163 from Kayenta to the tribal park (enlargeable)

It is almost certain that you have seen this beautiful place before in one of the many movies or commercials filmed here (*some in part). The buttes, with names like West Mitten, Elephant and Three Sisters, fascinated the Hollywood director John Ford who showed them in the John Wayne westerns Stagecoach (1939) and She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949).
Other famous movies are: Billy The Kid (1941), Fort Apache (1948), 2001: A Space Odyssey* (1968), Easy Rider* (1969), Once Upon A Time in the West (1969), Back To The Future II & III (1990), Forrest Gump* (1993).

The history and geology. The valley's earlier inhabitants included the Anasazi and archaeologists have recorded more than 100 ancient Anasazi sites and ruins in the valley dating before 1300, when the ancient tribe abandoned the area.
Spanish and Mexican expeditions arrived in the 1700s to explore the area and to control Navajo raiders. In the early 1860s, Kit Carson, accompanied by Utes, rounded up Navajos who had fled to Navajo Mountain. He relocated them to a reservation, but most Navajo returned in 1868. At that time the prospectors Ernest Mitchell and James Merrick were killed by Utes or Paiutes near the monoliths that still bear the miners' names.
Navajos have herded sheep and other livestock in the area for generations.

View from the Visitor Center - West Mitten Butte, East Mitten Butte and Merrick Butte (enlargeable)

The Three Sisters in the background (enlargeable)

The valley was added to the Navajo Reservation in 1884, and the tribal park was established in 1958. Harry Goulding and his wife, Mike, founded the nearby trading post in 1924.

View towards East Mitten Butte (enlargeable)

The Monument Valley covers 29,817 acres in two states (Arizona and Utah) and it's towers, which range in height from 400 to 1,000 feet, are made of De Chelly sandstone, which is 215 million years old, with a base of organ rock shale. The towers are the remnants of mesas, or flat-topped mountains. Mesas erode first into buttes like the Elephant, which typically are as high as they are wide, then into slender spires like the Three Sisters.
There where also volcanic activities in this area. The only remnants of the many volcanoes are the hardened cones. El Capitán, as Kit Carson called it, or Algathla, "the place of the animal hides," as the Navajo call it, is one of the most prominent volcanic monoliths and rises 1,500 feet at the south end of the Monument Valley.

The visit. After you passed the Indian market (just off US-163) you will get to the entrance (fee). Right in front of you is the visitor center (with the parking area). To the right you can see the campground.
Start out by parking your car and get the first amazing view from this magnificent place from the visitor center overlook. Yes, it is stunning and for some visitors this is the place they enjoy the most on their trip through Arizona.

Yeí-Bí-Cheí and Totem Pole Monuments (enlargeable)

Glass painting in the Visitor Center (enlargeable)

Then I recommend to check out the visitor center which is not spectacular but you can get some useful information about the tribal park.
Now it is time to explore the Monument Valley. You can do this with your own car (the bumpy dirt route is not recommended for low clearance vehicles or RV's longer than 24 feet and is not drivable when wet) if you would like to stay on the 14 mile loop around the Mittens. Be aware that many roads are restricted for private parties and it is not allowed for them to hike among the monuments.
Allow 4-5 hours for the bumpy and sandy loop drive - so you have enough time to enjoy the views you will never forget and to take some stunning photos.

Traditional Navajo Hogan (enlargeable)

If you would like to get off the regular loop you have to take a guided tour. Several jeep tours offer trips through the valley (starting from $15). The guides are permitted to take back roads not open to the general public.

Sightseeing tours. There are short tours, half-day tours, all-day-tours and several-day tours available - by jeep or on horse (over-night stay in your sleeping bag, tent or in an original Navajo Hogan. Please see the links below for some of the tour operators.

Hiking/Backpacking. Permits are required.

Tipps for photographers. The best time to take pictures is early morning or late afternoon when the light is best. Visitors should not photograph the Native Americans, their homes or their possessions without asking permission; a gratuity is usually requested.


Sunrise
You are a guest. As a visitor at the Monument Valley Tribal Park you are a guest on this land that belongs to the Navajo People. Please respect this. Some visitors might think that the Native Americans who live in their traditional hogans are poor but the Navajos say they are rich in their heart. It is their tradition of living and believing.

Hózhóogo naasháa doo Shitsijí' hózhóogo naasháa doo Shikéédéé hózhóogo naasháa doo Shideigi hózhóogo naasháa doo T'áá altso shinaagóó hózhóogo naasháa doo Hózhó náhásdlíí' Hózhó náhásdlíí' Hózhó náhásdlíí' Hózhó náhásdlíí'

In beauty I walk With beauty before me I walk With beauty behind me I walk With beauty above me I walk With beauty around me I walk It has become beauty again It has become beauty again It has become beauty again It has become beauty again

(Closing Prayer from the Navajo Blessing Way Ceremony)

Note: Daylight Saving Time is observed by the Navajo Nation from April to October (= 1 hour ahead of the rest of Arizona). So if you drive to the Monument Valley from other areas in Arizona (f.e. Page, Flagstaff or the Grand Canyon) please be aware of the time change.

Info: as of 2003

See also my page Trail Ride Mystery Valley with info and photos about an amazing tour on horseback.

Nearby attractions:
- Navajo National Monument
- Canyon de Chelly National Monument
- Four Corners Monument

Links to websites and infos about the Monument Valley and the Navajo Nation (links open in a new window):
The Navajo Nation official website E
Sacred Monument Tours tour operator E
Goulding's Lodge and Tours lodge, campground and tours D+E
Burch's Motel & Trading Company and RV Park E
Navajo Country Guided Trailrides horseback tours in Monument Valley and Mystery Valley E

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