Monument Valley features some of the most iconic desert scenery in the United States.
The Tribal Park features the vistas made famous in old Western movies.
⏱Video Timeline⏱
00:00 Forrest Gump Point in Utah
00:24 Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
00:30 Key advice on arriving at Monument Valley
00:49 Desert vistas made famous in old Western movies
01:03 Navajo hogans
01:12 Rules at Monument Valley
01:21 Driving the 17 mile loop
01:28 John Ford Viewpoint
02:05 Phoenix to Monument Valley
Just north of Monument Valley, you'll find a stretch of highway is known as “Forrest Gump Point.” It's a few minutes beyond the Arizona state line in Utah.
There are places to pull off to the side to take photos. The speed limit is reduced to 35mph because so many people show up to take pictures walking down the road.
Before dawn we saw no cars and only one other person with a camera taking advantage of this light..
From here, make your way to the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, which is about 20 minutes south. The toll booth opens earlier than the park, so I’d suggest paying your $20 per car or $8 per person, and cuing up in line at the park’s entrance.
At 8am, the park officially opens, but it’s a slow process to get inside. The line of cars inches along until a staff member officially checks you in for the day.
The Navajos consider the land sacred. Strict rules govern everything from drones to hiking off the roads and trails.
Hiking off the road is prohibited completely. The visit to this area really just involves driving to different sites to park and take photos.
You can take a guided tour, or drive through on your own. You’ll need a guide to go to certain parts of Monument Valley, like Secret Valley and Hunts Mesa.
The John Ford Viewpoint is perhaps the most recognizable. It includes a parking area, a small cafe, a few vendors, and a number of photo ops. It’s named after the movie director, John Ford, who used Monument Valley in his films from the late 1930s into the 1950s.
You’ll wind through a 17-mile loop, at speeds of 15 to 30mph. The mostly-dirt roadway is easily passable in a normal car, and it’s full of parking areas.
The loop, depending on how long you stop to take photos at different sites, will take about two hours to drive through.
Monument Valley is open year-round, though in the winter, they stop letting cars in by mid-afternoon.
It’s about a 5-hour drive from Phoenix.
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