15 Amazing Things To Do In Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

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Dreaming of visiting Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park in Arizona? You wouldn’t be wrong to do so! It was one of our bucket list destinations on our USA road trip in the American Southwest with our kids. And with so many amazing things to do in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, it certainly lived up to our expectations.

The valley is well known for its native American history, towering sandstone rock formations, mesas, buttes, dunes, and desert landscapes. If you are looking for a way to spend a day in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, then I recommend spending time with a local Navajo guide and visiting all of these top Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park attractions.

Video: Our Monument Valley experience

Watch as we explore on a Navajo-guided tour, experience sunrise with The Mittens, and stay with a Navajo family.

What is so special about Monument Valley?

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park is located in the southeast corner of Utah, right on the Utah-Arizona border. So there is Monument Valley in Utah, and Monument Valley in AZ. Most of what you will experience is on the Arizona side of the border.

Monument Valley is NOT a national park. It’s the traditional spiritual homeland of the Navajo tribe and sits within the Navajo Nation Reservation. They own, manage, take care of, and invite us onto their lands to experience what they have known forever. This is a spiritual place that nourishes all who enter. In the native language, Monument Valley is called ‘Tse Bii’Ndzisgaii” and means Valley of the Rocks.

It covers about 91,696 acres and extends into Arizona and Utah in the American West. The unique shapes of Monument Valley tribal park have been chiseled slowly over time by water, wind, and ice. Monument Valley is made up of mesas (rock formation that looks like a table), buttes (mesas eroded further into a smaller form), and a spire (the final stage of erosion when a rock formation becomes narrow and free-standing). It’s a place that can be instantly recognized from a photo.

What was filmed in Monument Valley?

Monument Valley is one of the most filmed locations in the USA; its valley of buttes and monoliths has been the backdrop for many Hollywood films, especially Western movies.

After John Ford featured the park in his well-known western movies, more movie producers began using the site for their films. Today, it has been featured in popular Hollywood blockbusters including Forrest Gump, Mission: Impossible II, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the HBO series Westworld. Not to mention the hundreds of westerns were filmed in this region, such as The Searchers, Cheyenne Autumn, and Stagecoach – the original John Wayne classic!

Even Metallica filmed a music video for the Mission: Impossible song, I Disappear, where the band plays together on top of a Monument Valley rock.

John Wayne is probably the most famous of all actors to have filmed a lot of movies here. He called the wonders of this valley “God’s Treasure”

Is Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park worth visiting?

After visiting many national parks in the country and experiencing heavy crowds like at Yellowstone, Zion, and the Grand Canyon (and not even in peak season), I was stunned to see the lack of crowds visiting Monument Valley. Stunned, yet delighted. It meant I had space to enjoy and appreciate America’s greatest spiritual treasure.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park reaches right into your soul and lifts you into the present moment and plops you right into wonder and awe. You can’t help but stop, stare, and contemplate a greatness that exists way beyond your small self. It’s so much more than just a bunch of imposing sandstone buttes and mesas rising up out of the desert floor, forming shapes such as mittens, camels, sisters, sun’s eyes, and wind’s ear. This is the place where time stood still and has created a land of harmony and peace. For these reasons, it’s absolutely worth visiting.

Things to do in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

Visiting Monument Valley is restricted, and most of it is accessible by private vehicle and by joining a guided tour on limited roads. There is no backcountry hiking or biking allowed. Use your imagination for each of the monuments. Some names were created by early settlers, and other names portray a certain meaning to the Navajo nation of people.

1. Drive The Monument Valley Scenic Drive

The Monument Valley Drive (loop drive) is a 17-mile unpaved dirt road. It’s one of America’s most scenic drives. You can either self-drive the 17-mile loop road through Monument Valley or join a guided tour with a Navajo Guide. It starts past the visitor center and loops around Rain God Mesa. Allow at least 2 hours to complete the drive and enjoy all the stops along the way. We visited the most notable sites on this Monument Valley road on our private guided tour (see more below). This is the only road in Monument Valley you can go on in a private vehicle. Buses and RVs are not allowed.

2. Check out The Mitten Buttes

The East and West Mitten Buttes are the most famous of all Monument Valley’s mesas and buttes. When viewed from the south, these buttes look like hands, yet signify spiritual beings watching over the valley (and you)! You can feel their spiritual protection from the moment you see them. Beyond the Mittens are Merrick Butte and Sentinel Mesa. Our guide pointed them out to us. We never would have known what they were called otherwise, as they are not noted on the valley drive map.

3. See the Camel Butte, Elephant Butte, and Three Sisters

On the road heading down to the famous John Ford Point, you can stop off to take a look at Elephant Butte, Camel Butte, and the Catholic mum facing her two pupils at the three sisters. This also looks like a large capital W. Use your imagination to see these shapes, and look closely at Camel Butte; it also looks like a giant Snoopy sleeping on his back.

4. Admire the views from John Ford Point

John Ford Point is where you will get epic panoramic views of Monument Valley. It’s named after the Hollywood director who made John Wayne famous through the western movies filmed here. You can also get a classic photo of the kids on a famous horse for $5, which has featured in many movies and TV commercials, such as the Marlboro Man.

5. Check Out The “Rain God Mesa”

On the south side of this mesa are dark streaks on the rock. This is from the natural aquifer that seeps out of the base of the sandstone. This is where Navajo Medicine men pray and give thanks to the Rain God for storing water for the people. I loved seeing this in the distance on our private tour with a Navajo guide.

6. Marvel at the Totem Pole

Behind (or in front of when looking from the drive) is the Totem Pole, which is a mythical or historical marker created by Northwestern tribes, typically out of wood. Here in Monument Valley, Mother Nature has carved it from the rock. This is a spire monument, which is an example of what erosion will do to a butte.

7. See The Bird and Sand Springs

At the bottom of the sand dune is a gorgeous spring area lined by cottonwood trees. It’s a natural aquifer that seeps out of the De Chelly and Navajo Sandstone. This section of the tribal park was so different from the dry, barren landscape of the rest of Monument Valley. On our private guided tour of Monument Valley, we could drive beside this spring. If you drive the Valley Drive independently, you will look over the sand dune from Bird Spring.

8. Take a tour with a Navajo Guide

We typically recommend independent travel as a way to travel. But not when you visit Monument Valley! We recommend joining one of the Monument Valley tours with a Navajo guide. Craig and I did it on our own back in 2006, as that was all we could afford and manage. We absolutely loved our experience in Monument Valley, driving the loop road ourselves. But this time, we joined a tour with our Airbnb host family and loved it on a whole new level. The best thing about doing a guided tour is that you get to go to restricted areas where only Navajo people are allowed to go. You have permission to visit if you are with a guide.

Plus, the benefit of having a Navajo guide pointing out features you never would have noticed and explaining the significance of different parts of the park is priceless! If you are visiting Monument Valley with kids, I feel they will enjoy this experience more than just driving around in a car with you.

We jumped in our open-air jeep with 8 kids (and 6 adults), all of whom chattered, giggled, whooped, and beamed for four hours. They all said how much fun they had, and I know this experience will be one of those special places that stays in their heart. Apart from the stops above on the Valley Drive, here are the other things to do in Monument Valley that we experienced with our Navajo guide.

9. See the “Indian Warrior”

I loved pulling off to the side of the road to see the mountain shaped like an Indian warrior’s head. He’s protectively looking down upon the valley and over the Navajo Hogan village that we could see in the distance. There were a few rocks here that the kids enjoyed scrambling over while we enjoyed the views.

10. Walk the Wildcat Nature Trail

The Wildcat Trail and Klee City Trail begin from the campground and follow a 3.3-mile scenic loop through washes and sandy slopes around West Mitten Butte. We did not do these Monument Valley hikes, but they’re on my list of things to do in Monument Valley for when we return. I’m pretty sure this is a place I’ll return to again and again. You will need a hiking permit for the Wildcat Nature Trail. Be sure to stay on the trails and take plenty of water.

11. Explore Hogan Village

I especially loved this part of the tour. It’s important to not only marvel at the extraordinary rock formations and spiritual nature but to also marvel at how the people who live inside the valley have lived a simple, fulfilled life at one with spirit and nature. Many Navajo people still live in traditional hogans, although a bigger version of the original, and as our guide told us, many of them now have separated rooms inside. Whereas a traditional Hogan is just one room that is shared by the family.

A Hogan is a simple, sun-baked mud home shaped like a dome. The simple structure is perfectly made and lasts for hundreds of years – no steel needed. We loved the craftsmanship of the cedar banded together inside the home, giving it its frame. The outside is made from sand, bark, and water. A simple fire retains heat inside the Hogan for long hours in the winter, and it is 25% cooler inside a Hogan during the summer.

As the Navajo believe in balance, they have a cone-shaped home, called a Male Hogan, which is more of a temporary home that can be built quickly and taken apart to be used at another location. The round-shaped home is called the Female Hogan and is more of a permanent structure, and can accommodate more people.

We saw the sweatbox Hogan and went inside the ceremonial Hogan (the smaller cone-shaped male Hogan) and the sleeping Hogan (the round female Hogan). Inside the female Hogan, we met a Navajo woman who gave us a blanket weaving demonstration and explanation of how they turn the sheep’s wool into the elaborately decorated and beautiful Navajo blankets.

We also learned more about some of the tools they use and the fascinating baby carrier, so purposefully created to ensure the baby didn’t fall out. And her daughter was adorable. She was intent on picking up every item to come and show it to us. Her grin and sprightly personality were infectious and charming.

12. Marvel at Big Hogan Arch

We lay back on the rock here in the cool amphitheater and looked up to the roof to see the giant eagle that the hole in the rock above us created. The kids had fun running up the sandhill and rock face while we rested. Another Navajo guide arrived and began singing Navajo songs in the cave. It was spine-tingling.

13. See the “Sun’s Eye”

Another stopover was at Sun’s Eye to see the hole above looking down upon us – what a cool eye you have, Sun! Plus, there were petroglyphs here on the wall that were incredibly old. Life never ceases to amaze me. How on earth can they stay on the wall, clearly telling a picture of some kind of hunt, many years later?

14. Check out “Ear of the Wind”

Again, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park surprised us with a very different and unique side of it. Hidden at the end of a trail of mesas is a secluded section with a massive sand dune and a giant hole in the top of the rock that, with your imagination, you can see as being the Ear of the Wind. Opposite it, an X marks the spot where, when you stand on it, a tree is perfectly aligned in the center of the ear.

Under the Ear of the Wind is a massive sand dune that the kids had a blast running up and down. We had to drag them away from it. Be sure to climb to the top of the dune, as the views from the top are gorgeous. There was still more on the tour that we didn’t see. We had already gone over time, as our guide was so patient and allowed us time to enjoy every place we stopped off at. We had a big group, including many kids who were happy to play at each point of interest.

Having kids of his own, he understood how valuable this time was for kids. He also spent time taking group pictures of us all and our separate families. I LOVED how he knew how to get the best picture at each of the spots. He wanted to continue to show us more things on the tour, but as we were conscious of his time and it was getting late, we didn’t want to keep him from his family anymore, so we dropped the last couple of spots and went back to our accommodation.

We first stopped off to enjoy Sand Springs, mentioned above, with views of the Totem Pole. We fell in love with this pretty oasis, and it was a side to the park I did not know existed. Not without first enjoying a bumpy off-roading adventure back, which had the kids whooping and hollering.

Seeing the delight on their faces with the totem pole and other Monument Valley park structures behind them is a memory to last forever.

15. Visit the Monument Valley Visitor Center Museum

Pop into the Monument Valley Visitor Center to gain further insight into Navajo culture and history. A series of displays and exhibits will share more about the nation’s largest Native American tribe. For those also interested in the Navajo Code Talkers, there is an interesting exhibit and gallery rooms sharing more about this.

At the visitor center, you can learn more about the various trails and tours on offer and purchase a memento from the Trading Post to take home with you. You can also dine at the View Restaurant.

16. Highway 163 Monument Valley (Forrest Gump Point)

Want to reenact the famous running scene in Forrest Gump? Then head down Highway 163 to Forrest Gump Point. The point is just before the Monument Valley overlook. It’s not really one of the park’s attractions, more a photo stop for those who love the movies.

17. See The Thumb

Another rock formation in the park to check out is The Thumb, which looks like a thumb sticking out of a hand. It’s located along the scenic drive in the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park on the right-hand side. It’s not as impressive as the others; in fact, you may even drive past it, but if you happen to notice it on your drive, it’s worth a stop for a photo.

18. Check out The North Window

The North Window is one of the most iconic photo spots of the whole park. It’s where the scenic drive passes through two rock formations, creating a gap that forms a window overlooking the rock formations in the distance. It’s another monument you might pass through if you don’t keep your eyes open for it. I suggest picking up a map from the visitor center, which details where all the monuments can be found.

FAQs about Visiting Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

Here’s what people usually ask us about visiting Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park…

How much does it cost to visit Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park?

The entrance fee for Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park is $8 per day, per person to enter the to enter the 17 mile loop drive. National Park passes are NOT accepted, but you do need a Backcountry Permit if you wish to hike or camp, which can be obtained from the Visitor Center.

Navajo Parks and Recreation is not liable for any damage to a vehicle while in the loop drive or on Navajo Tribal Park land. If you book a guided tour, your park entry fee will usually be separate from your guided tour price.

The park entry fee is good for two days. If you enter the park on a guided tour jeep with a group of people, ensure that you pay the correct amount as if you were going the next day in your own vehicle. We got caught out with this. Going into the park in the jeep, we paid for 6 adults, as the kids were free.

However, the next day when we wanted to go into the park and visitor center in our separate vehicles, we could not use that ticket to get all of the six adults through. Even though we paid our entry ticket, we were now in three separate vehicles, and fees are charged per vehicle!

How long do you need to spend in Monument Valley?

You can visit Monument Valley easily in a day. But I recommend staying a little longer just to savor the experience. We missed out on visiting a few places, most notably the famous sweeping views of Monument Valley from US163. This is the Forest Gump view that you’ve seen in the movie. It will be marked by a sign which reads Forest Gump Hill.

We didn’t drive in or out that way. Craig and I did that last time and captured the iconic Monument Valley photo. To be honest, what I have heard now about the lineups and craziness about getting the perfect Instagram shot here now – I’m glad we missed it. I just can’t stand that world anymore! I want life, not likes. By all means, go and get that shot as it is spectacular. But don’t take that shot; upload it for likes and then leave this spiritual land saying that you experienced it. Go deeper!

When is the best time to visit Monument Valley?

This area experiences four seasons, including snow during the winter. Can you imagine how pretty it would look then? The dry desert climates of the Southwest amaze me with the precipitation they receive. It’s so different from the Australian deserts. The best time to visit would be April/May and Sept/October when it’s not as hot and the summer crowds aren’t around.

Where to stay in Monument Valley

We parked our RVs at a property owned by a Navajo Family. Here you can also sleep in a Navajo octagon earth Hogan, and Celia, the host, was lovely. Our tour of Monument Valley was booked through her family, and at the end of the tour, we enjoyed delicious Navajo tacos! The location to the park entrance was very close, and a short walk from the property allowed us to witness a magnificent Monument Valley sunrise and sunset!

The View Hotel

The View Hotel (Monument Valley Hotel) is the only hotel built within Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. All rooms have a private balcony to enjoy those stunning views of the sun rising over the monuments. Bucket List moment. The hotel also has a trading post with Navajo artisan wares such as jewelry, pottery, and hand-woven Navajo rugs. The restaurant offers Native Navajo dishes and views of the mittens while you dine.

Historic Goulding’s Lodge

For hotels near Monument Valley, consider Goulding’s Lodge Monument Valley. This place is one mile from the rim of Monument Valley and is known as a western fort or the town setting for many John Wayne movies. It offers accommodation and a campground as well as a restaurant, museum, and grocery store.

Tours of Monument Valley

Horseback riding in Monument Valley is a popular thing to do. You can also join Monument Valley Jeep Tours that go behind the restricted areas to Mystery Valley. From my research, this valley and part of the tour go more into the culture and history of the Navajo and ancient Puebloans.

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