Visited: April 2024
Nearby town: Kayenta, AZ; Oljato, AZ
"So this is where God put the West."
-John Wayne
Monument Valley, along the Utah-Arizona border near the Four Corners area, might be one of the most iconic landscapes in the entire country. Situated on the Colorado Plateau, a series of sandstone buttes pierce the sky, rising hundreds of feet over the valley floor.
Monument Valley is not a unit of the National Park Service, but is instead a Tribal Park administered and managed by the Navajo Nation. For an $8 entrance fee, visitors can drive the 17-mile park road. The road is unpaved, but is relatively well-maintained. If you wish to explore beyond that, you must do so with a guided tour.
We did a 3-hour guided tour through Monument Valley Safari. Their vans were perfect for scenic viewing. We stopped at all the iconic spots along the main park road and ventured a bit into the backcountry to see some unique rock formations/arches.
wonderful sign welcoming you to San Juan County, UT along Highway 163
Mitchell Mesa is the large butte on the right
Welcome to Utah sign
West Mitten (left), East Mitten (center), Merrick Butte (right)
these three buttes (West and East Mitten; Merrick) are particularly famous.
This is from the overlook at the Visitor Center.
Sentinel Mesa
Sentinel Mesa (left) and West Mitten (right)
in the distance (from left to right): King on his Throne; Stagecoach; Bear and Rabbit; Castle Rock
Director John Ford felt that Monument Valley was the perfect setting for Westerns. Monument Valley has served as a filming location for dozens and dozens of movies, including: Stagecoach (1939), The Harvey Girls (1946), My Darling Clementine (1946), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), The Searchers (1956), How the West was Won (1962), Easy Rider (1969), National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Back to the Future III (1990), Thelma & Louise (1991), Forrest Gump (1994), The Lone Ranger (2013), and many more. Monument Valley has also been used in numerous car commercials and Marlboro cigarette advertisements.
The Three Sisters
this overlook is known as "John Ford point"
Three Sisters and Mitchell Mesa
After stopping at John Ford point, the tour continued to an area of the valley that is only accessible via a guided tour.
on the far left, a rock formation known as the "Totem Pole"
a natural arch on the south side of Thunderbird Mesa
vehicle for the tour
Monument Valley is sacred to the Navajo.
They performed some music for us at the arch. It was very nice.
Eye of the Sun arch
pictographs on the rock wall
Ear of the Wind arch
This is looking south along US Highway 163 about 15-miles north of the Arizona/Utah border. It is now popularly known as "Forrest Gump point". This is from the famous scene in the movie where Forrest ends his run across America.
We had a fantastic time exploring Monument Valley.
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