Monument Valley

Understand

The Navajo Nation and the State of Utah observe Mountain Daylight Saving Time from April through October, however Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time, so when you are in the State of Arizona and are not within the Navajo Nation, the time will be one hour earlier. The distances are vast in the United States, and many people do not allow sufficient travel time, especially when they are used to the shorter distances in Europe or Asia. Many of Monument Valley's visitors are European and Japanese, and it is difficult for them to comprehend the distances you have to travel between destinations. If you travel from Las Vegas or Phoenix, your trip will take almost the entire day. You cannot see Monument Valley and also go further than the Grand Canyon to the south, and Moab to the north in the same day. Even staying at the Monument Valley for one night is cutting your stay extremely short relative to what there is to see in this part of the Navajo Nation. The Valley is considered extremely sacred for the Navajo. Respect their land by staying on existing roads and not attempting to climb the rock formations.

History Archaeological evidence indicates that the ancient Ancestral Puebloan people (formerly called "Anasazi" but that term is considered offensive by today's Puebloans) inhabited the valley until AD 1300. Today over 100 sites and ruins have been found dating from these ancient people, including rock art, across the Southwest. The Ancestral Puebloans abandoned the area in the 1300s when a long-lasting change in the environment made large-scale inhabitation of the region extremely difficult, leaving it empty of permanent human inhabitation until the arrival of the Navajo. In the 1860s, American miners Merrick and Mitchell discovered silver in the region. They brought back the silver to nearby mining towns, and got together investors to start a mining operation. The second mining operation started successfully. However, they disappeared – and the silver mi

Getting there

Towns which are fairly close to Monument Valley include Page, Kanab, Bluff, Tuba City, and Kayenta. However, these towns are generally too far away from Monument Valley to be used as hotel locations for getting into the valley (the exception is Kayenta).

By car Some travelers might assume that highways and major roads in the Navajo Nation (including the roads that lead to the park) are different from roads in other parts of the United States; however, this is not true. U.S. routes and other major roads in the Navajo Nation are the same as major roads in other parts of the United States. This changes, though, once drivers get onto the minor roads near to the small villages scattered around the region – many small local roads are not paved beyond a certain point. Travel by car into Monument Valley is straightforward as long as travelers take the main roads into the park and the surrounding areas. It is when people try to take "shortcuts" that things go wrong. You might begin driving along a side road that for a while is paved and seems fine for travel, but the pavement of the road abruptly ends near a town and the quality of the road declines quickly. Even when a route into the park or the Navajo Nation looks shorter on the map, it may not be a faster route. For those driving into Monument Valley, the highways are quiet and you can drive at more than 60 mph (97 km/h) most of the way to the park. However, you will have to slow down once you drive into the park. The following are some important roads for entering Monument Valley, with the nearest to the park listed first and the major roads farthest from the park listed last:

Monument Valley Road leads to the Monument Valley Tribal Park itself and the Monument Valley visitor center. Near Goulding's Lodge (west of the Monument Valley Tribal Park), this road divides into two, one called Oljeto Road, and another called Rock Door Canyon Road. Rock Door Canyon Road goes past some Goulding's lodges and a church before Roc

Getting around

By car

Guided tour roads Not only are there many roads that lead towards or into the park, but there are also many roads that go around Monument Valley Tribal Park. However, these roads are primarily for the use of the Navajo people who live in and around the park, and not for tourists. Only guided tour vehicles are allowed on these dirt roads. These dirt roads in the park are not at all good-quality dirt roads; they are just like lines made in the rugged terrain; very little thought has been put into gradients and road obstacles. In fact, some roads even go across sand dunes, making for a bumpy ride on the tour. Although not all of the guided tour/local routes have clear signs posting that they are for guided tours and the Navajo people only, but it is generally best to avoid getting around the park via dirt roads and other minor routes, for these roads go into areas that really belong to the Navajo Nation.

Public roads The U.S. Route 163 and the paved road into the park are both excellent quality roads.The road to the visitor center has a lower speed limit but is still a good route for travel into the parkland and is significantly better than any dirt roads in the region. U.S. Route 163 goes through the park in a mostly north-south direction, although it turns toward the east at the northern end of the park. The only bends along the highway occur where a rocky outcrop gets in the way or a Navajo settlement is nearby. This main highway is a two-lane highway but is still good for travel. The main park road leads from Goulding's Lodge (in the west) to the Monument Valley visitor center (in the east). This road intersects with Route 163 near Goulding's Lodge, making it an important link that connects the Monument Valley park with the facilities nearby. It is for the most part a fast road, but speed limits near the visitor center are low because the park entrance kiosk is here. At Goulding's Lodge, the road divides into two, and most of these divided roads are

See

Although there are very few self-guided trails to the major rocky outcrops found throughout the park, you can see these rocky outcrops (often called "mittens") from the U.S. Route 163. Along the sides of the valley are many red, rocky cliffs that can also be viewed from the main road.

Regions of the valley Although there are no specific names and regions for Monument Valley, it can be divided into several sections.

Park headquarters The 1 Monument Valley Tribal Park headquarters and the countryside to the east of it is the most easily accessible portion of Monument Valley Park. A hotel, restaurant, and visitor center are all in one main building next to some of the best Monument Valley overlooks, and from here, you can do a self-guided hike and view the Monument Valley landscape close-up. An unpaved road (open to the public) also leads from the park headquarters to the southeast, and goes into the Eastern Monument Valley. At the northern end of the park headquarters is a campgrou