Today’s Travel Tip — Monument Valley

By Mike Koopsen

Monument Valley is one of the most iconic landscapes in the American Southwest. If you’ve ever watched a John Wayne western there is a good chance that you viewed some of these landscapes in the movie. It is located on the Navajo Nation, the largest sovereign Indian nation in the United States. The most famous landmark buttes that make this area unique are the East and West Mittens and Merrick Butte, which can all be seen from the Visitor Center overlook when you first enter the Navajo Tribal Park. A 17-mile self-guided drive on a dirt road will get you closer to these buttes as well as many other wonderful sandstone formations and monuments.

Monument Valley is located on US Highway 163 and is 25 miles from Mexican Hat, Utah, 51 miles from Bluff, Utah and 77 miles from Blanding, Utah. It is also 22 miles from Kayenta, Ariz. and 121 miles from Page, Ariz.

Park hours are 7 am to 7 pm from April thru September  and winter hours are 8 am to 5 pm.

For more information contact:

435-727-5870
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
P.O. Box 360289
Monument Valley, Utah 84536

Mike Koopsen of Trails Traveled Photography lives in Sedona. See more of his work here.