Day trip in Four Corners area
 

We will be taking a day trip from Cortez, CO to Monument Valley. We need ideas of things to see along the way. I have looked at Four Corners Monument & Mexican Hat. Any ideas or suggestions would be great! Thanks!

General consensus of people who have been to the Four Corners: not worth the price of admission. The Navajo Nation' biggest tourist trap.
You'll see lots more at Canyon de Chelley AZ or even at the Aztec Ruins near Aztec, NM.

Four Corners is a tourist attra<b>p</b>tion. I agree that Canyon de Chelley is a better option. It is possible to walk down from the rim to the canyon floor.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...57622644716819

If you went west from Cortez on 491 then south 0n191 to 95 west you could visit Natural Bridges National Monument, from there head down the moki dugway to Mexican Hat, then on to Monument Valley. This would be a long day trip from Cortez, but fantastic views.

I think that Canyon de Chelley is wonderful, but not a day trip from Cortez.

Monument Valley would make an excellent day trip destination. Four corners is cheesy but good for a quick stop. The Native Americans charge to get into the monument.

I'd head south on Hwy 160 to 4 corners then continue to Kayenta, AZ and take 163 up to Monument Valley. You can see most of this park in your own vehicle but if you decide to do a tour, make sure it's not in an open vehicle where you have to wear a scarf to keep the dust out of your face. After Monument Valley head north to Mexican Hat. Just north of Mexican Hat take Hwy 162 east back towards Colorado. This route is 270 miles round trip.

If you want to add Hovenweep National Monument add another 5 miles. Hovenweep is very impressive because these ruins are free standing and not protected by cliffs. Exit Hovenweep going north on Road 10 by the Canyon of the Ancient Trail and then make a right on Road CC to Hwy 491 and then south back to Coretz. We've done this route and they are good road.

If you want add moki dugway, Natural Bridges you are looking at approx 340 miles total.

Canyon de Chelly is a great place too. Round trip would be 280 miles and you would pretty much have to go and come on the same route.

I would assume you are going to Mesa Verde since you are making a day trip from Cortez. If so, the Aztec is just going to be Mesa Verde on a very small scale.

Utahtea

Thanks for the info! We may try to get to Canyon de Chelly another day, it looks great.

Utahtea, great plan, just the kind of thing we were looking for. We are spending a day at Mesa Verde the day before we go to Monument Valley. Can't wait! Thanks!

Bluff in Utah is nearby and a very pleasant spot with several restaurants, restored homes, and an art gallery.

I'm surprised to read Monument Valley described as a "tourist trap."

Admission is $5 per person and the drive through the valley is beautiful--especially at sunset. (On two recent trips I never paid as little as $5 admission to any attraction.)

The View Hotel, in the park, has a restaurant that serves very reasonably priced meals.

I found several definitions of "tourist trap." Here is one: "Something in an area tourists always flock to, but everyone else knows isn't really worth seeing." Here is another: "A place, such as a shop or resort area, that offers overpriced goods and services to tourists."

Monument Valley is beautiful, it is worth seeing, and it is reasonably priced.

If you go to Canyon de Chelly, book a jeep tour into the canyon. The three-hour tour leaves at 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. and can be booked at the Holiday Inn just outside the park. The cost is $150 for two people, and it's worth it.

HTTY

happytrailstoyou, A couple posters in this thread called the Four Corners Monument a "tourist trap" not Monument Valley ;)

As Roseanne Roseannadanna used to say, "Never mind."

I've been to Monument Valley several times without being tempted to visit the Four Corners Monument.

A great trip from Cortez would be the drive to Telluride and, time permitting, to Ouray, Silverton, Durango, and back to Cortez.


HTTY

Thanks! The primary place to see on this day trip is Monument Valley, it looks beautiful. I figured Four Corners Monument would be "cheesy but good for a quick stop" as Utahtea said :). HTTY, Durango area looks great too, trying to see if we can fit in another day there. Thanks again!

Thanks, Tammy.
Have a great time.

TammyeL,
We did a similar trip and yes we stopped at 4 Corners. It's just one of those places you have to stop at,IMOP. Nothing really to it, but getting a picture with a each hand in a state and your two feet in two other states makes a cool photo. Probably not cool to anyone other than the people in it, but we were glad we went.

You might drive thru Valley of the Gods, which is just north of Monument Valley. It is a mini monument valley. We were fine in a rental car, but I understand the the roads can be bad if they are washed out from a recent rain. I think you would be fine under most circumstances with a regular car. Moki Dugway and Goosenecks of the San Juan are both right there by Valley of the Gods. All of these are worth doing. Driving all the way to Natural Bridges would be really out of the way. But Sipapu Bridge there is really an awesome span. It is about as good as any Arch you will see in Arches National Park. It is very massive.

I paid the few dollars and went down on all fours to be in four states at one time. What a rip off.
Not even exciting and TOURIST with a capital T

You didn't mention if you plan on doing any hiking.....but if you are there are many short day hikes to ancient Anasazi ruins in the Bluff area. Unlike the ruins in Mesa Verde....these ruins have not been restored and have been virtually untouched for the past 900 years.

Here is a link to a site called 'Beyond Mesa Verde' that will help introduce you to that area near Bluff~
http://beyondmesaverde.com/