Monument Valley
 

We will spending one night in Monument Valley in Kayenta. (Gouldings booked on my night) What is the best way to see it and what are the highlights? From there we go to the Grand Canyon (Thunderbird) Iwould like to be at the Grand Canyon, where we will spend 2 nights probably around 4 or 5 p.m Thanks

The best colors show up when the sun is low in the sky, so try to drive through in the late evening, taking lots of pictures. Get up very early the next morning and do the same drive again and notice the difference. Take lots more pictures then.

Will you be taking a tour with a native guide?

Hi rm nm. What do you suggest? We have rented a regular car-not 4 wheel drive- and I don't know if the dirt roads are do-able without 4-wheel drive. Do you mean to drive through the main road or a specific road ? Thanks

Highway 163 connects Kayenta to Mexican Hat via Monument Valley. Many of the bluffs and chimneys are visible on the 45 miles between the two towns. It's a 2 lane paved U.S. highway.

If you wish to get a more in-depth look at it, then you hire a native guide who will take you on the back roads with a suitable vehicle. Hopefully one of the more experienced people will add to this.

Take a guided tour with Simpson's Trail Handler Tours. We've done two of them and HIGHLY recommend them. You can also book a tour with Goulding's, but it's with a group. Simpson will give you a private tour.

We did drive through with a rental, but parts of it, especially the start, we had to take very very slowly. Made me nervous as heck, but it is doable and we were fine. Would I recommend it? Not if you value peace of mind. Would my DH do it again? Yes. :)

When I drove the Valley it did not require a 4WD vehicle. We were in a full size van with a rather high ground clearance.

You will enjoy MV more if you take a Native tour. Go with Simpsons & ask for Richard.

We just got back from a trip to AZ and took the MV tour with Richard and Simpsons. A great guide! If you take the 2.5 hour tour you will see much more than on the public road. There are some gorgeous arches and rock formations out there. Richard gave me some good advice where the best photo locations were.

You can drive through MV yourself in a regular car - slowly! The road is pretty well marked and you have the flexibility of stopping as long as you like.

Tours are less stressful and less flexible.

One or the other, you will have a wonderful visit in MV.

And, if you are going that way, will you be including Antelope Valley in your trip?

As others have noted, the dirt roads in Monument Valley are navigable with a regular sedan. Just go slow. However, the native american guides are the only ones allowed to drive off of the main roads. That's the big advantage of using one of the guide services. You don't need a guide to just drive the main roads. The second reason is that you're restricted on when you can get in and when you have to be out of the park. The guides aren't as restricted.

It took me about 4 hours to hit the entrance to Grand Canyon, and then a bit of time to drive along the rim with stops along the way.

If you leave the paved road, be careful. In wet weather, those dirt tracks become tomato soup. Have a cell phone handy. Only natives are allowed off the main routes. What ever you do, do NOT go cross country. This is a very delicate desert environment. Gouldings can give you expert advice on current conditions.

We were going to MV this fall; are the dirt roads part of the "main" roads? If you go off the two-lane blacktop, is that allowable? I'm confused from these postings about who can go where (we almost always like to do things on our own).

You cannot go into the MV back country (ie off the paved roadway) without a Native guide. It is illegal & you will be arrested by the Navajo police. You wouldn't want to anyway. You don't see much from the main road except the tallest buttes. Richard Simpson does a really great tour & it is private. [Don't go with Gouldings b/c that is a "shake & bake" group tour]. Richard sings to you & he even takes you to his great grandmother's Hogan. It was a wonderful half day (2.5h tour turned into 3.5h).

Across from Gouldings is the Monument Valley Tribal Park. In good conditions, you CAN take the 17-mile off road driving route within the park with a passenger car and without a guide(even a sedan with regular tires, which I did last year). However if you're at all nervous aobut driving on bumpy and rutted dirt roads (with a steep section at the start) you can hire a guide right there at the gate. If you take the guided tour you can opt for the main routes or add a separate loop.

http://www.monumentvalleyonline.com/...ument&ID=4

Excuse me, MLGB, but that website specifically states that private passenger cars are to STAY ON the paved road. That is the road not off-road. You are definitely NOT allowed to drive on anything except pavement in your private vehicle without a guide. Please stop confusing OP & everyone else! You cannot drive off road (ie on anything other than pavement -- 17 mile road) in your own car without a guide. Hiring a guide has nothing to do with being nervous about bumpy dirt roads. The road you drive on yourself is PAVED.

I guess the confusion lies with everybody's definition of "pavement", "Off-road", and "Dirt Road".

So, there's a 17-mile dirt road through Monument Valley that everybody can drive on (with a paid entrance fee, of course). It takes you to spots like John Ford Point and around the various buttes. There are some nice overlooks and viewpoints, usually with some native americans selling handcrafts and whatnot.

Last time I was there, which I admit was a number of years ago, this was a dirt road. It was bumpy and washboard in a few places, but a basic passenger sedan could handle it. If this road has been paved in the last few years, that would be news to me. In fact, I would be very surprised if they did pave it as it would make it easier to self-drive which would cut into business for the guides. It's in their self-interest to keep it a rough road.

In any event, people who are driving themselves are restricted to this road.

Native guides can take you off-road - i.e. no road at all - paved or otherwise in the park. They also have access to certain dirt roads that regular tourists can't access. The guides will also take you on the main park road if you want that kind of tour, as well. They usually use jeeps or large open trucks with an awning for sun protection.

A good strategy for the park, if you're spending a night, is to spend an afternoon or morning touring the park in your own vehicle, and then going on a guided tour for another morning or afternoon. For the guided tour, you'll want to hit the spots you can't normally visit. Do a pre-dawn tour or a late afternoon/evening tour for the best light for photography.

Excuse me laurie, for providing accurate information about the Monument Valley Tribal Park. I was there last May, paid my admission, and drove myself. I was not alone. It is exactly as lifelist says. A dirt road open to passenger vehicles. Sorry you are not only uninformed, but rude.

There is no mention of 'PAVED' anywhere on that site. You won't have any problem driving the dirt/sand road yourself, because you will be going so slow admiring all the views. Plan on 3 hours or so. If they ever paved the 17 mile scenic drive I don't think I would ever go back again!

Nothing wrong with the roads in MV, I have driven much worst roads in some of the scenic areas of our country. Whenever the roads of some park or other area is paved and improved some thing they need to drive it as if it were an Interstate. I hope the roads there are never improved.