We are planning a day trip to Monument Valley from Durango, CO with a stop at 4 corners on the way. How long will we have driving there and back and how much time will that leave us at Monument Valley?

What is there to do at Monument Valley? Do we have to take a tour to see it, or can we just drive in and look for ourselves at the mittens?

There is a drive-yourself route through Monument Valley; you pay an entrance fee on the road into the park (Navajo tribal park, so NPS passes are not accepted) and can see the mittens from the visitor center terrace and from several points along the unpaved road on a circular route.

Entrance into some areas is forbidden to private vehicles, but with a Navajo guide you can see much more. Allow at least an hour for the self-drive trip, and you must be out before sunset.

Views are more interesting early and late than when the sun is bright overhead. If you have the time/money, a trip with a guide is a fabulous experience. We went with Simpson Trailhandlers (private trip, 2 hours in an open-top vehicle) and found it worth every penny.

As for distance/time between points, use google, mapquest or any other such internet mapping service.

have to agree, take a tour with a guide you see and learn so much more.

Can you book these tours when you arrive for that day? Or must these be arranged in advance?

not sure if things are the same as when i was there a few years ago, we just went up to the visitors center and got a tour guide. you may want to call the visitor center and see. it really is great to see the parts of the valley others don't get to and the local insights.

Just be sure that the tour guide you get does indeed go off the regular road. Some of the tours just follow the same road that the tourists do.

As noted, the guides tend to hang out at the visitor center and you can hire one there.

You are looking at about a 4 hour drive from Durango to Monument Valley via the 4 corners area. That's going to be a long day drip with a 4 hour drive back.

Utahtea