Monument Valley to Moab -- seeking suggestions
 

Heading west in September, spending the night in Bluff, Utah (getting in late) before heading to Moab/Arches, where we will have two nights.

My question: Does anyone have suggestions for an itinerary the next day that would include some highlights of Monument Valley and the route to Moab?

On the route to Moab, if you get a chance to stop off in Blanding at the Edge of the Cedars Museum, I highly recommend it. No need to allow more than an hour, but it was a real highlight for us. There was a Photography exhibit of Hieroglyphs which was amazing. There was also quite an impressive Welcome center which had a mini historical museum of the area. We actually got a kick out of the Hole in the Rock house just south of Moab on 191. A bit of a hokey tourist attraction, but the tenacity of the folks who lived there made for an interesting story while stretching our legs. Not sure if you will have time to do Monument Valley and then to Moab via 261, but the Moki Dugway is an awesome road. We also enjoyed
Natural Bridges National Monument, a night at the Valley of the Gods B&B, and "swinging steaks" at a Grill in Mexican Hat!

In Monument Valley you can drive your vehicle on the dirt roads in the Tribal park, but there are a few roads that you won't be able to drive on. If you take a tour of Monument Valley make sure it's not an open vehicle and make sure the tour makes stops at all the great overlooks. Last time we were there everyone on the open vehicle tour had scarfs over their faces to keep the dust out of their faces and at one of the best known overlooks the vehicle hardly slowed down, let alone stop for people to take pictures. We drove our vehicle and could stop when we wanted.

Beachvan has already mentioned taking Highway 261 over the Moki Dugway. This is a scenic route but be aware there is one section that is dirt/gravel and there are switchbacks. http://www.midwestroads.com/otherstates/mokidugway/ Also along this route is the Goosenecks State Park and the already mentioned Natural Bridges National Monument.

Utahtea

utahtea and Beachvan have given you good advice and if you like off the beaten path sites, Lower Butler wash has some nice rock art and is right near Bluff.

If you are going up 191 to Moab, stop in at the Needles district of Canyonlands on the way up, it is awesome and very different from Island in the Sky.

I agree with Edge of the Cedars and Hole in the Rock (my relatives built it and I played there as a kid).

What you can see depends on what you are driving.

If you have a high clearance vehicle (preferably 4 x 4) you can circle through the La Sal mountains.

If not you can detour down towards Needles section of Canyonlands and see Newspaper Rock.

You can also do Anticline Overlook but it takes a couple of hours.

You can also go towards Cortez and then take Three Steps Hill down to Lisbon Valley to La Sal and on to Moab, either by road or along a gravel road.

I can send you Google maps if you are interested.

[email protected]

Tune your AM radio to 960, it is a Navajo station that broadcasts in the native language, fascinating to listen to.

Ditto the suggestion for driving into the Needles section of Canyonlands, if you have time. Be aware you'd need to pay the park entry fee of $15 per car, but just about 10 miles off the main highway is Newspaper Rock, a huge collection of petroglyphs from several different time periods, apparently.

Bluff is a lovely little town, where are you staying? There's a neat BBQ restaurant there called Cottonwood Steakhouse, I believe it closes at 8 or 9.

jayne,

I would recommend trying to get in to Valley of the Gods B&B rather than stay in Bluff. Its a one-of-a-kind place and much, much nicer than Bluff.

Also, if you are going to visit more than a couple Natl Parks, get the annual pass. It will save you money.

Thanks for the suggestions. We will be traveling in a Prius, so taking it easy on roadways.

We have booked Desert Rose for our night in Bluff. We just really aren't as comfortable in the B&B scene.

I tend to enjoy a little hokeyness so Hole in the Rock sounds fun, and gosh who could resist a visit to a place called Mexican Hat?

We got a national parks pass so the more bang for the buck we can get, the better! I saw that a recent flash flood washed out some roads in Canyonlands, so didn't know if that would have a huge negative impact on visiting that park.

My main concern is how long will it take to explore these different places with the hope of getting to Moab at a reasonable time -- say 6 to 7 p.m....?

Mexican Hat is a very small town named after a rock formation outside of town. You can drive through the town in under 2 mintues and look at the Mexican Hat itself for maybe 5 minutes.

If you wanted to go into the Needles portion of Canyonlands, it is about 30 minutes drive in from the highway turnoff. How much time you spend there is up to you, but if you don't have at least 1/2 a day, I would skip it.

Check at the Moab Visitor's Center on Main Street and they can give you info on area hikes and activities, plus road conditions in the parks. The Natl Parks Visitors Centers will have more detailed info on road conditions. I would guess that any flash floods would have done damage to the dirt roads and not the paved ones. If mud does come across the paved roads, they can usually clear those quickly. You won't be going on the dirt roads anyway.

Have fun!

PS - there are some low lying sections of the paved road into the Needles District that are near the river and could have been damaged. You might check in Monticello, UT before you reach the Needles area on your way to Moab.

Thanks--we plan to tour Monument Valley on our own and were hoping to see at least some of Canyonlands on our way to Moab, then do Arches on the next day. We only have two nights in Moab. Any itenery suggestions for the day that begins in Bluff would be welcome....

Here is some info on the area around Bluff ~
http://theanasazi.com/

Thanks Reddirtdawg for the link. We want to spend some time in the Bluff area this Sept and love your site.

Utahtea

I had no idea the ruins were near Bluff, Reddirtdawg! Will these areas be accessible in our Prius?

When we drove the 17 mile Monument Valley loop in our Honda Accord, it was very dusty and lumpy, but still quite navigable if you go slow. There were lots of other tourists in all types of rental vehicles, so your Prius should be OK.

Get an early start down from Bluff, it is 30-40 minutes to MV, and the loop will take an hour or two. I noticed a nice looking little restaurant in Bluff called Twin Rocks, at the north end of town.

You should have plenty of time to drive into the Needles part of Canyonlands on your way, and you may even have time to check into Arches after you get to Moab. It is only 10 minutes out of town, you may have time to drive in and look around for an hour or two, it's a fairly small park. On our one full day at Arches, we started out at about 8:00 a.m. and hiked almost every main trail in about 6-7 hours, must have totalled about 10 miles. Be aware that there is no food and only one (I think) water stop past the visitor center, keep your car loaded with water and snacks.

What route are you taking out of Moab, where are you headed next?

Jayne1973 ~ yes, there are many ruins that you will be able to get to the trail heads with a Prius....though you will have to go very slow in some sections. You don't need a 4x4 but a 'high clearance' vehicle is always preferable here in the Southwest whenever you go off pavement.
Most of the ruins I have listed are VERY short hikes...more like strolls. There is just too much to list here with directions, etc. So if you are interested in seeing some while you are there.....email me and I can send you some of my unlisted web maps and give you much more detail than I can here. You can find my email address listed on my websites in the right hand corner.
I also have another site ....if you didn't already go to it that has more ruins and rock over the whole general area and not just near Bluff...like some things in the Moab area. Here is the link to it.
http://anasaziruins.blogspot.com/
Utahtea~ feel free to write me also if you need any info on the ruins you want to see.

Jayne1973 As Reddirddawg says, many of the ruin sites are off the path but doable in a regular car. I did a trip report on the area here at fodors.com/community/united-states/trip-report-four-corners-ruins-petroglyphs-and-beautiful-sites.cfm if you are interested. Do watch the weather if you go off the pavement as the roads get very slick when they are wet.

Have a fantastic trip.

Thanks to all so far.
Reddirtdawg, I sent you an email.
Emalloy, enjoyed your trip report.
Gigib, how bump was it in that Honda? I am not sure what route we will take out of Moab, but we are headed to Bryce Canyon for two nights after that...

You ARE going to Hovenweep, right? Late afternoon can be fantastic.

http://www.nps.gov/hove/planyourvisit/things2do.htm

It was pretty darn bumpy, but nothing that couldn't be done as long as you go slow and kinda choose your spot. The worst part was the first quarter mile, it winds down the bluff. If you can manage that part, you'll be fine, but then you do have to go back up it to exit the loop. The part I hated most was coating our relatively new car with dust, but then most of it got washed off in a couple of thunderstorms.