Driving through the outstanding buttes, mittens, and other red rock desert features of Monument Valley is a bucket list destination for many travelers. It’s worth the effort to get to this remote area of the southwest, but there are a few things you need to know.
The Monument Valley 17-mile Loop Road through Monument Valley is located within the Monument Valley Tribal Park and usually takes 2-3 hours to drive. It’s open year-round, and you must pay a per-person entrance fee of ~$10. Unlike national parks, this road has daily operating hours. It’s a dirt road and a very bumpy ride, but it is accessible by regular vehicles in good weather. There are no gas stations, but there are a few Navajo-run roadside shops where you can purchase souvenirs and snacks. You most likely will not have cell reception. Tours are available if you do not wish to drive your own vehicle.
I’m Cheryl, and my husband, Matt, and I write travel itineraries to make trip planning easy for those visiting the West. We love Monument Valley and have created an itinerary, YouTube videos, and written blog posts on it. We’ve received many questions about this topic, so keep on reading because we’re going to cover the main things you need to know!
TO AVOID CONFUSION: The official name of the area is Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, managed by the Navajo Nation. The main attraction, a scenic drive through the park, is known as the Monument Valley 17-Mile Loop Drive. For simplicity, in this blog post, we’ll refer to the entire area as Monument Valley and the scenic route as The Loop Drive.
IMPORTANT: The North Rim of the Grand Canyon recently experienced extensive damage due to a forest fire and will remain closed throughout the 2025 travel season. Visit the NPS Site for more up-to-date information.
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To enter Monument Valley, you can either take Route 191 from Moab, UT (~2.5 hr drive) or Route 98/160 from Page, AZ (~2 hr drive).
There is one entry into Monument Valley Tribal Park. The park fee is ~$8 per person. The paved entrance road leads to The View Hotel & Visitor Center. Beyond that, all roads in the park are dirt.
The entry to the Loop Drive is near the Visitor Center.
GOOD TO KNOW: Monument Valley Tribal Park is a small park – taking a few hours to a full day to see. There is one entrance road into the park, one self-guided scenic loop drive, one self-guided hike, and one restaurant. For lodging, there is one hotel, one campground, and some cabins. Read our article How Many Days to Visit Monument Valley? Perfect 1-Day Itinerary with Maps & Must-See Spots for more information on how to visit the park.
The park’s website describes it as a “natural road,” which, in plain language, is a bumpy dirt road! It’s actually one of the roughest dirt roads we’ve ever been on. There is a lot of sand too. The speed limit is 15 mph, but we rarely went that fast due to traffic and road conditions.
That being said, regular vehicles are permitted. We drove it in our Sequoia and felt bad for the sedans we saw. If you have the option to drive something with high clearance and 4-wheel drive, do it! Tours are available as well (more on that later- keep reading).
The Loop Drive will close if the road is in too poor a condition to drive, such as after a rainstorm.
On average, it takes 2-3 hours. It really does look just like it does in the movies, and is pretty magical.
We have three sons, and they all grew up watching the Pixar movie Cars. It is so cool to drive this road in person. Just know you won’t be racing around the buttes!
You HAVE to drive slowly due to the road conditions, but you WANT to drive slowly so you can take in all the scenery. The road isn’t treacherous, just rough.
There are several little offshoots with viewpoints, and they are all great. John Ford Point is where you can pay to have your picture taken on a horse, just like in a Western movie. There are also a few Navajo-run shops along the way where you can buy souvenirs and snacks.
There are no gas stations in Monument Valley. Goulding’s, just 5 minutes outside of the park, has one. You can also get gas in Mexican Hat, UT (30 minutes North) or Kayenta, AZ (30 minutes South).
If you have car trouble, there is Trainrock Tire Repair 435-485-8148 and Shi Stop Shop (435) 727-3310.
Pretty non-existent. I don’t recall our phones working at all, especially on the Loop Drive.
It’s shocking how primitive this area is. All the roads in the park are dirt (except the road leading into it), and many of the homes and buildings do not have running water.
Unlike national parks that are always open, even if the entrance booths are closed, the Loop Drive is located within Monument Valley Tribal Park, and they operate differently.
The Loop Drive has regular seasonal hours. Pay attention to when the drive closes; they won’t let any cars in an hour before closing. This can be as early as 4:00 pm sometimes. We’ve listed the hours below, but check the Monument Valley Tribal Park website for the most up-to-date information on when you’ll be visiting.
Park Hours:
Visitor Center/Scenic Drive Hours:
–Bring Cash and Card. There are businesses within Monument Valley
that will only take cash, or only take a credit card.
–Bring Your Own Groceries. There are only 2 restaurants in the area: The View Hotel and the nearby Gouldings. They are both ok but we prefer to do our own cooking here.
–Big Temperature Swings. It’s the desert and high altitude. Mornings and evenings
can be cool even if it’s very hot during the day.
Sometimes the temperature can fluctuate by 40 degrees a day.
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Inside the guide:
*Step-by-step plan for the Monument Valley Tribal Park, Bears Ears, Valley of the Gods, and many more + the most efficient driving routes to connect them
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Yes. They have a campground. It’s flat and bare, but you will have incredible views of Monument Valley, including epic sunrises and sunsets!
RVs are not allowed on the Loop Drive.
GOOD TO KNOW: The very best views of Monument Valley are from the View Hotel and Cabins and the Visitor Center. No need to do a big drive or hike!
That is completely understandable! The road is really rough, and we personally wouldn’t drive it in anything less than an SUV.
The good news is that several tours are offered! We actually did the Loop Drive in our own car and then went on a tour later that same trip! We don’t think you need to do both, but here are a few things to know about tours to help you decide.
All tours are given by members of the Navajo Nation. You can book them on their website. We used Dineh Bekeyah Tours and had a wonderful experience (we paid for the tour on our dime- our opinions are our own!) We traveled in an open-air truck with really comfy seats, and she took us to some places we couldn’t go without a tour, including a Navajo village with Hogans (mud houses). The highlight was when she took us to the Bird’s Eye (a cool rock formation) and played the flute for us.
It was ~$85 per adult and lasted ~4 hours. We enjoyed hearing about the Navajo culture from an actual member of the tribe. We didn’t love the mandatory shopping stop. We also booked a sunset tour and were expecting to go to some magical place to watch the sunset. She brought us back to the parking lot, where she picked us up for the tour because that really is the best spot to watch it.
The best times to visit are spring (March-May) and fall (September-November) when the weather is mild. Summer can be very hot, but mornings and evenings are pleasant. Winter visits are less crowded but can be cold and windy.
As far as times of day to do the Loop Drive, early morning or late afternoon for fewer crowds and better light for photography.
GOOD TO KNOW: In summer, sunrise is around 5:45 am, and sunset is around 8:30 pm. In winter, sunrise is closer to 7:30 am, and sunset is around 5:30 pm. Plan your day to catch the stunning colors during the golden hour!
Get our done‑for‑you, 11‑17 day route with exact drives, maps, and must‑see stops so you don’t waste time in traffic or miss the best views.
Inside the guide:
*Day‑by‑day plan for the Grand Canyon, Utah’s Parks, and
Monument Valley
*Exact times, routes, and photo stops
*Includes audio stories to listen to as you drive
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Not only are the awesome areas of Page, AZ, and Moab, UT, just a couple of hours away, but there are great things to do along the way, including Navajo National Monument, Moki Dugway, Bears Ears, and Muley Point, just to name a few.
Our Monument Valley Itinerary gives you step-by-step instructions on how to see all the amazing sites within and surrounding Monument Valley to make trip planning a breeze.
If you are on an even bigger road trip to see the Grand Canyon and Utah’s national parks, make sure to check out our Grand Circle Road Bundle for detailed maps, where to stay each night, and itineraries for each National Park you are visiting.
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