Monument Valley Game

Arguably one of the most photographed places on Earth, Monument Valley is the quintessential picture of the American West. The valley covers about 92,000 acres along the border of Arizona and Utah. You may have seen this iconic landscape in several John Wayne movies as the Hollywood star rode a horse through these sandy plains. You can travel for miles on horseback amid towering sandstone pillars that are peppered throughout this Navajo Tribal Park.

The natural-color composite image at the top of this page gives a sense of the topography of the valley. The image was made from data acquired by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 from May 8, 2018, and from a digital elevation model (the National Elevation Dataset of the U.S. Geological Survey).

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Monument Valley is located on both sides of the Utah and Arizona border, with the most popular parts of the monument located in Arizona. To give you a sense of where Monument Valley is located in reference to national parks, other public lands, and large cities in the area, I have put together the table in my Monument Valley guide below for your reference.

Whether you are coming from the North or the South, you will use highway 163 to get to Monument Valley, as the highway runs right thru the valley. If you are coming from the North, the Forrest Gump Point is located just outside of the town of Halchita.

If you are interested in checking out John Ford Point, which is another popular viewpoint for Monument Valley, you will need to take Main Monument Valley Rd and Indian Rte. 42 about 10 miles South. For more detailed instructions on how to get to the valley, please review the Monument Valley directions map that I have included in my Monument Valley guide below.

Within the Park, the Wildcat Trail is a really nice trail that allows you to get a little more up-close-and-personal with the valley. If you do decide to do some hiking, please make sure you practice proper trail etiquette and leave no trace of your visit. It is our responsibility to future generations to preserve these beautiful places as they are. For more information on navigating within Monument Valley, please review the Monument Valley map that I have included in my Monument Valley guide below.

In Monument Valley, there are ten major formations present throughout the park. They include the Halgaito, Cedar Mesa, Organ Rock, De Shelly, Moenkopi, Owl Rock, Chinle, Wingate, Kayenta and Navajo Formations. The three major formations that make up the monuments themselves are the Organ Rock Formation, De Chelly Formation and the Moenkopi Formation.

Our Airbnb hosts suggested when it came to visiting the valley, there were two choices. Take photos from the viewing platforms beside the car park, have a bite to eat and leave, or drive the 17 mile road along the valley floor and see a whole lot more.

Given it was a three hour drive each way from Flagstaff, there was no way we were opting for the five minute photo stop. I mean sure, the valley road was extremely rough, consisting of more clay than dirt, and more pothole than anything else. Sure, we were behind the wheel of an underpowered, two-wheel drive Hyundai automatic that was blatantly not fit for off-road driving. There was, however, one other important factor to consider.

And so it was we found ourselves bouncing from rut to rut as we descended towards the valley floor. Large pickups almost glided past us, their superior suspension and half a mile of ground clearance serving them well. Us, however? Not so much.

Monument Valley is a surreal exploration through fantastical architecture and impossible geometry. The player guides the silent princess Ida through mysterious monuments, to uncover hidden paths, unfold optical illusions and outsmart the enigmatic Crow People.

Following the success of Monument Valley came a completely new story set in the same fantastical universe. Monument Valley 2 tells the tale of a mother and child as they embark on a journey of discovery. The game allows the player to assist Ro as she teaches her child about the mysteries of the valley, exploring stunning environments and manipulating architecture to guide them on their way.

To be honest, this place will leave you SPEECHLESS! The Panoramic views found here show the most spectacular buttes towering over the valley. This place is almost too good to be true.

Valley Drive provides visitors an option to weave through the monuments and admire the landscape from their vehicles. This scenic loop is 17 miles long and is filled with some great turn-outs.

I hope you find this guide helpful as you find the best dog friendly things to do in monument valley! And while you are in Utah make sure to check out my dog-friendly guide on Kanab, Utah.

While journeying on the valley road, the impressive sandstone formations of East Mitten, Merrick, Elephant, Cly, and Camel buttes loom overhead, creating a striking silhouette against the nearby scenery. These geological masterpieces evoke a sense of wonder, as if time itself carved this marvel of unparalleled beauty.

A range of tour types are offered for all kinds of adventurous souls. Tours can be purchased online at navajonationparks.org/guided-tour-operators/monument-valley-tour-operators/ or upon your arrival at the park.

Private cabins sit on the valley rim and offer excellent views as well. Including private bathrooms, Old West decor, a fridge and microwave, these cozy spaces offer more seclusion than the hotel rooms. Sit on your porch with a cup of coffee in the morning and watch the sun light up the buttes.

We loaded up for our final stop of the morning, at a property in Monument Valley. We have visited this family for many years, bring our groups here and either the mom, or one of her daughters, dresses up a bit and sits in their hogan for us to photograph her. On this visit, it was the daughter and after posing inside for us, she came out and posed next to the hogan. She shared about what life was like growing up as a child in the valley as well as some info about the Navajos in general. By the way, a hogan is a Navajo dwelling used for ceremonies as well as living. Made out of fallen branches, woven in to a dome, it is then covered with dirt and mud to keep out the elements.

Saying our goodbyes, we loaded up for the drive out of the valley and back to our vehicles. We headed back to the hotel to eat breakfast and prepare for the trip up to the top of Hunts Mesa. Cleaning the camera sensor was a priority because dust gets everywhere as well as making sure I had a full compliment of charged batteries since there is no electricity on top the mesa. I brought along a small backpack just for this trip and in it I stuffed a raincoat, change of socks and a couple of energy bars to stave off any hunger that might creep up. We all met up mid-afternoon and took a short drive to the guides house to leave our vehicles and load in to their trucks.

Sunrise on the Mesa was a cloudy affair, though we still had an amazing view of Monument Valley. We shot moody scenes with the dramatic clouds or put on long lenses to isolate details. Lacking sunrise color, everyone still created some amazing images of the valley. Once done, we had a wonderful cooked breakfast and then broke camp, loaded up and drove down the Mesa. Again, a very exciting ride! We eventually made it back to our vehicles and then hotel for a much needed shower and short rest. The plan was to meet our guides later in the afternoon for a trip in to Mystery Valley. We assembled at the meeting point just as the skies opened up and dumped inches of rain on us. In discussion with our guides, we decided it was too wet to safely navigate the backcountry, so we made plans to retreat for the afternoon and attempt it again the following day. So, back to the hotel for a longer rest, image processing and sensor cleaning while the heavens opened up.

We spent the morning in the valley and then returned to our trucks and back to the houses to check out of Gouldings and move our workshop to Chinle. The drive to Chinle from Monument Valley takes about 1 1/2 hours through the barren desert. For those not used to this landscape, it sure is an eye opener.

Our next stop was an area that features cave dwellings and other structures built on the valley floor. The White House site, with its origins around 1070, stands as a silent witness to the lives of those who once called it home. The lower ruin, which once had around 60 rooms, is complemented by the upper alcove site with 20 rooms, including four kivas. Together, these structures provided shelter to at least 50 individuals. Today, only half of the lower ruin remains visible, with parts having been washed away in the early 20th century. Excavations over the years have unveiled burial sites, tools, projectile points, and a rich collection of pottery. This location was made famous photographically by Ansel Adams who used the varnish on the walls above the ruins to create a stunning photograph.

We had picked up a box lunch from the hotel and we all enjoyed a nice lunch surrounded by amazing scenery. As the spirit moved us, we would wander off to photograph something and believe me, there was a lot to shoot. From towering red walls to prickly pear cactus on the valley floor, everyone found something to photograph.

After an hour or so, we decided to load up and start heading back towards the entrance to the canyon. This time of year is monsoon season and late afternoon thunderstorms are always a possibility. On this day, we could see the clouds building in the sky, pregnant with rain and we did not want to be stuck in the valley when a deluge occurred. At the least the trail would be impassable and at the worst a flash flood could occur as we saw plenty of evidence of past floods as we drove. With some urgency, we made our way down the canyon. We did stop at one location that was interesting for folks to see and that was where a lone tree was seemingly growing out of the rock. The horizontal layers of rock provided a nice graphical element to contrast against the pinion pine tree growing. ff782bc1db