Monument Valley, Utah Holidays

Monument Valley Holidays

The spectacular scenery of Monument Valley is captivating year round. Sandstone formations with fanciful names like Mittens, Elephant Butte, Totem Pole, and North Window reveal their greatest beauty at sunrise and sunset and can easily be viewed from the native surface road through the Tribal Park.

Available facilities include a visitor centre, campground, and restaurant in addition to guided tours. Gouldings Lodge provides lodging, dining, tours with Navajo guides, a museum, a gift shop full of hand-crafted Native American items, a grocery, and a campground.

The Gouldings operated a trading post from the 1920s through the 1960s, serving the local population with groceries and supplies. Harry Goulding made the initial contact with the film industry that continues today. Monument Valley has been the location for over sixteen major motion pictures and scores of commercials.

Day tours include Valley of the Gods, Goosenecks State Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Navajo, Natural Bridges and Hovenweep National Monuments. Full services.

Monument Valley's isolated rock formations are eroded remains of their Rocky Mountain ancestors, formed by sandstone deposits and geologic uplift and then shaped by wind and water. Three main layers of Organ Rock shale, de Chelly sandstone, and Moenkopi shale are visible in many of the buttes. The largest of the freestanding formations towers 1,000 feet above the valley floor. Part of the Colorado Plateau, Monument Valley sits 5,564 feet above sea level and encompasses 91,696 acres.

A 17-mile dirt road through Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park is the best way to see the famous formations. The scenic drive takes two to four hours and has eleven designated stops: the East and West Mitten Buttes and Merrick Butte, Three Sisters, John Ford’s Point, Camel Butte, the Hub, Totem Pole, Yei B Chai, Sand Spring, Artist's Point, North Window, and the Thumb. Rain God Mesa marks the geological heart of the park and holds special significance for Navajo medicine men.

Many of the formations in the park have been named by the Navajo for spiritual references, or by early settlers of the area.

Monument Valley Tourist Attractions – 

• Monument Valley

• Goulding’s Lodge

• West and East Mitten Buttes

• Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

• Monument Valley Tours