Photo: Domenico Convertini · CC BY-SA 2.0
Monument Valley guide: the Mittens, the 17-mile Valley Drive, Navajo-guided tours, John Ford’s Point, Forrest Gump Point on US-163 and sunrise tips.
On the border of Utah and Arizona, red sandstone buttes and mesas rise up to 300 meters above a flat desert floor. The scene has defined the American West since director John Ford filmed Stagecoach here in 1939, and it has appeared in countless westerns, commercials and road-trip films since.
The valley is a Navajo Tribal Park, not a national park. From the visitor center, the 27-kilometer Valley Drive, a rough dirt loop, passes the famous East and West Mittens, Merrick Butte and John Ford’s Point. Navajo guides offer jeep and horseback tours into areas closed to private vehicles, along with stories and traditions that bring the landscape to life.
Stay overnight to see the buttes at sunrise, when the sun climbs from behind the Mittens and paints the desert gold. North of the valley, on US Highway 163, is Forrest Gump Point, where the road runs straight toward the monuments.
Don’t miss
- 1Sunrise behind the East and West Mittens
- 2A Navajo-guided tour of the backcountry
- 3John Ford’s Point
- 4The famous view from Forrest Gump Point on US-163
Insider tips
- The Valley Drive is unpaved; many rental contracts forbid dirt roads, so consider a guided tour.
- At Forrest Gump Point, photograph early in the morning and watch for traffic on the highway.
- Drones are not allowed without a permit from the Navajo Nation.
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