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Trace the Trail of the Ancients in Monument Valley
Published by Megan Eaves, Writer
Country: United States 
The Experience
There is perhaps a no more unique, beautiful and awe-inspiring place to visit in the continental United States than the southwestern desert. Monument Valley stands as, well, a monument to our collective imaginings about the American west - it's played setting to dozens of old western films and, as kids, we watched the Coyote topple over the Valley's teetering clay ledges in search of his ultimate foe, the Roadrunner.
Monument Valley was created through thousands of years of erosion, as rivers and lakes slowly receeded, clay and stone deposits were formed, canyons and gullies were carved, and the wind had its way with the fickle sandstone. What is left are distinct rock formations, such as tabletop mesas, lone buttes and natural rock bridges that feature in martian-like colors of red, purple, orange, tan, brown and yellow clay.
The Trail of the Ancients is a federally designated scenic byway that runs right through the heart of Monument Valley in southeastern Utah. It is a small two-lane highway, and generally, it is free of traffic except for the odd traveler you pass going the other direction. If you are looking for scenery - stark, fantastic, color-driven scenery - you must absolutely pack up the car and head straight to Monument Valley. It is a place to hike, to wander, to photograph, to write, to paint, or simply gaze in solitude at. It is a place of dreams, with its tall red buttes that climb like primitive skyscrapers out of the mesas that stretch endlessly in every direction. A place where you feel that the quiet might be shattered at any moment by the sounds of hooting indians and hollering cowboys.
Monument Valley is vast. The best way to explore it is to base out of one of the small towns in the area such as Blanding, Bluff or Mexican Hat, and take driving day trips to the various parks. A good portion of Monument Valley is encompassed by the Navajo Reservation, so it is a fantastic place to learn about America's largest native nation. From the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, you can get visitor information about local hikes and Navajo culture, or hire a native guide to take you on a desert wilderness trek. This is perhaps the best way to get a true feel for the land and its history.
Monument Valley was created through thousands of years of erosion, as rivers and lakes slowly receeded, clay and stone deposits were formed, canyons and gullies were carved, and the wind had its way with the fickle sandstone. What is left are distinct rock formations, such as tabletop mesas, lone buttes and natural rock bridges that feature in martian-like colors of red, purple, orange, tan, brown and yellow clay.
The Trail of the Ancients is a federally designated scenic byway that runs right through the heart of Monument Valley in southeastern Utah. It is a small two-lane highway, and generally, it is free of traffic except for the odd traveler you pass going the other direction. If you are looking for scenery - stark, fantastic, color-driven scenery - you must absolutely pack up the car and head straight to Monument Valley. It is a place to hike, to wander, to photograph, to write, to paint, or simply gaze in solitude at. It is a place of dreams, with its tall red buttes that climb like primitive skyscrapers out of the mesas that stretch endlessly in every direction. A place where you feel that the quiet might be shattered at any moment by the sounds of hooting indians and hollering cowboys.
Monument Valley is vast. The best way to explore it is to base out of one of the small towns in the area such as Blanding, Bluff or Mexican Hat, and take driving day trips to the various parks. A good portion of Monument Valley is encompassed by the Navajo Reservation, so it is a fantastic place to learn about America's largest native nation. From the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, you can get visitor information about local hikes and Navajo culture, or hire a native guide to take you on a desert wilderness trek. This is perhaps the best way to get a true feel for the land and its history.
When to Go to Monument Valley
There is no time like the present to visit Monument Valley, especially the Trail of the Ancients Byway, which is open year-round. Utah's arid climate makes it accessible in Winter, though you might catch the odd snowstorm leaving a white layer of fluff across the desert. Summer is also a do-able time, though the extremely hot temperatures make visitors more susceptible to heat stroke, dehydration and sunburn. Be sure to carry plenty of water, use generous amounts of sunscreen and cover up when possible.
Odds n' Ends
Monument Valley can be experienced throughout southeastern Utah. Recommended routes include highways 163, 191 and 291, which provide looping roads through the entire area.
The Navajo Tribal Park is located on Highway 163 along the Utah/Arizona border.
Other scenic spots in the area include Four Corners National Monument, Goosenecks State Park which overlooks the San Juan River canyon, and Hovenweep National Monument, known for its peculiar square, circular and D-shaped rock formations.
The Navajo Tribal Park is located on Highway 163 along the Utah/Arizona border.
Other scenic spots in the area include Four Corners National Monument, Goosenecks State Park which overlooks the San Juan River canyon, and Hovenweep National Monument, known for its peculiar square, circular and D-shaped rock formations.
Want a Guide?
- Kéyah Hózhóní, Monument Valley Tours
- Join us for an experience that will stay with you for years to come: a true insider's tour, a guided journey through a mythical southwestern landscape, and the culture and story of its people.
- Monument Valley - Totem Pole Tours
- Monument Valley Tours is a Navajo-owned company in Monument Valley. Our tour guides will give you first hand experiences of their culture and customs of their everyday lives. We will take you to places where few people have ventured and let you enjoy nature's marvelous sandstone creations. It will be a spiritual experience for some, and for others it will simply be indescribable.
Places to Eat
- Stagecoach Dining Room
- Perched atop of a red rock ledge, breakfast, lunch or dinner is just steps away. Every table has a view. Meals are served by friendly Native Americans who are happy to introduce you to the Navajo Taco. Or feast on American favorites while soaking up the panorama.
- Cottonwood Steakhouse
- After a day of hiking, rafting or sightseeing, relax, unwind and enjoy dinner in a casual, Old West atmosphere at the Cottonwood Steakhouse. Dine inside or in the outside courtyard under the shade of our beautiful cottonwood tree.
- Monument Valley Restaurant listings
- List of restaurants in each of the towns nearby Monument Valley.
Recommended Places to Stay
- Gouldings Lodge
- Deep in the heart of the American Southwest, Goulding's Lodge offers lodging with unprecedented amenities, along with providing unique expeditions enabling the guest to search out the mystery and wonder that is the Navajoland.
- The View Hotel
- The VIEW Hotel - the only hotel located inside Monument Valley adjacent to the Monument Valley Tribal Park Visitors Center.
- Desert Rose Inn
- Located at the west entrance to historic Bluff, Utah, the Desert Rose Inn architecture is an all wood style building with massive timbers which excite the senses with their intimate charm. Set against irridescent sunsets and bold blue skies, you'll exprerience a spectacle rarely found.
- Calf Canyon Inn
- Located on the Bluff City Historic Loop, Calf Canyon Inn is a new pioneer-style home constructed over the foundation of the 1880's Hunt House, of which only one sandstone block room remains.
- The Four Corners Inn
- The FOUR CORNERS INN is waiting to have you as its lodging guest while visiting fabulous Southeastern Utah. The FOUR CORNERS INN is conveniently located in Blanding UT.
Additional Places to Stay Nearby
Search over 900,000 global hotel deals from over 30 merchants. Book via Expedia, Travelocity, Hotels.com, Booking.com, Priceline and the websites of popular hotel chains.
This hotel comprises a main building as well as 2 annexe blocks and features a total of 62 rooms. Facilities include a foyer with a ... 9 miles away
$156 USD+
It offers panoramic views of the well-known rock formations the Mittens, on the Arizona side of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. It is been designed ... 12 miles away
$140 USD+
+ 6 others. Show all.
More Experiences Nearby
- A Relaxing Float Down the San Juan River
- Of all the enchanting things that I hold dear about the American Southwest, flat water rafting is undoubtedly one of my favorites. A week of clear blue skies, warm muddy waters, stark canyon scenery and non-stop tanning is pretty much heaven. There are a lot of rivers to raft in the Four Corners area, especially Utah and Colorado, but the best one has got to be the length of the San Juan River that flows through the canyon lands of southern Utah. Here, the water mellows out from its white-tipped counterparts, higher up in the mountains of Colorado. The San ...37 miles away.
Carpe Diem! Book to do this experience now!
Experience the wondrous scenery of Monument Valley Tribal Park. The towering pinnacles and buttes of the area have been the setting for countless films including ...
Starting from $134.99 per person.
Starting from $134.99 per person.
Books and DVDs
- A Traveler's Guide to Monument Valley
- by Stewart Aitchison Monument Valley is home to enchanting rock formations that tower 400 to 1,000 feet above the valley floor. Read about the people who have called the area home, from the Anasazi to the Navajos. Learn how this geological wonder was formed, and examine the plants that grow and the wildlife that roam the vast and arid land. Allow yourself to be lured into exploring one of the “seven wonders of Navajo land.”
- Nature Wonders MONUMENT VALLEY U.S.A.
- Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park and The Navajo Reservation
Elsewhere on the Web
- Monument Valley Panorama - Panoramas.dk
- 360 degree photo of Monument Valley.
- Monument Valley, Utah/Arizona
- Monument Valley provides perhaps the most enduring and definitive images of the American West. The isolated red mesas and buttes surrounded by empty, sandy desert have been filmed and photographed countless times over the years for movies, adverts and holiday brochures.
- Trail of the Ancients Scenic Byway
- An Ancient Trail to Modern-Day Discovery. This federally designated National Scenic Byway circles through the ancient Puebloan (Anasazi) Country of southeastern Utah, providing opportunity to view archaeological, cultural and historic sites, as well as Natural Bridges National Monument.
- Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
- Welcome to the Navajo Nation's Monument Valley Park. You are experiencing one of the most majestic - and most photographed - points on earth.
Media References
- Monument Valley: Endless Earth, Infinite Sky - NYTImes.com (newspaper)
- WE know it from the movies as John Ford's favorite stage. We know it from Willa Cather's description — "Elsewhere the sky is the roof of the world, but here the earth was the floor of the sky"— defying the notion that it cannot be contained in words.
- Introduction to Monument Valley - NYTimes.com (newspaper)
- In its role as sculptor, nature has, in the north central part of the Navajo Reservation, created a garden of monoliths and spires unequaled anywhere on earth.
- Hit the roads - TheAustralian.news.com (newspaper)
- SINCE Henry Ford began churning out his Model Ts in 1908, the US has been conducting a long and passionate love affair with the automobile. It comes with the territory. All that space just makes a fellow want to move, and cars are the way to go. Welcome to the open road.
Travel Insurance. Simple & Flexible.
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