11 key stops on a 17 mile scenic drive between Arizona and Utah with no RVs allowed. This is, unfortunately, the situation at the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. That said, there are guided tours we could have booked at the Visitor Center but given the cost (about $75 each as of May 2023) and the amount of time we had that day, we decided to just take in the views from the Visitor Center and along “Forrest Gump Highway“.
If any of these photos look familiar, you shouldn’t be surprised. Monument Valley has been featured in many films and commercials since the 1930s including “The Lone Ranger”, “Billy the Kid” (1941), several John Ford westerns including “Fort Apache” (1948) and “The Searchers” (1956), “Easy Rider” (1969), “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989), “Thelma and Louise” (1991), “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” (2016) and yes, Forrest Gump ended his cross-country run here.
These sandstone masterpieces spring up from the valley floor and stretch 400 to 1,000 feet high. Fragile pinnacles, miles of mesas, and plenty of buttes epitomize “the Old West”. The varied rock shapes, like clouds, are fun to name.
Authentic, Navajo-made gifts are for sale at the Visitor Center.
This was a beautiful spot that we wish we could have seen more of.
