Monument Valley?

[marthachick]

Who here has been to Monument Valley? It’s on our bucket list and I’m starting to research the area. If you have been, where did you fly into and where did you stay? Looking for southern Utah also. Thanks!

 

[TeamRiley]

There is no easy way to get to Monument Valley. There are big airports - Salt Lake, Pheonix, Vegas - but they are all 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours away by car. The smaller airports - Flagstaff (3 hrs by car) or Page (2 hours by car) - are much closer but can be pricey.

As for staying someplace. Depending on where you are coming from, I would stay in either Blanding UT (90 minutes by car) or Page AZ. If you are traveling a long distance, I would fly into Page and also stay there. It seems like a tiny blip on the map, but the Lake Powell business has made Page a nice place to stay.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Southern Utah is very accessible. Fly into Las Vegas, easy 2.5 hour drive to Springdale. Save yourself some money though; there is nothing open in Springdale after dark except the really expensive restaurants. We found ourselves driving to Hurricane almost every night. You might as well stay there - rooms are considerably less, as is anywhere to eat. I highly recommend the Dairy Queen, and no, I am not kidding. It's family owned and run and easily the best service we had while we were there.
Bryce is another 2 hour drive to the east and it's gorgeous. I will say though, not much to see if you do not intend on doing any hiking. There is a road that runs the length of the rim. There are some gorgeous views from there but the views on the hikes down into the canyon (and back) are at another level. There are some hotels near the park entrance but other than the restaurants in those hotels there is really nothing else there.
You can get to the north rim of the Grand Canyon from UT but it's a 4.5 hour drive from Zion and I would not recommend seeing the Grand Canyon from that side. It's much easier to fly into Phoenix and see it from the south side, plus there are a lot more hotels etc on that side.

 

[TeamRiley]

Lumpy1106, You are talking about Zions. Monument Valley is a much different trip.

 

[China Expat]

We stayed at historic Goulding' s Lodge while in Monument Valley. It is on a hill overlooking the valley. You only ned one day to drive all through the monument.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Lumpy1106, You are talking about Zions. Monument Valley is a much different trip.

Zion is Southern Utah. Monument Valley - keep going. Yes, it is a bit of a trek. If it were me I'd buy the National Park pass, fly into Vegas, then do a one-way trip, flying back out of an airport in New Mexico, hitting as many of the parks as time allowed along the way. OTOH, you might enjoy it more if you limited the trip. That's a lot of driving.
Zion - I would not visit during a busy time anymore. Crowds there can be more than enjoyable unfortunately. We visited a year ago during a snowstorm. That was amazing, crowds were nill, but the more dangerous trails do close when it gets icy. I visited Bryce years ago during a snowstorm during spring break. Incredible - but it did get muddy when things started to thaw out.

 

[marthachick]

Thanks for replies. We have been to Bryce and Grand Canyon North Rim. We missed Zion as we were on a tight schedule. We are thinking of flying into Vegas or Phoenix. There is a lot we haven’t seen in the area. I’ve figured rough mileage to Monument Valley and I know it’s out there. Just trying to get some ideas to know which way to plan.

We won’t do a lot of hiking due to limited mobility but short easy walks are good. Also, we won’t come during winter.

 

[TeamRiley]

Remember, Monument Valley is not a National Park. Buying a Park pass will not do you any good. It is owned by the Navaho Nation so you will have to pay entry fees regardless of any other passes you hold.

If you are flying to Vegas, you should definitely drive up through Zions. You have to drive right past it to get to Monument Valley from Vegas.

In all honesty, unless you are hiking, Monument Valley is a day trip - but worth seeing.

If you haven't been there, I would consider Zions, Canyonlands, and Arches National Parks to be superior to Monument Valley. Capitol Reef National Park is also in the running. All are amazing.

 

[marthachick]

TeamRiley - Thanks for the info. We have been to Arches but would consider going again. We are in very early stages of planning.

 

[bcla]

Monument Valley is a tribal park on the Navajo Reservation. I can't think of many who would be going there without making it part of a bigger trip. They're not open to visitors 24/7 and charge per visitor.

https://navajonationparks.org/entry-fee/monument-valley-navajo-tribal-park/

They do have an onsite hotel though.

https://navajonationparks.org/the-view-hotel/

There are no major airports that close. Most would fly into one of the major cities (Las Vegas, Phoenix, or Salt Lake City) and drive there. But really I'd think the Moab area (Arches and Canyonlands) is also worth a visit.

 

[Jason2015]

Who here has been to Monument Valley? It’s on our bucket list and I’m starting to research the area. If you have been, where did you fly into and where did you stay? Looking for southern Utah also. Thanks!

Monument Valley is great. Used to live in Durango, CO and would head to Southern UT and Northern AZ a bunch. If I were to do this trip now I'd fly into Vegas and get a one way rental. Hit Zion and then swing east though Kanab and to Monument Valley. From there I'd either head to Moab for Arches and Canyonlands or to Durango for Mesa Verde and the San Juans. Id I went to Moab I'd continue to Salt Lake and leave from there or I'd fly our of Durango (can be pricy.) Area could be the best in the country.

 

[Simba's Mom]

,We went to Monument Valley as part of our "grand tour of southern Utah and northern Arizona" (also went to Grand Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, and Our, Colorado. We stayed one night at the view, and loved it. Before the trip, the stop in Monument Valley was only because my DH wanted to see it, but once there, I think I was as big a fan as he was. Highly recommend staying on site if you can.

 

[plumsiren]

We stayed at The View Hotel. As someone mentioned, it's the only hotel inside the park. This was one of my dream places to stay - we did a big trip around the Southwest, and I basically tweaked our schedule so we could stay here and be able to book the room I wanted. I 100% recommend it.

This is the view from our room's balcony (click cos panoramas are cool )

 

[Simba's Mom]

Thanks for reminding me to look for a photo from our balcony. We had originally planned to eat in the hotel's dining room, but after seeing the view we had from our balcony, DH just ran to the grab-and-go in the lobby, and got pre-made sandwiches and drinks, and we ate on our balcony. It was the best!

 

[plumsiren]

Thanks for reminding me to look for a photo from our balcony. We had originally planned to eat in the hotel's dining room, but after seeing the view we had from our balcony, DH just ran to the grab-and-go in the lobby, and got pre-made sandwiches and drinks, and we ate on our balcony. It was the best!

We were so tired from all the driving we had done, we were determined to just eat at the restaurant, which turned out to be a disaster: we were told the wait would be something like 40 minutes, but it ended up more like an hour and a half. I was livid. (Not that the wait was that long, they can't help that, but that they couldn't give us a reasonably correct estimate.) But the very nice waitress accommodated my cranky butt's request for a grilled cheese off the kids menu, and I also got the delicious Navajo frybread, which I shared with the people at the neighboring table. In retrospect we absolutely should have done what you did!

But for that view of the stars that night (I've lived my whole life 10 miles outside NYC. I never even had a concept of how many stars were in the sky) I wouldn't change anything.

 

[plumsiren]

If anyone else is planning a trip to this area, we flew into Phoenix and did Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin in Scottsdale, AZ; the Grand Canyon; Monument Valley; Mesa Verde in Colorado; down into NM and onto Route 66 to the Petrified Forest; Winslow AZ (cannot rec La Posada more highly!); Sunset Crater/Wupatki Ruins; and Sedona, 1500 miles in all. If anyone wants info/recommendations/photos!

Since this is Disboards, I have to say I'm so glad I only watched Cars for the first time after this trip; I was able to appreciate it on a much deeper level, having seen the real stuff, like the Wigwam Motel (the real Cozy Cone).

 

[Runnsally]

The cabins that are part of the View Hotel have amazing views. Overall, The View is much better than Gouldings in my opinion primarily due to location. We had a private tour of the Valley which lasted about 3 hours - incredible - multiple tour operators do this. Easy to research online.

 

[bennifer]

I'm planning a road trip for this summer and I kept going back and forth about taking the time to get to monument valley, but after seeing these pics and reading the comments, I guess I have to go!

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Hi.

I am aware this is an older thread but it is exactly information I am looking for.

We are flying into SLC have 2 weeks planned to Capital Reef , Moab (Arches, Canyonlands, Dead Horse Point), Monument Valley (staying at The View), Page (Antelope Canyon), and the north rim of the Grand Canyon before flying home from SLC.

We have hotels, etc, booked. The only thing left is to book a tour at Monument Valley. So my question is, Can you recommend a tour to use for Monument Valley.

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[Runnsally]

Hi.

I am aware this is an older thread but it is exactly information I am looking for.

We are flying into SLC have 2 weeks planned to Capital Reef , Moab (Arches, Canyonlands, Dead Horse Point), Monument Valley (staying at The View), Page (Antelope Canyon), and the north rim of the Grand Canyon before flying home from SLC.

We have hotels, etc, booked. The only thing left is to book a tour at Monument Valley. So my question is, Can you recommend a tour to use for Monument Valley.

Thanks for any help you can give.

We did a private tour (2 adults, 2 kids) with Dineh Bekeyah Tours and they were awesome. Great choice with The View.