Three spectacular prehistoric cliff dwellings, last occupied about 700 years
ago, lie within scenic canyons. The ancestral Puebloan people who once lived here
probably have descendants in present-day Hopi villages. Navajo families later settled
in the area and named the canyons and ruins. Of the three sites, Betatakin is the
most accessible; you can see it from a viewpoint near the visitor center or join
a ranger-led hike into the dwelling.
Keet Seel, a 16-mile
roundtrip hike to the northeast, is the largest and best preserved cliff dwelling
in Arizona. Inscription House, to the west, is the smallest of the three ruins and
is closed to the public.
You can reach the monument's
headquarters and visitor center by following US 160 northeast 52 miles from Tuba
City—or southwest 22 miles from Kayenta—then turning north nine miles
on AZ 564 at Black Mesa Junction. Tsegi Overlook, on the right just after you enter
the monument, provides a fine introduction to the canyon country here.
Visitor Center
The ancestral Puebloan people left many questions behind
when they abandoned this area. You can learn what is known about these people and
ponder the mysteries at the visitor center (HC 71, Box 3, Tonalea, AZ 86044-9704,
928/672-2700, www.nps.gov/nava, 8 a.m.–5
p.m. daily, possibly extended in summer; closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New
Year's Day). Exhibits of prehistoric pottery and other artifacts attempt to
piece together what life was like for the early peoples. An excellent 25-minute
video on the Hisatsinom ("people of long ago," the Hopi name for
ancestral Puebloan people) and a 20-minute Betatakin tour video are shown on request.
Rangers answer questions and sell books and maps. A bulletin board lists campfire
programs and ranger-led walks. Navajo often demonstrate their arts and crafts in
or near the visitor center. A gift shop offers Navajo work. You can peek into an
old-style Navajo forked-stick hogan and see a sweathouse and wagon behind the visitor
center. There's a picnic area across the parking area. Mosquitoes can be pesky
at times—campers and hikers should have some repellent handy.
The easy paved Sandal Trail begins behind the visitor center and winds through
a pinyon-juniper woodland to Betatakin Point Overlook, which has a good view of
the ruins across the canyon. The trail is one mile roundtrip and drops 160 feet
to the viewpoint. Signs along the way identify native plants and describe how Native
Americans used them.
Aspen Trail branches off to the
left 400 feet down Sandal Trail, then drops 300 feet with some steps into the head
of Betatakin Canyon, 0.8 mile roundtrip. The trail offers pretty scenery along the
way and a view of the quaking aspen, Douglas fir, water birch, and red-osier dogwood
trees on the canyon floor below; there's no ruin view or access from this trail.
Visiting Betatakin
Betatakin—Navajo for Ledge House—lies
tucked in a natural alcove that measures 452 feet high, 370 feet across, and 135
feet deep. It contains 135 rooms and one kiva. Inhabitants built and abandoned the
entire village within two generations, between A.D. 1260 and 1300.
You may hike here only with rangers, who lead daily four-hour tours in summer and
occasionally off-season. Groups are limited to 25 people, first come, first served.
Starting at the trailhead, one mile from the visitor center, the five-mile roundtrip
trail is primitive and drops 700 feet, then winds up a canyon to the cliff dwelling.
Rangers warn of rock-fall danger in the alcove, so some visitors prefer to view
the pueblo from outside. Thin air—the trailhead elevation is 7,300 feet—can
make the hike very tiring. People with heart, respiratory, or mobility problems
shouldn't attempt it.
Visiting Keet Seel
This isolated cliff dwelling is one of the best
preserved in the Southwest. Keet Seel—Navajo for Broken Pottery—has
160 rooms and four kivas. The ruins look as though they were abandoned just a few
years back, not seven long centuries ago. The site, 16 miles roundtrip by trail,
is open in summer. A permit is required, and there's a limit of 20 people per
day. Visitors should make reservations two months ahead, though last-minute spots
may be available. To pick up your permit, you must attend a scheduled trail orientation
the afternoon before (recommended so that you can get an early start the next day)
or in the morning. Remember that you're in daylight saving time.
The trail descends 1000 feet from Tsegi Point to the canyon bottom, travels downstream
a short distance, then heads upstream into Keet Seel Canyon with a 400-foot elevation
gain. You may have to do some wading. Carry water, as livestock pollute the streams.
Visitors can enter the site only with a ranger, who is stationed nearby. There's
a primitive campground (free, one-night limit) near Keet Seel; spring water, which
needs treating, may be available. Strong hikers can do the roundtrip in a day, though
spending a night here makes for an easier, more relaxing visit. Ask for the Keet
Seel Hiking Information sheet.
Sunset View Campground
Sites are located
near the visitor center in a pinyon-juniper woodland; you can stay year-round but
water is on only from about mid-May to mid-October. Canyon View Campground, one
mile away, offers views, tables, outhouses, and group reservation sites, but no
water or pavement; it closes in winter. There's nearly always room for campers;
no reservations taken except for groups. Campfire programs may run in summer. Expect
cold and likelihood of snow Nov.–mid-March.
The "Gateway to Monument Valley" has a population of 7,549 in a bleak,
windswept valley (elev. 5,660 feet). Its name is loosely derived from the Navajo
word Teehindeeh, meaning "boghole," as there were once shallow
lakes here. Kayenta makes a handy stop for travelers, with good motels, a basic
RV park, several restaurants, and shopping.
Drop by the Burger
King, on US 160 west of the highway junction, to see Navajo Code Talkers
exhibits. Next door, the Navajo Cultural Center has traditional forked-stick
and octagonal hogans, a sweathouse, and a shade house.
Shopping and Services
Navajo Arts & Crafts Enterprise (just east
of the highway junction, 928/328-8120) has a good selection. Gift shops in each
of the motels sell Native American arts and crafts. The post office is off
US 163 just north of the shopping center.
Sheer-walled mesas, buttes, and pinnacles stand majestically in this otherworldly
landscape. Changing colors and shifting shadows across the rock faces and rippled
sand dunes add to the feeling of enchantment. Agathla Peak and some lesser summits,
roots of ancient volcanoes, rise in the southern part of the valley; their dark
rock contrasts with the pale yellow sandstone monuments. The desert valley lies
at an elevation of 5,564 feet and receives an annual precipitation of only 8.5 inches.
In 1863–64, when Kit Carson was ravaging Canyon de Chelly and rounding up
Navajo, Chief Hoskinini led his people to the safety and freedom of Monument Valley.
Merrick Butte and Mitchell Mesa commemorate two miners who discovered rich silver
deposits on their first trip to the valley in 1880. When they returned, both men
reportedly met their deaths at the hands of Paiutes. Hollywood movies made the splendor
of Monument Valley known to the outside world. Stagecoach, filmed here by
John Ford in 1938, began a long series of movies, television shows, and commercials
shot in the valley that continues to this day; warriors from John Wayne to Susan
Sarandon have ridden across these sands.
Visitor Center
Perched on the rim of the heart of Monument Valley,
the visitor center (435/727-5872,
https://navajonationparks.org/tribal-parks/monument-valley/) provides an
information desk, exhibits, hotel, restaurant, gift shop, and booths where you can
sign up for tours; it's open 6 a.m.–8 p.m. daily in summer and 8 a.m.–5
p.m. daily the rest of the year; closed Thanksgiving Day afternoon and Christmas.
Visitors pay a $5/person fee (free ages nine and under) to enter the tribal park.
Staff can issue permits for hiking and camping in the Rainbow Bridge and San Juan
River areas. From Kayenta, head north 24 miles on US 163 to just past the Utah border,
then turn right 3.7 miles. Navajo sell crafts and food from little shops near the
highway turnoff. You can picnic at a viewpoint 0.4 mile north of the visitor center
or near the entrance to Mitten View Campground.
Monument Valley Drive
This 17-mile, self-guided scenic drive begins
at the visitor center and loops through the middle of the valley. Overlooks along
the way provide sweeping vistas. The dirt road is normally okay if you drive cautiously,
but don't attempt it with RVs over 27 feet or extremely low-clearance vehicles.
Avoid stopping and becoming stuck in the loose sand that sometimes blows across
the road. Allow 1.5 hours for the drive. No hiking or driving is permitted off the
signed route. Only the visitor center and campground have water, so you'll probably
want to bring some along. Entry to the drive closes half an hour before the visitor
center does, and you must be out before dark.
Wildcat Trail
You can get a good feel for Monument Valley on this 3.2-mile
loop around the West Mitten. It's the only hike in the park that you can do
without a guide. The trail—foot travel only—begins from the picnic area
0.4 mile north of the visitor center, then drops down from the rim. Cairns and a
few signs mark the way. It's open the same hours as Monument Valley Drive.
Valley Tours
Navajo guides at the visitor center offer tours year-round.
The shortest trips last 1.5 hours and cover places on the self-guided route. Longer
trips of 2.5 or 3.5 hours visit hogans, cliff dwellings, and petroglyphs in areas
beyond the self-guided drive. Horseback rides from stables near the visitor center
can easily be arranged for one and a half hours to all day; overnight trips are
available too. Hiking tours can last from a few hours to a day or more.
Reservations aren't needed on day tours. If you'd like to do an overnight
trip, it's best to call ahead and bring your own food and camping gear. Monument
Valley Tours (435/727-3313, http://monumentvalleytours.net/)
offers driving trips and photography tours including cookouts and overnights.
Homeland Tours (435/459-1711) can take you on a variety of backroad drives, trailrides, or hikes. Roland's
Navajoland Tours (928/697-3524) offers many backcountry drives, photography
tours, and hiking trips. Simpson's Trailhandler Tours (435/727-3362,
www.trailhandlertours.com) runs driving,
photography, and hiking tours, plus a hogan overnight cultural experience. Sacred
Monument Tours (435/727-3218, www.toursacred.com/)
leads driving, horseback, hiking, and photography tours.
Accommodations and Food
For location, The View Hotel (tel. 435/727-5555,
www.monumentvalleyview.com) in Monument
Valley Tribal Park is the top choice; each room has a private balcony where you
can take in the magnificent scenery. The hotel’s restaurant serves Navajo
and American cuisine. Monument Valley Trading Post features a large selection of
Navajo rugs among its Native American crafts and artwork. Sites at Mitten View
Campground near the visitor center have great views, though campers may have
to contend with winds in this exposed location. The cost is $10, with coin-operated
showers from early April to mid-October. No hookups are available, but there's
a fill and dump station. Off-season the rate drops to $5, and you can use restrooms
next to the visitor center. Primitive camping may also be possible at the Wildcat
Trailhead 0.4 mile north of the visitor center, though the camping fee is likely
to be the same. You'll also find accommodations nearby at Goulding's Lodge,
Kayenta in Arizona, and at Mexican Hat and Bluff in Utah.
Goulding's Lodge and Trading Post
In 1924, Harry Goulding and his
wife, Mike, opened a trading post at this scenic spot and ran it for more than 40
years. It's just north of the Arizona-Utah border and 1.5 miles west of the
US 163 Monument Valley turnoff. Their 1928 stone trading post is now the Goulding's
Museum, full of prehistoric and modern Native American artifacts, movie photos,
period rooms, and Goulding family memorabilia. It's open daily (on request in
winter) and donations are appreciated; a leaflet available for purchase provides
additional background on the exhibits. Nearby, a cabin built for John Wayne in
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon has exhibits from the movie. Also nearby, the multimedia
show Earth Spirit portrays the region.
Goulding's
Lodge (P.O. Box 360001, Monument Valley, UT 84536, 435/727-3231,
www.gouldings.com) provides large modern
rooms with balconies at $165 d June 1–Oct. 15, dropping to $67 d by midwinter.
Guests enjoy views, in-room movies, and an indoor pool. The Stagecoach Dining Room
(daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, $8–20) offers such American favorites
as steak, chicken, pork chops, fish, pasta, stir-fry dishes, sandwiches, and a salad
bar. Local specialties include fry bread and Navajo tacos.
The large gift shop sells high-quality Native American work plus souvenirs and books.
Nearby on the main road, you'll find a convenience store with a fast-food counter,
a gas station, and a laundry. Goulding's Grocery across the road is a good supermarket.
An airstrip also lies nearby.
Goulding's Monument Valley
Campground (435/727-3235 or 800/874-0902, March 15–Oct. 31, $16 tents,
$26 RVs w/hookups) offers a pretty canyon setting one mile west of the lodge turnoff.
Campers have an indoor pool, showers, laundry, convenience store/gift shop, tours,
and a shuttle service to the lodge. Just before the campground, you'll pass
a hospital and mission founded by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
Navajo guides narrate Monument Valley tours, which operate year-round at
$35 for 2.5 hours, $40 for 3.5 hours, $58 for 5.5 hours, and $70 full day with lunch;
children under 8 pay less. You can also experience Monument Valley on a full-moon
tour, $35; call for dates and times. Pickup is available at both the lodge and the
campground.
Oljato Trading Post
A sign near Goulding's Grocery points to the
way 11 miles northwest to this old-style trading post, established in 1921. Besides
the canned goods and household items, you can see Navajo arts and crafts plus some
historic exhibits.
An inlaid concrete slab marks the place where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona meet. This is the only spot in the United States where you can put your finger on four states at once. It's said that more than 2,000 people a day stop at the marker in the summer. Average stay? Seven to 10 minutes. On the other hand, five national parks and 18 national monuments lie within a 150-mile radius of this point. Navajo, and occasionally Ute and Pueblo, set up craft and refreshment booths in summer. Navajo Parks and Recreation collects a small fee during the tourist season.