Monument Valley is one of those iconic places that even non-outdoorsy people know about and want to go to. We alllll love ourselves a little bit of Forest Gump, and even without that movie these rock formations are instantly recognizable.

We drove just under two hours from Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Chinle, AZ to the Monument Valley Visitor Center.

After driving for a while through Navajo desert land, we pulled up to the entrance station – like a toll booth – where we paid the $8 per person entrance fee, got our map, and the attendant gave us brief intro to the layout of the area.

We stopped at the visitor center to get out mementos and scope out the food options. It’s here that has the most beautiful overview of Monument Valley. You can view the area from a million angles: inside, outside, from the parking lot, and from inside the gift shop and every other building.

Look how tiny those cars are in comparison… crazy.

The main thing to do here is drive the 17 mile scenic dirt road that winds around the different rock formations. This road is one of the main reasons we made sure to rent a 4×4 vehicle; I’d read so many stories of the varying road conditions here and had no idea what to expect.

There are signs that say 4×4 is required, but I really don’t think anyone listened to that. The road was not THAT bad if you just pay attention and dodge random pot holes. It’s a packed down gravel/dirt/mud road that is one-way only for the majority of it, except the initial descent into the valley.

There are a ton of opportunities to pull off and view the area from different angles. There are no trails or areas where you’re allowed to hike or walk anywhere – all in order to protect the area. The first pull off area is for viewing the East and West Mittens.

Then to the Three Sisters…

We took about two hours to mosey along the road and take a bazillion pictures.

I could’ve spent forever just looking out into the desert abyss. The scale is so breathtaking.

We entered from the southern entrance, then had the famous Forest Gump view in our rear view as we exited from the northern entrance and out into the next phase of our journey… our third visit to Utah!

Learn more about Monument Valley:
https://navajonationparks.org/navajo-tribal-parks/monument-valley/