It’s the stuff movies are made of. Western movies, anyway. An army of red mesas rise from the dusty earth like a lesson in Arizona’s geology. This is erosion in its finest form.
We drove to Monument Valley from Moab where we had spent a few days exploring Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. The drive takes about 3 hours in a car, or slightly longer in an RV.
There’s not much to see between Moab and Monument Valley — with the exception of some great scenery as we left Moab and as we approached Monument Valley. We passed through 3 towns: Monticello, Blanding and Bluff. Each seemed to have accommodations, RV parks, local restaurants, and even a couple of dinosaur museums. But there did not seem to be much else there worth stopping to see. If you’re hungry, there are of course options, but we didn’t see anything that compelled us to stop. Mexican Hat (the town) was smaller still, but had the coolest looking diners and grills to eat at. I think being this remote, as a very small town, you’re going to get a genuine country feed wherever you eat.
Even though there wasn’t really any sights we found worth stopping at, the drive itself out of Moab was spectacular. The red rock of the Moab area soon yielded to desert plains before returning in full splendour a couple of hours later. The drive into Monument Valley, about the last 45 minutes from the north, was equally spectacular. In an instant, over a crest, the land became a sea of red.
“Kynie! You’ve got to come see this!”
But I was the only one awake.
Rolling hills spotted with green puffs surrounded our van. Then the enormous buttes appeared. The Valley of the Gods, which is often (and rightly) suggested as a side trip to Monument Valley, looked spectacular from the outside. There is a scenic drive you can take and if we weren’t prohibited from driving off pavement I’d say we’d have taken it.
Mexican Hat (the stone monument) was a small detour and would have been worth 10 minutes. But again, gravel. We saw the monument from the road though, as it juts pointedly upward like a hatted spire above the flat earth surrounding it. Worth a photo unless you’re in a real hurry.
As we got closer to Monument Valley we stopped at several scenic viewing spots. One such stop was where Forrest Gump stops running at the end of the movie. By the side of the road, halfway up a hill, you have an incredible view down towards the valley, the impossibly straight road is laid out in front of you, leading you to the Monument Valley mesas rising in the distance. We didn’t stop here for any Hollywood sentiments, but it does happen to be a pretty great view.
You might think that the locals might try and cash in on the novelty of the location, and there are a few small stores selling (I’m assuming, I didn’t cross the road to check) Indian jewellery, but this was it and nothing except a few people taking photos on the road detracted from the splendour of this view. It was the perfect place for lunch.
As we continued our approach, the road twisted between gargantuan mesas and I was starting to feel like this was the scenic drive. I mean, it certainly was scenic and we certainly were driving. But the official scenic drive is much bumpier, I believe.
Visiting Monument Valley
Upon arriving in Monument Valley we headed straight to the visitor centre as I understood that this is where all the action happens. Monument Valley is run by the Navajo Nation so, inside the Park, nothing can be done without their approval. As such there are really only 2 places to stay: The View Hotel, which is a hotel that looks out over the valley and also has a primitive RV park and campsite. The other is Goulding’s Lodge, with much the same amenities without the view. Goulding’s is inside Navajo Nation but not inside the Monument Valley Park.
Can you do the Monument Valley Scenic Drive in an RV?
The View Hotel and Restaurant are actually attached to the visitor centre, which is also the launch point for the 17 mile scenic drive through the Valley and would, presumably, give you a nice close-up view of all the major mesas and buttes. I say ‘presumably’ because we couldn’t actually do it. The entire scenic drive is unpaved through the sandy desert and RV are prohibited from driving on it — both by the rental company the Navajo Nation. If we weren’t in an RV we definitely would have done this, but to be honest, I felt like simply being able to see everything in its entirety is what I came to do. We got our photos, browsed the gift shop and read the exhibits in the visitor centre and felt satisfied with this as Monument Valley had been on my “to do” List for a long time.
It cost $20 to enter Monument Valley and you pay this as you approach the Visitor Centre. This gives you access to the visitor centre, the hotel, and the scenic drive.
Where to stay in your RV in Monument Valley
We stayed nearby at the KOA Journey RV Park, which is just outside of the official Monument Valley tourist zone and so somewhat removed from the hubbub of the visitor centre. The View Hotel also has a campground and while the view of the Valley is almost certainly better, it was a similar price to the KOA and the KOA seemed to have better inclusions (hookups, etc).
And even though the KOA is outside of the park, it is literally just around the corner, so we could see all the same mesas we saw earlier from The View, just from a wide angle. Our RV spot was on the road side of the campground which was perfect because we could see them all from our picnic table by the side of our van.
We got back to the campground around mid-afternoon and had quite a relaxing afternoon. Brooklyn played on the playground, the adults had a very civilised happy hour watching him play, we all showered, (incredibly, including the kids), then had dinner at a very leisurely pace.
As the sun set, the moon rose over the Sentinel Mesa and I felt compelled to get out my tripod and take some sunset shots. The colours we just perfect with the blue and purple gradient in the sky a lovely backdrop for the red mesas featuring Big Indian, Stagecoach, Brighams Tomb.
The kids were asleep by the time I was done (about 30 minutes later) and the adults chatted by the fire, continuing to roast marshmallows like little kids and making s’mores with Oreo Thins, which I highly recommend.
Is Monument Valley in an RV worth doing?
I read many questions on forums prior to our trip on whether visiting Monument Valley in an RV is still worthwhile. Let me tell you, visiting Monument Valley in an RV is not a waste of time. True, you cannot drive through the Valley in your RV, but Monument Valley is special because of the wide angle view. To see it all together, like the cutaway shots from a western movie.
Further — and this is important — if you are desperate to do the drive you can always do a tour. There are a couple of booths in the parking lot of the visitor centre selling tours or you can always buy them on a site like Viator.
Monument Valley is an absolutely incredible piece of real estate and no matter your mode of transportation, if you’re nearby in Utah or Arizona you simply must stop.
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