A visit to Monument Valley is an absolute must if you are visiting the Western United States. It was certainly a big highlight for us! Of course it also featured in our 15 Places to visit around the West Coast of the USA blog post. The desert like landscape and its many impressive sandstone rock formations are truly unique! Unlike most other National Parks we visited though, there are few useful things to know before you go. Although we didn’t do any research upfront, we had a fantastic time. But we also ran into some unexpected issues, we’d like you to avoid.
HERE ARE OUR TOP TIPS TO MAKE SURE YOU DON’T RUN INTO ANY SURPRISES !!
It’s a little out of the way
Monument Valley isn’t really close to any airports, major cities or other National Parks. The nearest airport is Flagstaff (176 miles). It’s a small airport though and doesn’t have great connections. And you are unlikely to find yourself nearby from visiting other National Parks. No matter where you are coming from, you’ll need to factor in a little extra time. BUT of course it’s totally worth it and shouldn’t be missed. Just be aware and plan ahead !!
You WON’T be able to enter Monument Valley with your U.S. National Park Pass
You probably already know that you can purchase an annual pass which allows you to visit hundreds of National Parks in the US. Sure, that’s probably more than you would, or perhaps even could, visit during your stay. But if you are planning on visiting more than 4 National Parks, it will already pay off to buy an annual pass instead of paying the individual entrance fee at each site. It’s even valid for an entire vehicle for up to 4 adults. That’s awesome value – less so if calculated per motorbike of course but we were still pretty pleased with that deal! However, there are some exceptions and Monument Valley is one of them!
Monument Valley is a tribal park fully owned and operated by the Navajo Nation – the largest American Indian tribe.
Fiona and I didn’t know this upfront but were more than happy to pay the 20 USD entrance fee. It’s very reasonable and also a lot less than most other National Park charges!
You can ONLY drive into Monument Valley with a 4×4
So if you arrive in a regular car you will only be able to park up at the visitor centre. Sure, it’s got a super nice view of the valley (picture above) but you will most likely want to ride through it. Fiona and I assumed this wouldn’t be a problem on our Adventure Motorbike. After all, the whole point of owning one, is to take it off-road. And our bike had all the customisation one could want for off-road adventure too. When we realised we couldn’t drive in, we were genuinely gutted. And the worst part was yet to come!
Guided tours are VERY EXPENSIVE
When we found out that we couldn’t drive ourselves, we looked at taking a tour of course. I’m really not a fan of guided tours in general. But on this occasion I felt like I could look past it as all the guides were Native Americans. I was super keen to learn about their culture and learn about Tse’Bii’Ndzisgaii (tribal name for Monument Valley) from them. But the enthusiasm quickly faded when we realised that tours here cost around 80 USD. To tell the truth, that was out of our budget and there were no alternatives for cheaper / shorter tour options.
Fiona and I felt really disappointed when we decided to turn around. After all, we only checked out the visitor centre and the view from the car park. We expected more from our visit and so did our BMW F800 GS. We didn’t get why a 4×4 could self-drive into the valley but we couldn’t. But just as we were about to head back we got chatting to one of the guys working there. Lucky, he felt a little sorry for us and pointed out the dirt road leading into the valley. Happy ending?
You need to be comfortable riding through sand if you want to ride through Monument Valley
Okay, so this was my first time riding on sand! The first part of riding into the valley was super fun. A little windy dirt road, but not too steep with stunning views. Soon we reached the iconic Mitton and Merick Buttes, our first stop. You can see them from the visitor centre already. But standing in front of them and looking at them from within the valley still felt pretty impressive. It is that classic postcard view of Monument Valley that we were dying to see with our own eyes!
From here on it quickly started getting sandier though. I have to admit that I was soon out of my comfort zone. In the beginning I walked the bike through some patches with deeper sand. I was way too scared to just throttle on and as a result, we had to turn around. Although we didn’t complete the whole Valley Drive, we were still super happy though. I mean, we would have nearly missed out on it altogether. I still think that doing half of it by ourselves was more fun than doing it all as part of a tour!
If it rains, roads can become very muddy and challenging in Monument Valley
Okay so logically with rain the dirt roads, especially the sandy parts, will get pretty muddy. Tours generally take place even if it rains. However, if the road conditions are very bad, they could also be cancelled altogether. I was struggling with the sand in super good weather conditions already. I reckon I’d be fine if I was riding through it again now. After all, we did quite a bit of sand riding since then. But mud? Errr … I would struggle again for sure!
You can take a self-guided hike in Monument Valley
Generally speaking, you are not allowed to freely walk around the valley as you please. You are also required to stay on designated roads at all times! BUT there is one super nice trail, about 3.2 miles long that you can hike without a guide. The Wildcat Trail leads to the first stop of the Valley Drive. It does actually offer you some of the most iconic and beautiful scenery.
So if you LOVE HIKING or if you DON’T HAVE a 4×4 and DON’T want to fork out 80 USD for a guided tour, this is a great option!
Summary
So here we are. These are the main things to keep in mind when planning to visit Monument Valley. I’m still unsure if motorcycles are banned completely these days or if there is just a push towards taking expensive tours. I do know many riders did it before us! But I haven’t heard about anyone riding through it more recently. Hopefully this information was helpful to a few of you out there. We hope other ADV Riders can still ride their bikes through the valley! And hopefully a little more skillfully than I could 😉
If you have any questions, comments or advice we left out then please let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you !!
