Monument Valley – Part of the Navajo Reservation in Utah and Arizona

The Monument Valley is a three-hour-drive from the Grand Canyon. It is located northeast, right at the Arizona state border in middle of the Navajo reservation. There is only one hotel in the valley: the View Hotel. Another option to spend the night is in Kajeta, a little village 20 minutes from Monument Valley. Kajenta does not offer much; it’s in the middle of nowhere. Don’t expect more than a place to stay for one night. Monument Valley can be combined with a ride to the Grand Canyon Nationalpark or the Arches Nationalpark in Utah. Both parks are about 3 hours from Monument Valley (Grand Canyon Southwest, Arches North).

We drove from Grand Canyon to Monument Valley after sunset when it was too dark to stay in Grand Canyon and reached Kayenta in the evening. He had a room in Kayenta for one night and went to Monument Valley the following morning to see the sunrise.

Sunrise at Monument Valley – Breakfast in The View Hotel

Early that day, we drove to Monument Valley on highway 163 to see the sunrise. Sunrise is a very special time in Monument Valley: the light emphasizes the red color of the rocks even more. It is a very good time to take beautiful pictures. A viewpoint for this is the place in front of the visitor center (you also find the View Hotel here). This spot offers an extraordinary view to the popular rock formations. The view you have here is the well-known perspective of the valley. Until here, it is easy to drive yourself. A proper, solid street leads to the visitor center. The hotel had a breakfast buffet. We were thinking it’s not worth asking, this place is super-exclusive and breakfast will cost more than 20 Dollars per person. But that was wrong, I’m glad we asked because the breakfast was only 10 Dollars. Having a breakfast here was the right thing to do: sitting at your table and enjoying the view was perfect after that sunrise. I would recommend doing that.

Monument Valley is located on a plateau, quite above sea level. That is why it can be cold in winter. On the pics you see in tiny bit of snow in the valley. Watching the sunrise was really cold, even though we had proper winter clothing. You will probably need a warm jacket here, unless you come in the summer months.

Driving on 27 km Unpaved Road – Monument Valley Road

The only way to continue your route and drive in the Valley is an unpaved road called Monument Valley Road that starts at the visitor center. Lonely Planet says this can be done in a standard passenger car. But I disagree, we tried it, it didn’t work. We did the first bend of the road, drove a bit further down a hill and a little further just straight. All in all, maybe 800 meters. This little part was enough for us to give up: the car bounces, we heard bumps and noises all the time, and potholes were everywhere. The ground was wet, muddy and plashy; you could only drive walking pace. We stopped because there was a huge puddle all the way across the road. We don’t know how much water it had but it definitely looked deep. We decided to not drive any further and not take any risk with our rental car. Maybe it would have been possible to drive cross that puddle, maybe we should have been driving faster while crossing those potholes. That’s difficult to say now. For us, it was too risky to damage our rental car.

The residents of the valley offer Jeep tours. There are different tour options available. All these jeeps drive faster and with much more routine and confidence through these potholes and all the mud. We could not have done it ourselves. Anyways, most likely they try to fill the jeep that means you will have to squeeze and share the car with other guests.

We were there in very low season (you can the snow on the pics). The valley had very few visitors. In and in front of the visitor center, there are many tour options and offers available. The shortest tour was offered for 80 bucks per person. None of us wanted to pay that much. We were a group of four: we would have to pay 80 dollar per person, not per jeep. After long and difficult negotiations, the price became much less. In the end, we paid 25 dollar per person. I doubt this would have worked the same way in the main season. When we were there, there were rarely any other tourists around. I think they decided to drive for little money instead of not driving at all.

Three Sisters, Totem Pole, the Thumb and John-Ford-Point

The tour itself was nice. It leads a bit further into the valley; you get to see many rock formations that are not visible from the hotel. I wasn’t sure if I’d be interested in the tour at all, in particular because I was supposed to pay 80 dollars. I have to say, it was worth doing the tour. You get to see the popular rock formations Three Sisters, Totem Pole, the Thumb and the John-Ford-Point. John-Ford-Point is a rock ledge that was used for many shots in John Ford’s movies but also Ford himself enjoyed standing there and watching larger scenes with many extras from there.

On the tour, several ladies sell jewellery, they say it’s authentic Indian jewellery. Necklaces and bracelets are pretty and not expensive (10 – 20 Dollar). You also get to see some Indian homes, even though these homes seem a bit artificial and made for tourists. In fact, all residents don’t live here but in different area that is not open to public.

At the John-Ford-Point you can take pictures with a rented horse at the rock ledge. I didn’t do that, that’s not my kind of thing. Horse lovers can also do an entire tour on a horse. I cannot say if that is good or not. I’m rather skeptical when it comes to using animals for touristic purposes.

When you do the longer guided tour, you see some places in the park that are only accessible with a tour guide. Because we had paid so little, of course they only did the short tour. To us, that was sufficient.

At the very end of that unpaved road, a little Opel Corsa came along. Somehow, these guys made it to the very end of that road. It don’t know how that was possible. The longer you drive along that road, the less standard cars you see. All the regular cars disappear one after another. At some point of the route, only Jeeps still drive along the road except that one Corsa.

Well-known because of it s many TV and film appearances

Monument Valley has appeared in many movies. The first movie the be shot there was Stagecoach with John Wayne, by John Ford. Ford made another nine movies in Monument Valley. Clint Eastwood’s The Eighter Section was also shot here, the Totem Pole appears prominently in this one.

Many famous scenes also play here: Forrest Gump ends his long run here, Tom Cruise climbs in the Mission Impossible II opening sequence, the Transformers Autobots reunite (Transformers: Age of Extinction). Many scenes with Jonny Depp in The Lone Ranger were filmed here. Just recently, HBO’s Westworld used Monument Valley as a filming location.
A very well-known campaign is the Marlboro campaign with the Marlboro cowboy. This was also made here. Many car ads are made here as well.

When you have visited Monument Valley, you recognize it in many films, ads and publications. Everyone has already seen Monument Valley somewhere. It’s the blueprint for all Wild West Impressions. It shows how we imagine the Wild West to be.

Suggestions and Ideas

Visiting the Monument Valley is highly recommendable. It’s the best place to take nice pics. I would not recommend doing a tour in a regular car. I think the road is simply too bad. A rental jeep would have worked. Or rental car (Dodge Grand Caravan) was not right. Maybe it’s possible to drive there yourself if you have offroad experience or are a very good driver. Anyways, we couldn’t.

The 80 Dollar-guided-tour is pricy, 80 would have been too much or us. I’m glad we bargained hard and got a better price, without the tour we would have missed a lot. Although the visitor center has a great view, it’s necessary to move further into the valley and see more rock formations.

The driver was a bit annoyed and not very motivated or friendly. Maybe that was because of the low price. The tour itself was ok, we saw all important rock formations and it took exactly as long as planned.

I would always do Monument Valley if I was in Grand Canyon. It requires an extra 2 days. Driving there, spending time there and continuing your route takes about 2 days (1 night). Half a day is enough for monument valley. If you are very enthusiastic about it, you can also camp there and hike.

Our next stop was Page in Arizona. This is where you find the Horseshoe Bend, Lake Powell and Antelope Canyon. Page is about 2 hours (200 km) from Monument Valley.

See also:

Article about the Horseshoe Bend

Der Beitrag Face of the Wild West: Monument Valley erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Grand Canyon in Arizona: South Rim and North Rim

The Grand Canyon can be split into three parts: the North Rim, the South Rim and its descent (and following ascent). Most visitors go to the South Rim, mainly because it is reached most easily and because it has the most touristic infrastructure. South Rim is a 4 ½ hour ride from Las Vegas (450 km). The route is Highway 93, Interstate 40 and Highway 64.

The South Rim consists of two parts: in the west, taking the official shuttle bus to Hermit’s Point, the end point of the route (13 km) or in the east heading to the Desert View Point (30 km). For the eastern part, you need your own car. There is no public transportation available. The shuttle bus in the west stops at various points and many locations. You can get in and out and as many times as you want. The bus runs every few minutes. I like these shuttle bus systems (see Zion NP). I think, these systems are a major asset. Larger parks, like the Grand Canyon, can be visited with much less pressure. Without these busses, everything would be very messy. All visitors would drive around in their rental cars with no organized system, no structure. The first car wants to drive fast because they try to leave as soon as possible; the second car would drive slowly because the co-passenger is taking a pic; the third car doesn’t drive at all but stop to take a pic; the fourth one is not even a car but an RV which is a bit to big for the driver who has problems and simply blocks the entire road. Plus, you would spend a lot of time looking for parking, with many people around you would most likely not even find parking at all. And last but not least, the driver cannot really enjoy the park and the view because he or she has to focus on the driving. I prefer an official shuttle. Things are organized and much easier like that.

South Rim: Hermit’s Point and Desert Point

You can hike anywhere around here. You are always close to the South Rim and either look down to the river or at the landscape on the horizon. You should definitely get off the bus and walk a few steps near the river. Everything looks different while walking of hiking, more beautiful, more impressive. The routes descending to the river are the exhausting ones. As long as you stay “on the same level” (walking at the Rim with almost no elevation), everything is easily doable. Final stop of the bus route is Hermit’s Point.

A thing you should definitely do is the self-drive tour to Desert Point. Impressions are different, the canyon and the landscape definitely looks different here. We were there in December. As you can see on the pics, snow was everywhere and made the canyon even prettier. The closer we came to Desert View, the more snow we had. It was a bit cold but apart from that, the weather was quite convenient. Compared to visiting in summer, when it’s extremely hot, I would always prefer winter. Plus, the visitors load is light; it’s a good way to beat the crowds.

Starting Point of all the tours is Grand Canyon Village and its tourist center where you find all the information you need. This is also where the shuttle bus leaves. There are two bus lines: one connects the lodges in the village and the tourist center (blue line) and the second one the village and all the viewpoints (orange line). The second one is the one I described above.

North Rim: Off the Main Routes

The Canyon’s North Rim is only 80 km from the South Rim (beeline). But you need to drive a completely different route to go there: leave Arizona and cross Utah. The roads are in general much worse on this route. That’s why very few tourists make it there, most prefer the South Rim. I have not been there but google maps says it takes 2 ½ hours to drive the last 90 km. I think, based on that, North Rim is something for enthusiasts but not for everyone. In winter, North Rim is closed.

Where to Book a Hotel: Grand Canyon Village, Williams and Flagstaff

Grand Canyon Village, right in front of the Park’s Southern Entrance has many lodges, motels and places to stay. It is possible, even likely, that all these places are fully booked. The village is located comfortably close to the park that is what defines its prices. We found it too expensive. We decided to stay somewhere else not that close to the park and found two options: Flagstaff and Williams. Williams is exactly on the way from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon, you don’t need to drive any extra distance. Flagstaff is about 50 km further east. If you plan to just stop on the way to Grand Canyon, Williams is the best option. Flagstaff is a second option if you don’t find anything in Williams. From Williams to Grand Canyon, it’s about 80 km on highway 64. We found that route very easy: it’s a straight 80-km-drive with very little to no traffic in the morning. We did not mind doing that but if you do, book a hotel in the Grand Canyon Village, also when you are planning to stay several days and do some hiking tours.

Hiking in the Depth of the Grand Canyon: Doing the Bright Angel Descend

We did not do the walk down to the river. Signs are everywhere say that the hike is exhausting and that you need many water bottles to do it, that it’s hot and that most people tend to overestimate their skills. The national park strongly advices to not do the ascend and descend in one day. To stay overnight in the canyon, you need a permit. The main route down is the Bright Angel Trail: you walk 13 km but a difference in altitude of 1360 meters. It’s definitely super-exciting to do that but only with planning and training in advance. I don’t think you should try to walk down to the river just because you are already there. I think this is something for ambitious hikers.

Flora and Fauna of the Grand Canyon: Condors

We were lucky; we saw condors flying over the canyon. Seeing these birds was very special, but we have no pics of that. The birds were flying low but it was still too high to take pics of them.

Grand Canyon Skywalk

The Grand Canyon Skywalk is far away from the National park or the South Rim. The skywalk is 400 km (4 hours) from the South Rim (beeline much less). The skywalk is a transparent glass horseshow-shaped platform on the edge of a smaller canyon operated by the Hualapai Indian tribe. They charge about 50 dollars to enter the platform. The entire glass bridge is on Indian land in a reservoir far west of the National Park. We did not visit it. I cannot say much about it. The skywalk is close to Las Vegas, only 120 km. But that is the only asset I see, I don’t know why I would want to go there. I prefer official national parks in general.

Advice and Ideas

The Grand Canyon is definitely one of the things you should have in at least once-in-a-lifetime. Even if you have never been there, the Canyon seems strangely familiar because of all the TV and movie appearances. Indeed, it only shows its real beauty when you are standing at one of the viewpoints, looking at the scenery. Hiking down to the river has to be planned properly because it’s a steady descent of many altitude meters. Hiking along the South Rim is easily possible, in warm months you need to consider the heat and the general climate. Visiting the canyon in winter is very good, I can definitely recommend that. It’s cold and snowy but very few people are there.

When you drive further east (to Desert’s Point), the tour can be combined with a visit to Monument Valley via Kayenta (see Article about Monument Valley).

Der Beitrag A Trip to the Grand Canyon in Winter: Snow and no Heat erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona

You can reach the Horseshoe Bend from Page in Arizona. Page is a place to stop on the way to Lake Powell (right next to it), to Monument Valley (about 2 hours) or can be combined with the Grand Canyon or Zion Nationalpark.

Horseshoe Bend is only a few kilometers southwest of Page. Parking is available right in front of it. Anyways, you cannot drive directly to the river and the rocks. It’s a 3/4-mile-walk (1.5 km) from the parking spot to the viewpoint. That’s not far but you walk on uneven ground down a hill. That means comfortable shoes are necessary.

You can stand on several huge rocks at the viewpoint and see how the river turns. That is where the name horseshoe comes from. The viewpoint is about 300 meters above the river. All the different colors are absolutely stunning: the river shines in various blues shades whereas the rocks red color strongly contrasts these blues.

The viewpoint is not a single spot but several 100 meters long (several hundred yards). Nobody dared to stand close to the abyss. You look down, a long way down, and then see the Colorado River.

Due to its sheer size, it’s a bit challenging to take one picture of the entire horseshoe.
Visiting horseshoe bend is a nice, short trip that can best be done in the morning or evening. You should definitely come here when you are around.

Horseshoe Bend can be reached from Page in Highway 89 (south), signs lead to the parking area.

See also:

Monument Valley

Thanksgiving at Bryce Canyon

Grand Canyon in Winter

Der Beitrag A River in (Almost) Circles: Colorado River’s Horseshoe Bend erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.