Navajo Tribal Park Monument Valley Self-Guided Driving Tour

As we begin driving along this trail through the Navajo Nation, we'll learn about the Navajo, the first tribe of Monument Valley, and how this desert formed out of a vast sea.

Our tour of Monument Valley actually begins a little outside the valley: Forest Gump Point. The crest of this hill offers a fantastic panorama of Monument Valley... made famous by the movie!

Explore Monument Valley’s dramatic landscape and rich history with a self-driving audio tour along the 17-mile marked Navajo route. Hear about Monument Valley’s stunning “Wild West” formations as you drive. Monument Valley’s scenic vistas provide insights into Navajo culture and history, breathtaking panoramas of a strange landscape, and an unparalleled experience. This self-guided audio tour allows you to explore with maximum flexibility and value.

Note: This 44+ mile-long tour covers the essentials of Monument Valley in 2-3 hours.

Buy once, use for one year! Ideal for extended visits and return trips over the next 12 months.

We'll hit our first detour at Wildcat Trail, where you can hop out walk into the valley itself.

Our tour continues past the three striking formations of the iconic "Monument Valley" panorama. These are the East and West Mittens and Merrick Butte. Why mittens? Why Merrick? We'll learn all about these structures and their histories as we get closer.

As we follow the trail deeper into Monument Valley, we'll learn more about the Navajo, the mythical buried silver, and their struggle to defend their land against the ever-encroaching colonists. We'll learn about the Long March of the Navajo, the Navajo Code Talkers of WWII, and the Navajo families on the reservation land today. We'll also explore the depiction of the Navajo in Western movies -- specifically in John Ford's Hollywood.

As we learn, we're also driving. The tour brings us next to Artist's Point. This overlook, unsurprisingly, is famously popular among painters and illustrators. Countless artists have set up canvasses here and recreated this stunning landscape with paint and brush.

Our drive continues towards the North Window Overlook, a picture-perfect spot for the sunrise. Those morning rays illuminating the buttes and spires of Monument Valley aren’t something you’ll soon forget! Even if you're here after sunrise, the vistas are unparalleled.

Finally, we're at the last incredible vista of the tour: Camel Butte and Elephant Butte. Camel Butte might not look especially like a camel, but when you’re naming rocks you have to get creative! Camel Butte almost hits 1,000 feet but pales in comparison to its sibling, Elephant Butte, stretching over 1,000 feet high. Now that might be impressive on its own, but remember that you’re on a plateau right now which is already raised around 5,000 feet. That means the peak of Elephant Butte is more than 6,000 feet above sea level!