Location of Monument Valley

Monument Valley is a famous location covering parts of northeastern Arizona and southeastern Utah along the Colorado Plateau. A Navajo Nation Tribal Park, Monument Valley boasts stunning landscapes with sandstone buttes, mesas, and spires. The nearby town of Goulding, a small Indian settlement, offers great visitor services.

Monument Valley is a Navajo Nation Tribal Park set up to preserve the Navajo lifestyle and protect the integrity of the local environment. It contains some of the most photographed and famous sandstone monuments in the world, which is why it should be no surprise that people visit this park in droves each year.

With a location in the Navajo Indian Reservation, near the town of Goulding, Monument Valley Park can be viewed and enjoyed from several different vantage points. The only main road through the valley is US 163 connecting Kayenta, AZ with US 191 in Utah. This is the section of road that affords the visitor the most striking and famous view of the valley.

As the road goes through the mesas at Monument Pass, you can see the rock formations from a closer perspective.

Within the actual boundaries of the park visitors have a better opportunity to appreciate more of the landscape. Behind the Mitchell and Wetherill Mesas the views are spectacular, so it pays to visit the valley in more than one area. Reach the park via a short side road opposite the turn-off to Goulding. Head for the visitor center for the best views. When you get there, look for the East and West Mitten Buttes, and Merrick Butte.