Contents
Monument Valley | Introduction
Monument Valley, located on the Utah-Arizona border, is famous for its reddish-orange rocky landscape, which is a classic scene in many American Western movies and has become a symbol of Western cinema and culture. The nearest town is Page, a 2.5 hour drive from Moab or Page. A day trip to Monument Valley with Mystery Valley is recommended, or if you have more days to spare, we recommend a visit with the neighboringAntelope Canyon,Canyonlands National Park,Arches National Parketc. are scheduled on the same trip.
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 1 Monument Valley, Mystery Valley 1](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-76-1.jpeg)
Looking for a price comparison for Page accommodation?
Monument Valley Tribel Park is not a national park, so the national park annual pass is not applicable here. If you visit the park by yourself, the admission fee is $5 per person. The Mystic Valley is only open to tour groups, so you can't visit it on your own. We chose to join Navajo Spirit Tour's All Day Mystery and Monument Valley tour, which includes a 3.5-hour Mystery Valley tour in the morning and a 3-hour Monument Valley tour in the afternoon, because we wanted to visit the nearby Mystery Valley. 2014 In 2014, the tour fee was $150 per person. Although the price was a bit higher, the content was very good, and the tour guides were all local Navajo people who grew up in the area, and the explanation was very clear and detailed.
Highway 163 | The Forrest Gump Road
Before driving into Monument Valley Tribel Park, you will pass Highway 163, and there are many wonderful scenery along the way. The geology of the area is reddish in color, and there are various rock peaks and colorful sedimentary rocks along the way. In the movie "Forrest Gump", Forrest Gump ended his cross-country run in front of Monument Valley. The final shot of Forrest Gump's run was taken on Highway 163, north of Monument Valley, near Mile Marker 13-16. Because the movie was so famous, Highway 163 became known as "The Forrest Gump Road".




![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 6 Monument Valley, Mystery Valley 6](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-6.jpeg)
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 7 Monument Valley, Mystery Valley 7](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-7.jpeg)

Visitor Center | Hotels | Restaurants | View Hotel
Monument Valley Tribel Park is the largest Indian reservation in the United States and is owned by the Navajo Nation. There are many such Indian reservations in the United States, which are maintained and operated by Indians, basically it can be said that it is a national park managed by Indians.Monument valley has only one hotel, View Hotel, which is located in the same building as the Visitor center and the restaurant. This building is also an excellent viewpoint, and the view from the second floor is quite good. After our morning trip to Mystery valley, we were driven back to the visitor center for lunch. Since this is an Indian place, the restaurant sells Indian style food.

![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 10 Monument Valley, Mystery Valley 10](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-77.jpeg)


In front of the Visitor Center, you can visit a traditional Navajo house. There are different types of huts depending on the purpose, and the huts for boys and girls have different styles. These huts are specially designed for ventilation in order to cope with the heat of the desert.
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 13 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 13](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-11.jpeg)
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 14 Monument Valley, Mystery Valley 14](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-12.jpeg)
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 15 Monument Valley, Mystery Valley 15](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-13.jpeg)

![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Can't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 17 Monument Valley, Mystery Valley 17](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-15.jpeg)

Attractions | Mystery Valley
In the morning, the group traveled to Mystery valley in the guide's jeep, passing through the area where the Navajo still live today. The road into Mystery Valley is very primitive and controlled, so cars are not allowed to enter. During the three-hour trip, our guide gave us many stops in the middle of the road, and each stop had a little story and legend of the Navajo people to share.


![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 21 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 21](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-27.jpeg)



Mystery valley has a lot of small arches and caves, the scenery is quite strange. We climbed up to the high looking caves and enjoyed the beautiful view of Mystery Valley from above. Our guide even sang some Navajo songs in the cave.
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 25 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 25](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-35.jpeg)

![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 27 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 27](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-39.jpeg)

![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 29 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 29](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-41.jpeg)



The Navajo were not the first indigenous people to come here, and the vast rocky desert contains historical ruins that even the Navajo do not know exactly when they were formed. Some of the walls are covered with age-old murals. Occasionally archaeologists apply to visit, but because the Navajo are so protective of the area they live in, it's not easy to take more precise measurements, and at the time of our trip the age of the ruins was not yet known with any great precision.



There are also mysterious relics in the caverns, where walls were once built over the caverns, not sure if they were used for shelter or food storage, but they were supposed to provide protection from the wind, rain, and sun. Because there are so many mysteries, this place is called Mystery Valley.
(2023Note: These ruins are very similar.Mesa Verde National ParkThe Ancient Puebloan cultural relics should belong to the same culture).



![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 39 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 39](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-66.jpeg)
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 40 Monument Valley, Mystery Valley 40](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-67.jpeg)
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 41 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 41](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-68.jpeg)
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 42 Monument Valley, Mystery Valley 42](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-69.jpeg)

There are two big arches in Mystery valley, Scull arch and Honeymoon arch, the one below is Honeymoon arch.

Attractions | Monument Valley
In the afternoon, a Jeep tour of Monument valley took us on a 17-mile Valley drive around the valley. along the way, we could see many towering peaks, known as Butte, according to statistics, there are more than 40 peaks of various sizes in Monument valley, with heights ranging from 400 to 1,000 feet. According to statistics, there are more than 40 large and small rock peaks in the whole Monument valley, with a height of 400~1000 feet.
On the way, we can see the three monuments in Monument Valley, which are not to be missed. Since 1930, at least 20 movies have been filmed in Monument Valley, including the aforementioned Forrest Gump, Mission Impossible 2, Tom Cruise's rock-climbing sequence, and Back to the Future 3, all of which were filmed here. These peaks are much taller and more spectacular in real life than in photos. Each peak has its own name, and the most iconic scenes are the three peaks. The left one is called West Mitten Buttes, and the next one is The Mittens Merrick Butte.
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 45 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 45](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-82.jpeg)

![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 47 Monument Valley, Mystery Valley 47](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-86.jpeg)

![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 49 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 49](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-88.jpeg)

Other famous peaks include the Three Sisters, Elephant Butte and Cly Butte. The Three Sisters look like three standing people, with the tallest sister at 183 meters and the middle sister at 99 meters.
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 51 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 51](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-91.jpeg)

After a short drive, we arrived at John Ford's Point rest stop. John Ford was the first director to shoot a movie in Monument Valley, and in 1939, he shot the classic western movie "Stagecoach" here. If you are interested, you can go horseback riding here and relive the western scene of the old movie.
Otherwise, the view from John Ford's Point was quite nice. We were able to get relatively close to photograph the Rocky Peak area and listen to our guide explain the history of the Navajo, who, like many other Indians in the area, had been driven from their homeland by the white man and were not allowed to return until 1868.
We also see a World War II monument here. During World War II, hundreds of Navajo people also joined the army, so now there is a monument in Monument valley to commemorate the soldiers who died at that time. During World War II, the U.S. used the Navajo native language to create a military code, which was the only cryptographic system that was not broken by the Japanese during the war, and was considered a key to the U.S. victory in World War II.
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 53 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 53](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-95.jpeg)
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 54 Monument Valley, Mystery Valley 54](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-94.jpeg)
Continuing east, you will pass by more rocky peaks, including Camel Butte, Totem Pole and Yei Bi Chei, Thumb Butte, etc. The Totem Pole is the tallest natural rock pillar in the world. Totem Pole is the tallest natural stone pillar in the world.
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 55 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 55](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-97.jpeg)



![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 59 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 59](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-105.jpeg)
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 60 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 60](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-106.jpeg)
At the end of the tour, we came to the stone wall, the small arch at the top of the wall is called the Eye of the sun because of its shape and high position like an eye. Like Mystery Valley, there are a lot of ruins here that are worth studying by archaeologists.

![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 62 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 62](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-113.jpeg)
This round hole in the arch of rock is called the Eye of god. The black lines on the side look like tears. Under the Eye of God, the guide again shared his family's personal experience, this time a sad story about his grandmother who was captured and abused by American soldiers during the Great War and returned to her birthplace.

![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 64 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 64](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-117.jpeg)
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 65 Monument Valley, Mystery Valley 65](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-118.jpeg)
Then we took the jeep and left. It was sunset on the way back, the sunset in Monument valley is very beautiful, when the sunset light sprinkled on the stone pillars, reflecting the red shadow people can't help but marvel at the magic of creation.


![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 68 Monument valley, Mystery Valley 68](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-131.jpeg)

![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 70 Monument Valley, Mystery Valley 70](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-135.jpeg)
![Utah Attractions] Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Day Trip | Don't Miss the Classic Scenes of American Western Movies 71 Monument Valley, Mystery Valley 71](https://blog.travelhackfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Monument-valley-137.jpeg)
Further reading
- More Utah posts
- More Arizona posts
- More Grand Circle posts
Thank you for visiting our website.
All the content on this site is original and shared with the purpose of providing valuable information. We sustain the operation of this site through a small amount of advertising and sponsored links. If you click on links to third-party merchants on our site and make purchases, we may receive a portion of the sales as a commission. If you click on links to third-party merchants on our site and make purchases, we may receive a portion of the sales as a commission.
If you want to support my free contents, you can Buy me a coffee here!
Find more posts on a map Here.
My recommended resources for hotel bookings.
Recommended travel credit card for US-based travelers
Travel with just a backpack!
If you are interested in quoting this article or using any part of its content and images on your website or publication, please contact us via email to request permission.