Tour Monument Valley: Photo Essay of Sandstone Buttes and Mesas
Nothing like popping into the Wild West with Indians chasing you while you are driving a Delorian. Oh, wait, I’m not in the Back to the Future 3 movie; I’m in Monument Valley. You can tour Monument Valley through my photo essay or in person and see beautiful red sandstone buttes, mesas, and interesting rock formations on the border of Arizona and Utah.
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park Information
Monument Valley is not a National Park because the valley is entirely within the territory of the Navajo Nation Reservation. An access fee to drive through the park is $20 per vehicle for up to 4 people ($6 for each additional passenger). Parts of Monument Valley, such as Mystery Valley and Hunts Mesa, are accessible only by a guided tour. If you plan hiking, you must also purchase a Backcountry Permit and the access fee. The Park’s open hours are daily from April to September, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and from October to March, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Make sure to plan for at least 2-3 hours for your 17-mile exploration of Monument Valley. Make sure to check the website before you go for the latest information.
Tour Monument Valley
Kayla and I were on a tour of the Southwest with Disney Adventures when one of our stops was touring Monument Valley for the afternoon. We had so much fun on that hot, sunny day. I took so many photos that I had to use multiple memory cards. 
Goulding’s Lodge & Trading Post
Goulding is the operator we went with for our tour of Monument Valley. We could spend a little time on their property, enjoying the scenery of Monument Valley in the distance. And we were able to enjoy a quick look thru the Goulding’s Trading Post Museum. This museum showcases artifacts from the old wild west. You can even see movie memorabilia from ones filmed in Monument Valley. Admission to the museum is $5. To schedule your tour of Monument Valley and for prices, check for the latest information on their website.
Buttes and Mesas
Monument Valley has over 29 rock formations for you to photograph, and you would be one of the many that have, as it is one of the most photographed places on earth. When I went on my tour, it was in the middle of the day. I want to go back and see the valley at sunrise and sunset to see the colorful formations at their finest. Monument Valley’s vivid red color comes from iron oxide in the weathered siltstone. The darker, bluish-gray rocks in the valley get their color from manganese oxide.
A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped hill or mountain with steep sides that is smaller in area than a plateau. A butte is also a flat-topped hill with steep sides, though smaller than a mesa. How were the buttes formed? Well…Tectonic forces raised the slab above the water line and created a plateau. Water and wind chipped away at the sedimentary rock and removed the softer materials. This led to the towering rock formations you see today. The buttes can be as high as 1,000 feet above the valley floor.
Mitchell Butte
Merrick Butte
The Mittens
Camel Butte
Gray Whiskers
The King on His Throne
Three Sisters
Elephant Butte
Stagecoach, Bear, and Rabbit
Fossils
John Ford’s Point
John Ford’s Point is a slab at the edge of a plateau that John Ford used in several western films from 1939 to 1960. You can see several prominent sandstone buttes from this spot in Monument Valley. On our tour, a Navajo Indian rode a horse out to the point for us to sit on it for a photo opportunity. 
North Window
The North Window is a spot in Monument Valley that will give you the best views of the Mittens and several other buttes. This is a must-stop for photographers. And it is the perfect place to watch the sunrise over the horizon.
Other Rock Formations in Monument Valley
Summary
Monument Valley is impressive to photograph, with its colors changing layer by layer. If you get a chance to tour Monument Valley, you definitely should. Until then, I hope you enjoyed these photos.
If You Enjoyed This Tour Monument Valley Post, Sign Up To Receive Posts By Email or…
Join us on Facebook for regular updates and related articles
Check us out on Instagram to see what we are up to in photos.
Follow us on Twitter for links to great travel articles curated just for you.
View and purchase your favorite of my travel photos on SmugMug. And if you don’t see the one you want on the site, send me a comment below, and I’ll add it.
Or share this “Tour Monument Valley: Photo Essay of Sandstone Buttes and Mesas” with others by pinning on your Arizona/Utah or America Travel Pinterest board!
Further Reading
If you are coming to Arizona for a visit, check out these posts for other travel inspiration:
- Welcome to the Apache Trail Historic Road – Top 8 Must-See Sites
- Tlaquepaque – The Creative Art and Soul of Sedona
- Montezuma Castle – “It’s not a castle, and Montezuma was never here.”
- Life as a Horse Ranch Hand and Dog Rustler
- Finding a Peaceful Sanctuary at the Our Lady of the Sierras Shrine
- Coronado National Memorial: Exploring a Lesser-Known Arizona Gem
[…] in smooth waters and you can marvel at the buttes and the stunning red rock canyons that rival Monument Valley as you float by […]
The rock mountains in Mountain Valley look stunning! Interesting to know how their varied Colors came about; reds and greys. Would be lovely to visit during sunrise/sunset..
Great read! I never in a million years expected to love Arizona and Utah the way I did. Just seeing this kind of landscape in person was incredible.
Totally agree with you, Jim! The landscape there definitely surprised me.
I loved your Monument Valley photo essay. It is one of the parks on my list. Hopefully next year the US /Canadian border will open and all the parks so I can start checking off items from my bucketlist.
I hope so, too. I’m glad you enjoyed it, Kelly!
Your post brings back fond memories of a US road trip I took 10 years ago. Getting up early to see the sunrise over Monument Valley was incredible. Beautiful place!
I’m so glad that it did. I still have to see it at sunrise, maybe next year.
Your photos are stunning! Monument Valley has long been on my bucket list and I’ve been dying to take my girls there. Hoping to plan a trip for next year.
Hi Catherine! I hope you and your girls do make it there next year. Try to make it for either sunrise or sunset for the best times to get photos.
This is a rather unique getaway. Never before have i seen such structures of rocks, like in Monument Valley that you’ve shown here. Looks like you guys had quite an amazing time. But it looks like it was quite sunny! Was exploring such a place that too when the Sun was on the head, comfortable?
It was on the 4th of July week. Very, very hot! I would like to go back either in the Spring or Fall next time.
The Monument Valley looks so out of the world. The Buttes and Mesas look intriguing as if they are the remains of a lost world. Somehow the place reminds me of epics of the wild west. The experience too sounds really epics and your pictures bring alive the wild beauty of the place.
Sandy, I’m not surprised it reminds you of the wild west as many westerns were filmed there.
Wow this looks like such an incredible place to visit! I’ve never hiked in a landscape like this before but it’s definitely on my list. I love the photos you’ve taken, it really captures the area well.
Thank you, Krista! It is definitely worth a visit.