Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
Monument Valley was a stop on our cross country road trip at the end of May 2022. Monument Valley is a Navajo Tribal Park just like Lake Powell (which includes Antelope Canyon), Tseyi’ Dine’ Heritage Area, Four Corner Monument, and Little Colorado River. It might not be a National Park, but it’s just as well known.
We stopped at the Visitor Center before heading out on the 17 mile loop. It was really something beautiful to see, and had a ton of areas to stop off to take photos. The only on site hotel is the View Hotel, which is not dog friendly. But just 6 miles down the road is Gouldings Lodge which is dog friendly and still has amazing views of Monument Valley in the distance.
If you’re looking for a unique reason to visit, they put on some pretty cool events for bikers, runners, and ultra runners. Check them out here!
Entrance Fee: $10 per person per day. Winter Hours 8 am- 5pm (last entrance at 2:30pm), Summer Hours 8am to 7pm (last entrance at 4:30 pm). The America the Beautiful pass is NOT accepted here.
Drive the 17 mile loop
17 miles of gorgeous views (with plenty of areas to get out and take photos!). RVs and Motorcycles prohibited on the loop road.
Hike Wildcat Trail
There is one hiking trail within the park- Wildcat Trail. It is 1.5 miles long and requires you to sing in/out from the Visitor Center (it doesn’t say on the website, but I assume it is not dog friendly- otherwise I'm sure we would have hiked it at the time!).
Forrest Gump Point
You can just look up the “Forrest Gump Point” on Google Maps (but you might not have service). It’s down the road on highway 163 towards Utah. I don’t remember seeing any sign, but there was plenty of space to pull off the side of the road to take a photo.
Where To Stay: Gouldings Lodge, although not on Monument Valley’s property is VERY close and still have great views from its rooms. Pet fees are $20 per pet per night. No weight or breed restrictions! As a bonus the Lodge has some attractions on site (gift shop, museum, theater) which includes some John Wayne cutouts and memorabilia of the movies he’s made from Monument Valley.
Where to Eat: Gouldings Grocery Store is right next to the entrance to the Lodge. We stopped in and grabbed some sandwich supplies. Then ate on our patio while watching the sun set behind Monument Valley in the distance. Gouldings also has their Stagecoach Restaurant open from 7am-9pm if you’re looking for some hot food.
Axel’s Pup Tip: Take a potty break before heading into the park! There are some outdoor dogs that roam around the parking lot, so it’s best to stay in the car around the Visitor Center if you want to avoid them. We didn’t have any issues- they seemed skittish and stayed away from us- but once we saw a dog or two we headed back to the car just to be safe. I’m sure they were just looking for some extra food handouts. :)
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Dog Friendly Stay: Gouldings Lodge
Must Do Hikes: 17 mile driving loop
