Navajo guides are mandatory for Monument Valley tours

Cast yourself into the stunning red mesas and buttes on the Arizona-Utah border that define Monument Valley. But beware: Getting there is not as easy as it looks.

By Gregory McNamee, Special to the Los Angeles Times
07:23 PM PST, March 02, 2007

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The Navajo Nation restricts access to tribal lands. Visitors who want to venture beyond visitor centers, national parks and monuments must hire a Navajo guide to lead them.

HIKING AND BIKING

Sacred Monument Tours, (435) 727-3218, www.monumentvalley.net .

The route: This Navajo-owned company based in Monument Valley offers four tours, from a fairly easy three-hour trail leading to an Anasazi ruin that overlooks the eastern valley to a four-hour trek to Hunt's Mesa that guides describe as difficult to extreme. $56.65 to $164.80 per person.

Black's Hiking Tours, (928) 309-8834, (435) 739-4205, www.blacksmonumentvalleytours.com .

The route: This company leads hikes to the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Hunt's and Douglas mesas and more. Rates vary; make reservations at least a week in advance.

BICYCLING

Bicycling is permitted on the 17-mile loop road into the park, but travelers share the dusty dirt track with motor vehicles. The same holds true for U.S. 163, the paved highway that leads through Monument Valley. In theory, off-road biking is permitted with a guide, but this aspect of recreational tourism has yet to develop. Bottom line: Mountain-bike enthusiasts should head up to the slick-rock country of Moab, Utah, and environs. Also, rock climbing is strictly forbidden within Monument Valley.

JEEP TOURS AND HORSEBACK RIDES

For the adventure-minded, several Navajo companies offer Jeep and open-air truck tours and horseback trips. An average vehicle ride lasts three hours and costs $10 to $20 an hour per person. (Don't forget to tip your guide.)

Goulding's Lodge, (435) 727-3231, www.gouldings.comv .

The ride: One popular off-road guide service runs out of the lodge, taking visitors on half- or full-day tours of the monuments along the loop road inside the tribal park as well as of rock arches within the restricted area. The full-day tour adds Mystery Valley, a few miles west of the park, a place dotted with rock arches and Anasazi ruins and cliff dwellings. The cost ranges from $45 to $80 per person.

Simpson's Trailhandler Tours, (435) 727-3362, www.trailhandlertours.com .

The ride: Simpson's offers several fixed-route tours that last from 90 minutes to a full day, some with a private Jeep costing slightly more than an open-air truck. Some of the longer itineraries take in Monument and Mystery valleys. $35 to $50 per person.

Sacred Monument Tours, (435) 727-3218), www.monumentvalley.net .

The ride: This company operates vehicle and horseback tours, the latter including skill-gauging, so rider and horse are appropriately matched. One short horseback ride runs along Horseshoe Canyon mesa to a view of some of John Ford's favorite locations; $50 per person. A two-hour ride taking in Teardrop Arch runs about $70. An all-day ride along Sentinel Mesa, Big Indian Spire, Eagle Rock Mesa and Mitchell Butte tops out at $290.

Oljato Trading Post, (435) 727-3390; www.a-aa.com/monumentvalley .

The ride: The trading post is closed for the time being. But the stables are open, and the owners offer rides lasting from an hour or two to several days. After mounting up, take a few minutes to absorb the beauty of 10,388-foot Navajo Mountain due west, a peak sacred to many Native American tribes in the region. The cost ranges from $25 for an hour to $125 for a full day; inquire about rates for longer or specialized itineraries.