bryanwallace

hi-we have a grand canyon trip planned end aug start sept.. this is 1.5day trip and were thinking of adding on 1 more day for monument valley..
is it worth all the extra driving??also could we do in a rental car?
last question would be if getting into mon valley fri afternoon around 4pm would give us enough time to see( i hear it can be backed up getting in)
thanks

uanj

Monument Valley is spectacular. You can drive a car but if you have low clearance be careful and go slow. If you are not going to be in the area again anytime soon I would suggest trying to see it. Limit your time in the visitor center if you get in late. I think most people spend 2-3 hours but I can easily spend half a day. The colors are more vibrant earlier during the day so get there earlier if possible.

Enjoy!

bryanwallace

great thanks!! can you advise which of these routes is better ...
1.
leave phx late morning lunch flagstaff fri get to grand canyon late afternoon go for hike..stay tusayan
sat early morning long hike grand canyon drive to kayenta... sun morning mon valley drive to phx airport.

2 leave phx late morning lunch flagstaff fri visit mon valley late afternoon..stay kayenta.. sat morn drive to grand canyon short hike sat night stay tusayan..
sun long hike grand canyon drive back to phx airport..thanks!

Chemystery

Why not stay at Monument Valley in the hotel or a cabin and wake up to sunrise there rather than Kayenta? It makes for a slightly longer drive the next day, but seeing sunset, night sky, and sunrise at MV will make that well worth it.

SPN Lifer

I am sorry I never made it up to Monument Valley.

https://navajonationparks.org/tribal...nument-valley/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_Valley

uanj

I'm not sure what hikes you are considering, but be mindful of your time and capabilities of those in your group.

I'll add if you can, when driving from the Grand Canyon to Cameron on 64, stop at 1-2 viewpoints for the Little Colorado. Though not on the massive scale of the Grand Canyon the Little Colorado Valley is still stunning, and easier to grasp visually.

bryanwallace

many thanks all for your kind advice!
which hike would you recommend -we plan to do one in the later afternoon/evening a short one and then a long one starting early the next morning... for long one we were thinking bright angel trail down to indian garden-dont know if thats a good option?or would the south kaibab one be better? for the short one would the rim trail be a good option?

thanks again all! regarding little colorado-this does sound great-we didnt know..thanks.. also staying near mon valley sounds better is it just gouldings lodge/the view?seems mostly gone already

kale73

I wasn't going to chime in, but now I am.

OP, I think your planned itinerary is overly ambitious. Leaving Phoenix in late morning (10:30?) will put you in Flagstaff around 1 PM. If you take an hour for lunch there then proceed to the South Entrance, you'll get there around 3:30 PM. If you're lucky, there won't be a line at the entrance station. If not, you could wait up to 45 minutes just to get in. Add another 15-20 minutes driving to the Village area and finding a parking spot. In any event, you probably won't get a view of the Canton until about 4. That gives you about 3 hours to hike before sunset, but really less since you'll probably want to settle in to where you want to watch the sunset at least a half hour before.

Then you want to wake up the next morning, do another GC hike (until about noon?) then drive for 3 hours to get to Monument Valley? If you leave GC at noon, you'll get to Monument Valley around 4 (because it's only a 3 hour drive, Monument Valley is on the Navajo Nation and hence in a different time zone). You will absolutely need to get there by 6 PM (MDT) / 5 PM (MST) because they don't allow any cars into the park after that. Also the fee to enter Monument Valley Tribal Park is $8 per person, per entry, per location. If you visit in the evening, leave, then return in the morning you'll have to pay the fee again. If there are 5 people in your party, you're looking at $40 per entry (that's $5 more than what you pay for a carload of people to visit GCNP for a week.)

I've been to both Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon. My last visit to Monument Valley was 11 years ago; I've visited GCNP 4 times since June 1 and I am planning another visit this month. And I live closer to MV than GC. That should let you know which park I think is more alluring / impressive.

Monument Valley is nice, but I would say it's several orders of magnitude less impressive than the Grand Canyon. I'm afraid it will be anticlimactic.

While I would actually skip Monument Valley in lieu of more time at the Grand Canyon, if MV is on your (or any of your party's) bucket list, I would suggest the following itinerary:

Fri: Drive from Phoenix to Flagstaff, lunch in Flag, drive to Cameron AZ (check in to Grand Canyon Motel in Cameron), drive to the GCNP East Entrance (Desert View) for first views of the Canyon and sunset. Return to motel for overnight.

Sat: Early departure from Cameron, drive to MVTP, tour park, return to Cameron (perhaps in time to see more of GCNP). Return to motel for overnight.

Sun: Check out of motel. Drive to GC Village via Desert View. Hike. Return to Phoenix.

Unfortunately, I doubt there are still rooms available in Cameron for your dates.

Also, regarding the Little Colorado overlooks, the most 'developed' of the overlooks is run by Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation. For the last several years there was no fee to enter and park at the overlook. Now they are now charging $8 per person. Frankly it's not worth it.

djp98374

understsnd…..

Grand Canyon in one hr behind Mon valley. Navajo reservation stays on mountain daylight. It’s about a 3 hr drive from Grand Canyon to Mon valley.

mon valley has rules on being able to drive on dirt roads. You generally have to do these in tours. You violate rental contract driving the dirt roads.

the area has limited lodging. The view hotel is at Mon valley and gouldings is across the street. Kayenta has some lodging pand SE utah has some lodging in bluff snd blanding.

djp98374

option 3 just do Grand Canyon snd oak creek canyon/ Sedona

djp98374

do you understand the difficulty of bright angel trail?

mon valley/ gouldings are booked well in advance. To get a room you need to plan well ahead.

kale73

Great suggestion

From Bright Angel Trailhead to Havasupai Gardens (used to be called Indian Garden; just renamed this year) is a 9.6 mile roundtrip hike with an elevation change of over 3,000 feet each way. Some hiking sites say it can be done in 4 hours, but I wouldn't want to try that, at least in August. Allow at least 5-6 hours. It will generally take twice as long coming up as it did going down. The average high temperature at the South Rim at the end of August is between 80 & 90 degrees F. The temperature rises as one descends into the Canyon. The upper reaches of the Bright Angel Trail are especially steep, Carry water and salty snacks.

Better yet, Walk the Hermit's Rest trail until you get tired, then hop on the free park shuttle bus to take you back to the Bright Angel Trailhead.

SPN Lifer

In June 1976 I hiked with my father and two fellow Boy Scout Troop 71 alumni, from the South Rim, down to the Colorado River (where the Bright Angel Campground was full, with no reservations available), halfway up the north side, and then east along the trail to Clear Creek, where we spent the night.

Our wilderness permit had "Not Recommended" written with a marking pen across the top in big, red letters.

Then we returned to the Bright Angel Campground for our second night, before leaving bright and early for our hike back up to the South Rim. It was fun having all the tourists staring at us as we hiked out with our backpacks, and was a good warm-up for my next three weeks in the Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia.

I cannot over emphasize the importance of having plenty of water for the hike back up. If you have an ambitious hiking agenda, perhaps it is best to save Monument Valley for another trip.

During my last trip to the Grand Canyon, where I bought my lifetime National Park Senior Pass, I stayed at the Spring Hill Suites in Flagstaff. But the crowds are much less in December.

Chemystery

As much as I liked seeing Monument Valley, I'm with kale73 . We spent a couple nights at GCNP at the Thunderbird Lodge, so right on the rim for sunrise and sunset. We spent on night at MV in a premium cabin near The View. I'd take GCNP every time. MV was nice to see, and I'm not sorry we visited, but it wasn't somewhere I'll make an effort to return to. Honestly, the Moki Dugway was way more memorable than MV for my family (and not just because the drive was scary, haha).

As far as hiking, it really sounds like OP might be overestimating what is possible in the limited time mentioned. Hopefully you're reading up on preparations and temperatures to expect for the time frame you'll be visiting. We didn't hike very far down into the canyon as we were there with youngsters and were there during the hottest time of year. We settled for a short walk and soaking in the views.

bryanwallace

after having a long think about it - ive come to the conclusion that has everyone on here has been saying-that its maybe best to skip MV and concentrate on grand canyon...
if theres something to see on the way back-that would be great?dates are sept 1st-sept 3... sept1 booked at tusayan..so do a short hike on sept 1 and a longer one on sept 2...
on sept 3 we would have whole day to travel to phoenix stopping enroute.. any ideas on places to stop etc would be appreciated.. also any hiking options. for gc!

we have one night booked at tusayan.. was thinking about booking another night in williams.. i hear the gc gets crowded to enter-what time would we need to be there by to avoid the crowds??
thanks!