Monument Valley to Zion Best Route

[cabinrunner]

Going to be driving from Monument Valley to Zion. Wondering the best route to take. Also wondering how far is Four Corners truly from Monument Valley? Will be at Cameron Trading Post overnight then plan to head to Monument Valley. Should I head to 4 corners first the on to Monument Valley? Or should I skip four corners and go staight to Monument valley? Have one night reservation at The View then will head to Zion . Would like best driving route from Monument Valley to Zion. Also read in one of the threads that Monument Valley is pretty dusty...are there any exclusions on car rentals regarding issues with doing the tour through Monument Valley with your rental car? Are there driving maps of monument valley available on line or at The View? Thanks for all the great info. I've been enjoying reading all of the different threads.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

If you really want to go to Four corners I would elect to go there direct from Cameron and then back to MV. You should know that there is nothing much else at Four corners other than to pose for a picture on the FC monument. It's worth it when driving nearby, but I am not sure I would add 150 miles of driving for that ?

You will almost certainly be breaking the terms of your rental agreement by driving 'off road,' but there are plenty of tour trucks in MV to do the ride while you enjoy the views.

There is no single 'best route,' but to get from MV to Zion, head back to US160 to AZ 98 to Page and then US89 to UT9 and through the Mount Carmel tunnel into Zion.

[glc]

Welcome!

Monument Valley to Zion is 270 miles via Kayenta, US-160 to AZ-98 to Page, then US-89 to UT-9. This is about a 5.5 hour drive and does not take you through Cameron. Going via Cameron adds 80 miles and about an hour and a half.

If you are going to Cameron FIRST before MV, it's about 120 miles from Cameron to MV, and it will take 2 to 2.5 hours. From Cameron to 4 Corners, it's about 180 miles, 3 to 3.5 hours. 4 Corners to MV is 90 miles via CO-41/UT-262/UT-163/US-163, and takes 1.5 to 2 hours.

The tour through MV is a rough dirt road and will violate your rental agreement. I'd recommend you take one of the guided Jeep tours. There's a visitor's center with all the info you need.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
PO Box 360289
Monument Valley, Utah 84536
(435)727-5874/5879/5870
fax(435)727-5875

[adamharwood84]

i painted a picture in my head of the 4 corners my whole life. then i went this past fall. not what you expect it to be, atleast in my opinion. however if your stubborn and determined to cross this one off your list, by all means take the drive through the desert and put all 4 paws in each state :)

[cabinrunner]

The input is great! Figured 4 corners wasn't really worth my time but thought I'd ask. We're actually coming by way of Phoenix and hitting a few monuments along the way. Stopping overnight in Cameron then headed to Monument Valley. I have way...way..way...too much crammed into our trip but really want to see as much as possible since I do not know when we'll get back to that area.
From Monument Valley to Zion, Zion to Bryce, Bryce to Grand Canyon (yes I know..I should see Grand Canyon from Cameron but there are no hotel rooms available in GC then..will reroute if something opens up..I check daily), then from GC to Sedona, Sedona back to Phoenix. Few days in Phoenix for a conference. Total travel days 12 !

[Southwest Dave]

If you could reverse the visit of Zion and Bryce it would be possible to go to Bryce from MV via Mexican hat and up the Moki Dugway [UT261/95] to Hanksville, past Capitol Reef and down Utah scenic 12 from Torrey. It's the long way around, but would make an amazing drive and create a loop that doesn't go over the same ground.

[cabinrunner]

sounds like an interesting idea..how long do you think that route would take ?

[glc]

MV to Bryce via that route is about 300 miles, and could probably be done in about 7 hours.

If you already have rooms in Cameron, why not use that as your "base" for seeing the Grand Canyon? Just book a second night if necessary.

[CalOldBlue]

Try to squeeze a visit to Antelope Canyon in as you pass through Page.

[cabinrunner]

Okay...does this make more sense?

Day 1: phoenix to Cameron (seeing sites along the way)
Day 2: Cameron early am to Grand Canyon (return to cameron to sleep)
Day 3: early am head to Monument Valley (sleep there)
Day 4: early am head to Zion (by way of page see antelope canyon) sleep zion
Day 5: spend day at zion then head to Bryce sleep there
Day 6: Spend day at Bryce early evening head to Sedona
Day 6: Sedona for 2 days
Day 7: stil in Sedona
Day 8: head to Phoenix for conference for 4 days


make sense??? it sound like it make more sense for me to go Bryce to Sedona then Bryce to Grand Caynon as I had planned? my original plan was phoenix to cameron, mv, zion, bryce, gc, sedona, back to phoenix

Ahh the anxiety of planning the perfect trip with the limited travel days I have !!

[Southwest Dave]

There are many ways to juggle things, but it's what your preferences are that matters. For example, you are spending 2 days in Sedona, so you could do a little sight seeing from that base and consider going direct to MV from Phoenix and perhaps stay in Page on day 2, or head direct to Bryce or Zion. You could stop at Cameron on the way back and spend a day at the Grand canyon and exit from the South entrance to Flagstaff and Sedona.

The way you have things at the moment will work, but trying to squeeze an Antelope canyon tour in on the way to Zion and leaving Bryce "early evening" for a 7 hour drive to Sedona is going to leave you feeling a little rushed IMO.

[CalOldBlue]

I left MV (Gouldings) early, had lunch in Page, took the photographer's tour of Antelope Canyon (booked it ahead of time), and checked into Zion Lodge in time for dinner.

[glc]

How about this to avoid backtracking and make it even more efficient? See if you could make this work.

PHX - Sedona - GC - Cameron - MV - Page - Bryce - Zion - Las Vegas - PHX

Drive times:

PHX - Sedona 2 hrs
Sedona - GC 2.5 hrs
GC - Cameron 1 hr
Cameron - MV 2.5 hrs
MV - Page 2.5 hrs
Page - Bryce 3 hrs
Bryce - Zion 2 hrs
Zion - PHX via LV 8 hrs

[cabinrunner]

Love your travel route idea glc. Sounds like it would be much less driving and more seeing of the sights laid out like this. I'll have to play around a little with some of my hotel reservations and see what I can make work. Question? Any suggestions on places to spend a night in Page that are decent but not too over priced? Also....what if any sights would you stop out on the way from Zion to PHX ?? Do you think you can see Monument Valley as part of a day trip on the way to page or should you spend the night??

[glc]

I can't recommend a specific place to stay in Page, but I can recommend a place *NOT* to stay - the Super 8. It's not well maintained and customer service is very lacking.

I gave you the approximate drive times - to help you with calculations I'd plan on spending at least 4 hours in MV. This would just give you enough time to go there from Cameron, take a Jeep tour, and then drive to Page. It will be a full day.

I'm guessing on that 4 hour estimate, you may want to make some calls (http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm/monumentvalley.htm) to confirm.

From Zion to PHX via LV, you won't have a heck of a lot of time for sightseeing, but you could bypass the city of LV by going through Valley of Fire and the Lake Mead Recreation Area. Watch your time carefully - it will take you about 5 hours to get to PHX from Hoover Dam via 93 and 60.

[cabinrunner]

Hoping for a suggestion on the best route from Bryce to Grand Canyon and approximate driving time.
Thanks!

Merged with previous posts. Please do not start multiple threads for the same trip.

[glc]

Fastest route from Bryce to GC is 89 to Cameron, then 64 into the park. 6 hours.