One of the most exciting sunrises I’ve ever seen was in Monument Valley, the Navajo reservation in Utah.

A true spectacle of nature, it becomes even more fascinating at sunrise and sunset when the light emphasizes the warm colors of the mesas, the typical rocky formations of the valley.

The discovery of Monument Valley can take place in different ways: by car, on foot or on horseback … all depends on the time you have available.
In case your choice is a walking tour, I warn you right away that unlike other places in the southwest of the United States, Monument Valley offers only two paths that you can follow with your own legs.

Wildcat Trail

Easy and panoramic route of 6 km at an average altitude of 1,600 meters which requires about 2 hours of walking, with a difference in height of less than 100 meters. It is developed around West Mitten Butte, in the heart of Monument Valley.

The first part is slightly downhill and well signposted, then the signs are more sparse but there is no risk of getting lost: just continue to circumnavigate the West Mitten Butte to return to the starting point. The last part, on the other hand, is more tiring as it is necessary to walk uphill in the middle of the sand.
In general it is a path for everyone and without particular difficulty, the only caution is to check where you put your feet (do not forget that, albeit remote, there is the risk of encountering rattlesnakes), bring with water and avoid walking the path during the hottest hours as it is completely under the sun.
If you have never walked in a desert of sand and bushes … this is your chance!

Teardrop Arch & Hidden Ruin Trail

Unlike the Wildcat this trail is located outside the Monument Valley Tribal Park, although still within the Navajo reserve, and can only be accessed if accompanied by a guide.

The particularity of this path is that it reaches a high panoramic point on the Rock Door Mesa near a striking rock arch and therefore offers an unusual perspective on Monument Valley, especially at dawn and sunset.

Always near the arch there are Anasazi ruins where access is possible crouching and walking for a short distance on knees and hands, so I recommend wearing, or at least take with you, long trousers.
The duration of the route is about 3 hours round-trip, during which you will meet very few tourists and will therefore be an almost “intimate” experience with the nature of the valley.

Have a good trip!