Discover 4 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Monument Valley (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Goulding's Lodge, West and East Mitten Buttes, and Merrick Butte. Also, be sure to include Monument Valley in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Monument Valley (Arizona).
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Goulding's Lodge
Museum in Monument Valley, Utah. Goulding's Trading Post, also called Goulding's Lodge, is a historic general store, motel, and museum in southern Utah, United States, just outside of Monument Valley. It was constructed in 1928, seven years after Harry Goulding purchased 640 acres of land in the area. Shortly after Monument Valley became a popular tourist attraction, it was renamed and remodeled to house Goulding's Lodge. The lodge originally served as a trading post and home for the Gouldings.
During the Great Depression, while director John Ford was looking for a site to film his 1939 movie Stagecoach, Goulding went to work capturing photos of Monument Valley to send to Ford, who ended up shooting not only Stagecoach there but several other successful Western films. The films helped to popularize the area, and Goulding, realizing the potential value of tourism, established lodging and other services that could bring additional attention and profit.
Today, the former trading post serves as a motel/museum for tourists and travelers looking to catch a glimpse of the famous valley, and has been converted into what is currently the Goulding Lodge. Its history, isolation, and proximity to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park have made it a popular roadside attraction for travelers. The trading post was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 20, 1980.[1]
Address: 1000 Goulding's Trading Post Road, 84536 Monument Valley
West and East Mitten Buttes
Butte in Arizona. The West and East Mitten Buttes are two buttes in the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park in northeast Navajo County, Arizona. When viewed from the south, the buttes appear to be two giant mittens with their thumbs facing inwards.
The Mittens are about 0.6 mi (0.97 km) from the Arizona–Utah state line and West Mitten Butte is 1.1 mi (1.8 km) northeast of the park headquarters. The summit of West Mitten Butte is 6,176 ft (1,882 m) and East Mitten Butte is 6,226 ft (1,898 m) in elevation. The Mittens form a triangle with Merrick Butte about 2⁄3 mi (1.1 km) to the south and, with Sentinel Mesa, a more extensive plateau, towards the northwest. At the End of March and mid-September for a few days only at sunset the Mitten Shadow, a photographer's dream occurs. At this specific time the West Mitten shadow appears on the East Mitten.
The buttes are made of three principal rock layers. The lowest layer is Organ Rock Shale, the middle is de Chelly Sandstone, and the top layer is the Moenkopi Formation, capped by Shinarump Conglomerate.[2]
Merrick Butte
Butte in Arizona. Merrick Butte is a butte located in Monument Valley and is part of the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, similar to its neighbors West and East Mitten Buttes just to the north.[3]
Monument Valley
Region in Navajo County, Arizona. Monument Valley is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of vast sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 1,000 ft above the valley floor. It is located on the Utah-Arizona state line, near the Four Corners area. The valley is a sacred area that lies within the territory of the Navajo Nation Reservation, the Native American people of the area, and is accessible from U.S. Highway 163.
Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Director John Ford used the location for a number of his best-known films and thus, in the words of critic Keith Phipps, "its five square miles have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West."[4]
Address: U.S. 163, 84536 Oljato-Monument Valley