Ride an open-air 4x4 past the towering Mittens and Totem Pole, then roll into restricted backcountry that self-drive visitors never see. Compare Navajo-guided Monument Valley jeep tours and book instantly with free cancellation.
Best Seller — 2,025 Reviews, 4.8★ Most Popular Monument Valley Jeep Tour
Explore Monument Valley and its restricted backcountry with a Navajo guide aboard an open-air 4x4. See landmarks such as the Mittens, Totem Pole, and hidden arches that can only be reached on a guided tour.
Real-time dates and prices for the Navajo-guided backcountry jeep tour of Monument Valley — book directly with free cancellation.
Every Monument Valley jeep tour below rides with a licensed Navajo guide and most offer free cancellation. Compare quick 1.5-hour scenic loops along Valley Drive, 2.5- to 3.5-hour backcountry 4x4 trips into restricted areas closed to self-drive cars, golden-hour sunrise and sunset tours, and the full-day Monument Valley and Mystery Valley adventure with ancient ruins and petroglyphs. Pick the length and time of day that fit your trip.
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from $146.63 | Tour | Price | Rating | Book | Reviews | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monument Valley & Mystery Valley Full-Day | $146.63 | 4.9 ★ | Check | 122 | 7 hrs | Full-day |
| 4x4 Navajo-Guided Jeep Tour | $85.00 | 4.9 ★ | Check | 101 | 2.5 hrs | Backcountry |
| Guided Sunset Jeep Tour | $85.00 | 4.9 ★ | Check | 243 | 3 hrs | Sunset |
| 3-Hour Sunrise Jeep Tour | $85.00 | 4.8 ★ | Check | 126 | 3 hrs | Sunrise |
| Extended Backcountry Jeep Tour | $83.09 | 4.8 ★ | Check | 520 | 3.5 hrs | Backcountry |
| Sunset Jeep Tour with Navajo Guide | $78.20 | 4.8 ★ | Check | 1,631 | 3 hrs | Sunset |
| Sunrise Jeep Tour with Navajo Guide | $78.20 | 4.7 ★ | Check | 326 | 3 hrs | Sunrise |
| Scenic 2.5-Hour Guided Jeep Tour | $75.00 | 4.9 ★ | Check | 755 | 2.5 hrs | Scenic |
| Backcountry Jeep Tour with Navajo Guide | $68.43 | 4.8 ★ | Check | 2,025 | 2.5 hrs | Backcountry |
| Scenic 1.5-Hour Jeep Tour | $65.00 | 4.7 ★ | Check | 353 | 1.5 hrs | Scenic |
Straddling the Arizona–Utah border on Navajo Nation land, Monument Valley is a high-desert basin of sandstone buttes that rise like islands from the valley floor. The numbers behind the landscape:
A Monument Valley jeep tour is the only way to see the heart of the Navajo Tribal Park. Self-drive visitors can rattle along the 17-mile Valley Drive loop and stop at 11 numbered overlooks, but the backcountry — the arches, hidden ruins, petroglyphs and the quiet spots between the famous buttes — is closed to private cars and reachable only with a licensed Navajo guide. Riding in an open-air 4x4 with a Diné guide who grew up on this land turns a scenic drive into a story: the legends behind the Mittens, the meaning of a hogan, and where the light falls best at sunrise and sunset.
The table below shows which jeep tour suits which kind of traveler, before the detailed sections that follow.
| Tour type | Best for | Typical length | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scenic loop tour | Short on time; the classic overlooks | 1.5–2.5 hours | $65 |
| Backcountry 4x4 | Arches & areas closed to self-drivers | 2.5–3.5 hours | $68 |
| Sunrise / sunset | Photographers chasing golden-hour light | 3 hours | $78 |
| Full-day + Mystery Valley | Ruins, petroglyphs and a deeper visit | 7 hours | $147 |
You can drive the 17-mile Valley Drive yourself in a regular car (slowly — it's rough, unpaved washboard), and it reaches the big-name viewpoints like the Mittens and John Ford's Point. But everything beyond that loop is restricted: the only legal way past the public road is on a guided jeep tour with a Navajo operator. A guided tour also handles the rough terrain in a high-clearance 4x4, adds Diné cultural context you simply can't get from a roadside pullout, and reaches arches and ruins the self-drive route never touches.
| Self-drive Valley Drive | Guided jeep tour | |
|---|---|---|
| Backcountry access | No — public loop only | Yes — restricted areas |
| Arches & ruins | Not reachable | Sun's Eye, Ear of the Wind, ruins |
| Navajo guide & stories | No | Yes, born-and-raised Diné guides |
| Road & vehicle | Your own car on rough washboard | High-clearance 4x4, driver included |
Almost every jeep tour rolls past the icons first: the East and West Mitten Buttes and Merrick Butte — the trio you've seen on a thousand postcards — then John Ford's Point, the bluff where the director framed his Westerns and where a Navajo horseman often poses against the drop. From there the route threads to the Three Sisters spires and the slender 450-foot Totem Pole. Backcountry tours go further, into the formations the public road can't reach: Sun's Eye and Ear of the Wind arches, the Big Hogan chamber, and ancient petroglyph panels.
The tours on this page are run by Diné (Navajo) operators on their own ancestral homeland. That's not just a formality: your guide narrates the valley through Navajo eyes — the legends tied to each butte, how families still live and herd sheep here, the meaning of a traditional hogan, and the difference between Anasazi (Ancestral Puebloan) ruins and Navajo history. Many tours include a stop at a hogan or a chance to hear Navajo flute music or watch rug weaving.
Tipping your guide is customary, and photographing residents is only polite with permission.
From a quick scenic loop to a full day in the backcountry, here's how the main Monument Valley jeep tour types stack up on length, price and what you'll see.
| Tour type | Length | From | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scenic loop | 1.5–2.5 hrs | $65 | First-timers; the classic Valley Drive overlooks |
| Backcountry 4x4 | 2.5–3.5 hrs | $68 | Arches, ruins & areas closed to self-drive cars |
| Sunrise tour | 3 hrs | $78 | Soft dawn light and an empty valley |
| Sunset tour | 3 hrs | $78 | Golden-hour color on the red buttes |
| Full-day + Mystery Valley | 7 hrs | $147 | Petroglyphs, ruins and a deeper cultural visit |
Backcountry, sunrise and sunset tours are guide-only — they reach areas and timings the self-drive loop can't.
The buttes, spires and arches your Navajo guide will point out — the famous ones from Valley Drive and the hidden ones deep in the backcountry.
Sun's Eye, Ear of the Wind and the Big Hogan are reachable only on a guided backcountry jeep tour.
Our Navajo guide took us into the backcountry past the public road and it was a different world — arches, an old hogan, petroglyphs, and barely another vehicle in sight. He told stories about each formation that you'd never get driving yourself. Worth every cent.
We did the sunset tour and the buttes turned every shade of orange and red as the sun dropped. The open-air jeep was bumpy and brilliant. Our guide knew exactly where to stop for photos at John Ford's Point.
Booked the full-day Monument Valley and Mystery Valley trip. Mystery Valley was the surprise — ancient ruins and rock art with almost nobody around. Long day but our Diné guide made the history come alive. Bring water and a hat.
Scenic loops, backcountry 4x4 trips, sunrise and sunset tours and the full-day Mystery Valley adventure — all listed and compared side by side, so you can match the length and time of day to your trip.
Most tours here go beyond the 17-mile Valley Drive into restricted areas — arches, ruins and petroglyphs that self-drive visitors simply can't reach without a licensed Navajo guide.
Every jeep tour is run by Diné operators on their own ancestral land, sharing the legends, culture and history of Monument Valley from the inside — not a script read off a card.
Each tour is rated by hundreds or thousands of verified travelers, most at 4.8★ or higher, and most offer free cancellation — so you can book your date early with nothing to lose.
Monument Valley jeep tours run year-round, but heat, crowds and light change with the season. Average daytime highs (°F) and what to expect each month:
The Navajo Nation observes daylight saving time even though most of Arizona does not — double-check your tour's start time, especially for sunrise departures.
Tours ride in open-air 4x4s on dusty, unpaved roads, so come prepared for sun, wind and fine red dust. The high-desert sun is strong even when the air feels cool, and mornings and evenings can be genuinely cold. Pack light but smart:
Tours on this page run from about $65 for a short 1.5-hour scenic loop to roughly $147 for the full-day Monument Valley and Mystery Valley trip. Most 2.5- to 3.5-hour backcountry, sunrise and sunset jeep tours fall in the $68–$85 range per person. Compare every price side by side in the tour comparison table above.
For the backcountry, yes. You can drive the 17-mile Valley Drive loop yourself and reach the main overlooks, but everything beyond that public road — the arches, ruins, petroglyphs and hidden formations — is on restricted Navajo land and can only be visited on a guided jeep tour with a licensed Diné operator. Every tour listed here includes a Navajo guide; the Navajo-guided 4x4 tour puts the culture front and centre.
Both are possible, and they're different experiences. Self-driving the rough, unpaved Valley Drive in your own car reaches the famous viewpoints like the Mittens and John Ford's Point. A guided jeep tour adds a high-clearance 4x4 for the rough terrain, Navajo cultural commentary, and access to the backcountry the public loop never reaches. See the self-drive versus guided comparison in our complete guide above.
It varies by operator. Some tours include the Navajo Tribal Park entrance fee in the price and others collect it separately at the gate. Always check the inclusions on each tour card before you book — the details list exactly what is and isn't covered.
There's a length for every itinerary: quick scenic loops run 1.5–2.5 hours, backcountry 4x4 trips run 2.5–3.5 hours, sunrise and sunset tours are about 3 hours, and the full-day Monument Valley and Mystery Valley tour runs around 7 hours. Pick based on how much time you have and how deep into the valley you want to go.
Both are spectacular for photography. A sunrise tour gives you soft golden light, cool air and an almost empty valley before the day-trippers arrive. A sunset tour catches the buttes blazing orange and red as the sun drops, with dramatic long shadows. If you can only choose one and you're not an early riser, sunset is the easier pick — for the classic film overlook in evening light, see the John Ford's Point sunset tour; sunrise is the quieter, cooler experience.
April–May and September–October are the sweet spots: warm but not scorching, with comfortable light and thinner crowds. June through August is hot (highs in the 90s°F), so book a sunrise tour and carry extra water. Winter is cold but quiet, with crisp clear air and dramatic low-angle light. See the month-by-month breakdown above for details.
Beyond the public Valley Drive overlooks, a backcountry 4x4 tour reaches formations closed to self-drive visitors: natural arches like Sun's Eye and Ear of the Wind, the echoing Big Hogan chamber, ancient petroglyph panels and Ancestral Puebloan ruins, plus quiet vantage points between the famous buttes. The extended backcountry tour adds even more time at each stop, and your Navajo guide narrates the legends and history along the way.
Sun protection (hat, sunglasses, high-SPF sunscreen), layered clothing for cold mornings and warm afternoons, closed-toe shoes, plenty of water, and a buff or bandana for the dust on backcountry roads. Bring a camera and some cash to tip your guide. See the full what-to-bring checklist above.
For most travelers, yes — and the 4.8★ average across more than 6,200 reviews backs that up. The backcountry access alone (arches, ruins and petroglyphs you can't reach any other way) plus the Navajo cultural perspective turn a scenic drive into the highlight of a Southwest trip. Couples and photographers often go all-in on a private sunrise tour, while the scenic loop tours are a great-value option if you're short on time.
Pick a tour from the list above, click through to check live availability and prices, and reserve your date and time online. Booking ahead is wise for backcountry, sunrise and sunset departures, which run small and sell out in spring and fall — and most tours offer free cancellation, so there's no risk in locking in early.
Standard tours like the scenic guided loop cover the headline formations — the East and West Mitten Buttes, Merrick Butte, John Ford's Point, the Three Sisters and the Totem Pole. Backcountry and full-day tours add the hidden ones: Sun's Eye and Ear of the Wind arches, the Big Hogan, petroglyph panels, and on the full-day trip the ruins of neighboring Mystery Valley.