Four Corners to Monument Valley: Directions?

Question

We will be driving from Four Corners National Monument to Goulding's Lodge in Monument Valley. We are looking for a recommended route. MapQuest recommends 160W to 191N to 163S, at 103 miles and 1:49. Gouldings Lodge recommends 160W to 163N, estimated at 2 hours. Looks like there is also a route to go 160NE to 41NW to 162NW to 163SW.

On the way to Four Corners, we will have already come from the intersection of 160 and 163, so taking the Goulding directions would take use back along the route we we already on. It would be fun to take a different route, but we do not want to drive too far out of our way.

Thanks for the help.

Answer 1

If you're already coming from the Kayenta area to go to Four Corners, here's the way to get back:

After the jaunt up to Four Corners, get back on 160E to 41N. 41N becomes 162W when you cross into Utah. In Bluff, 162W intersects with 163S - take that back to Goulding's. Check out Hovenweep National Monument if you get close.

Enjoy!!

Answer 2

If you had not already been to Kayenta, i would tell you to take the Lodge's directions...But why backtrack if you want max scenery, then I would take the Mapquest route. That route will take you by a big mountain in southern Utah. Your final route option seemed a little complicated. I am assuming you haven't seen this part of the country before. If that is true, you may not realize just how far in the middle of NO WHERE you will actually be. Stick to the main roads, and keep your gas tank full. Have fun!

Answer 3

Yeah I agree w/ Gemma I used to live in that part of the world too.
A couple of more things:
Just before you get into Mexican Hat and cross the San Juan River , you will see a sign that says Goosenecks of the San Juan State Park by all means take the detour and check the place out.
Granted you are basically in the middle of nowhere but gasoline is not really the problem in that part of the world. I doubt if one could be more than 40 miles from a gas station anywhere in that part of the America.
The real problem in that part of America is hospitals or lack thereof.
There is a statistic that basically says that while numerically only 20% of the total auto accidents in AZ happen in rural areas something like 80% of the total fatalities from auto accidents happen in rural areas.
The biggest reason for acidents is that people mis-judge the speed of oncoming traffic when doing high speed passing on two lane roads .
You can tell who the locals are ; they drive slightly over to the right.
Get into the habit of scanning oncoming traffic . What you're looking for is somebody pulling out around a large vehicle and coming into your lane of traffic .
A couple of more reasons for accidents:
The fact you're driving on open range and fences are designed to keep things OUT
So it's not unheard of to be driving at high speed and all of a sudden find sheep in the road. Assuming you survive it you will have to pay for the sheep.
There are many places where cellphones don't work .
Add it all up and by the time that help gets to you and you get to a hospital that can take care of you , it could be hours and you may not have that long. So be careful and enjoy the area because it is truly spectacular.

Answer 4

dying Valley is in California approximately 3 hundred miles from Grand Canyon. The Overland path follows highway 80 by using Utah, Nevada and California and is greater advantageous than 3 hundred miles north of dying Valley and in all possibility approximately 500 north of Grand Canyon at its closest factor. direction sixty six interior the West follows I 15 and that i 40 and skirts a minimum of one hundred fifty miles south of dying Valley and in all possibility with regard to the comparable distance from Grand Canyon at its closest. Yosemite Falls is tucked away interior the guts of the Sierra Nevada Mountains - intense and deep interior the park. it truly is impossible to confirm the falls from exterior Yosemite Valley, not to indicate from exterior the park. the fast answer is to discover a map and lookup all of those places. you will see that there are great distances between all of them. The West is a great place!