4CornerFlyer
Line Up and Wait
I've been meaning to get there for a while, but finally did a day trip to Monument Valley Airport (UT25) today. It's a private strip just north of the Utah/Arizona border in what is said to be the most photographed land in the country.
The strip is owned by Goulding's Lodge, which is about a two minute walk from the parking area, although a van showed up to give us a ride without being asked. On site they have a motel and camping, and a decent restaurant that's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I had the green chile stew with frybread...going with the local Navajo specialty. Desserts looked excellent. There's a museum showcasing the history of the old trading post and the many westerns filmed there.
Goulding's offers tours of the Monument Valley Tribal Park, ranging from 2 1/2 hours for $35 to a full-day for $80. No need to make reservations, just show up and buy a ticket a few minutes before departure time, which is around 9am, 1:30 pm and 4 pm this time of year. They also have a Full Moon tour, which I'll have to come back someday to do. Definitely wouldn't leave that airstrip after dark.
As to the landing facility itself, the runway is about 4000 feet long, mostly dirt with about 1/4 paved on the south end. There's fair slope to the runway, so you land to the south and takeoff to the north. When you land, you're aiming right at a high mesa a quarter-mile past the end of the runway. If you're late on a go-around, you'll hit this brick wall--see the photo. There are no obstructions on your downhill departure, so even on a hot summer day you'll be okay. The runway surface was pretty smooth. No trouble for my Mooney, or for most common aircraft. They get a lot of traffic from the sightseeing flights out of Vegas and Page...not unusual for there to be a squadron of Twin-Otters on the ramp. Supposedly they use 122.9 as a CTAF, but I can't say I heard anyone else call on it. The strip is charted, but can be hard to find, as the dirt blends in with the landscape. Once you've seen it, it's easy, but the first time, you might want to plug in lat-long coordinates from Airnav or the lodge.
For info, look at www.gouldings.com. I found them to be extremely helpful in answering questions, and they are very happy to have people flying in. All in all it's a fantastic place to visit by plane.
Jon
The strip is owned by Goulding's Lodge, which is about a two minute walk from the parking area, although a van showed up to give us a ride without being asked. On site they have a motel and camping, and a decent restaurant that's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I had the green chile stew with frybread...going with the local Navajo specialty. Desserts looked excellent. There's a museum showcasing the history of the old trading post and the many westerns filmed there.
Goulding's offers tours of the Monument Valley Tribal Park, ranging from 2 1/2 hours for $35 to a full-day for $80. No need to make reservations, just show up and buy a ticket a few minutes before departure time, which is around 9am, 1:30 pm and 4 pm this time of year. They also have a Full Moon tour, which I'll have to come back someday to do. Definitely wouldn't leave that airstrip after dark.
As to the landing facility itself, the runway is about 4000 feet long, mostly dirt with about 1/4 paved on the south end. There's fair slope to the runway, so you land to the south and takeoff to the north. When you land, you're aiming right at a high mesa a quarter-mile past the end of the runway. If you're late on a go-around, you'll hit this brick wall--see the photo. There are no obstructions on your downhill departure, so even on a hot summer day you'll be okay. The runway surface was pretty smooth. No trouble for my Mooney, or for most common aircraft. They get a lot of traffic from the sightseeing flights out of Vegas and Page...not unusual for there to be a squadron of Twin-Otters on the ramp. Supposedly they use 122.9 as a CTAF, but I can't say I heard anyone else call on it. The strip is charted, but can be hard to find, as the dirt blends in with the landscape. Once you've seen it, it's easy, but the first time, you might want to plug in lat-long coordinates from Airnav or the lodge.
For info, look at www.gouldings.com. I found them to be extremely helpful in answering questions, and they are very happy to have people flying in. All in all it's a fantastic place to visit by plane.
Jon
It's not just a Navajo thing, the various Alaskan natives have it too.
(was over in Page a number of years, can't count the times I drove through MV to get to somewhere else. Beautiful!)
