The View Campground

This is definitely a 1 night stay type of place. Tons of tourist coming and going, for good reason of course. The monuments are incredible and right there! The RV sites are basically just a slotted parking lot with a picnic table each. No hookups of any kind. I went in July and it was not bad once the sun went down in my popup with the windows slightly unzipped.

You don’t have a great view of the mittens from most all of the RV sites except the first few up by the entrance. But it’s a short walk over to some tables you can sit at and enjoy the stunning view.

Not my favorite campsite but it does the trick for a night to enjoy the monuments only steps away.

Bathrooms are not great and 1 of the two sinks didn’t with as well as 1 of 3 showers during my stay. Only 1 toilet Shower has been out of service for over 2 months it said so… not great at upkeep… avoid shower/bathroom from 8-10 as it was a long line out the door lol.

The tent sites are wild and have by far the best view even over the cabins. They are right in the valley by not super flat so be aware of that.

Overall a super cool place a lots of cool hand made items to check out in the gift shop.

I can't say enough how much i loved camping at The View. 

We arrived at the campground at 11:30pm and were so afraid we'd be unable to register or find our site in the dark, let alone set up our tent. Luckily, if you arrive after 10:00 or so, you can register at the hotel on-site. Staff is incredible helpful. Apparently we were not the only late arrivals; quite a few seemed to be setting up and/or showering when we arrived. And lucky for us, a high, bright moon made it easy to see and get around, and provided one of the most majestic views of the rock formations i can imagine. We kept the tent fly off to enjoy the views all night.

Parking is a few feet away from the campsites; you'll have to carry your gear in. Be aware that there are rattle snakes and scorpions in the area. Staff warned us to close bathroom doors and tent doors behind you.  We saw a snake in the morning, but it did not look like a rattlesnake. Security circles around at night, which was comforting for me.

No additional costs for showers, but you do need a bathroom/shower code which you receive upon registering. Water drains slowly, causing slight flooding in the bathroom. Don't forget some shower shoes.

It felt like most families woke up early for the gorgeous sunrise, packed up, and left before the August heat set in. By 9am, seemed like everyone was gone, so we got to enjoy some solitude before the 11am checkout. Might not really be the type of heat one can camp in for multiple days. 

There's a trailhead in the campground that goes near the cabin area and down into the valley. There's also a loop drive with unbeatable views. Campground lives up to it's name!

RV and campervan sites line up and face East for a sunrise view of the Mittens. There is a separate tent location below the RV sites. Each site has a picnic table. No tree cover or shade. There is a code accessed bathhouse with flush toilets, sinks, and showers. Showers have a changing area which could benefit from hooks or a bench. The greatest benefit is the superior view!

The Wildcat Trail (3.7) miles is s great hike in the morning or evening when the sun isn’t directly overhead it took is a few hours at a slow pace to take plenty of pictures.

While in MV we took in two adventures, horseback riding and a Jeep tour. The two hour horseback tour was with the Dinah Riding Stable between point 4-5 on the scenic drive. The Navajo guide provided information on area history and the specific lore around spires and buttes. My daughter, who is an experienced rider, was able to run her horse up the trail while my son and I hung back at a trot- walk.

The three hour jeep tour was with Majestic Adventures and included a guide who shared generations of stories based on Navajo culture. She played a flute under a caved dome and took us to a traditional Hogan to learn about living in MV.

The View Campground is located in Monument Valley on the Navajo Tribal land. There is an additional $5 fee to enter the tribal area, in addition to the camping fee. The campground area consists of RV sites (basically a series of parking spots parallel to each other with a picnic table), and the tent sites are hike-in only from the parking area. We stayed one night in a campervan in an RV site. I reserved the site ahead of time, and on arrival we were given a map with the occupied sites marked off, and we were able to choose our own site from the remaining sites. It's not called "the View" for nothing! Our site had a phenomenal view of the Mittens, and sunrise and sunset were stunning. While there we drove the 17 mile scenic drive around the monuments, and in the morning ran the 4 mile Wildcat trail. What a unique place to stay. It was VERY windy when we were there, but we were able to position our van so that cooking, etc. wasn't an issue. There are cabins adjacent to the camping area, and a hotel and store on the way in (we didn't stop at this). The staff were very friendly. Bathrooms were very clean and showers were available at no extra cost, which was great! (we were given an access code to the bathrooms on check in). No fires were allowed. The site is pretty pricey as it is essentially a bare parking spot; but this is the most beautiful parking spot I have ever slept in ;). Potable water was available at the far end of the campground. A one night stay was perfect for us to experience the area. The camp sites are not great for just hanging around at, but there are other tours (jeep, horseback) that you could take advantage of.

Camp site was about $40. A credit card was required for the camp site. The park entry fee was cash only. Sites ~17 - 24 (or 25, can't remember) had the most unobstructed view.