Best Tent Camping near Shonto, AZ

Canyon View at Navajo National Monument : This is such an outstanding campground that it was a shame it was closed in mid May. Staff told me that it was closed because work needed to be finished on the toilets. No work was being done on them when we walked through.

(71 yr olds in 17’ trailer.)

Overall Rating: 5+ Price 2024: $ w interagency pass Security: no Usage during visit: closed Site Privacy: Very good Site Spacing: Very good Pad surface: Gravel Reservations: First come first serve Outside Road Noise: None Through Traffic in campground: No Electric Hookup: no Sewer Hookup: no Dump Station: no Potable Water Available: At Sunset View campground. Generators: Allowed Bathroom: Pit toilets Showers: no Pull Throughs: Available Cell Service (AT&T): 1 bar Setting: juniper and piñon pine Recent Weather: 60 to 70s w occasional wind. Solar: Great Insects:No Host: No Rig Size: 28’ max. Sites: There are some great sites, large and w great views. These are identified in included pics.

Camp site (Teardrop camping)

We stayed at the Sunset View CG since the Canyon View CG was closed when we got there. Both campgrounds are very close to each other. We took the unpaved road to get to the top of the hill where the CG was and it was a slow & shaky drive..... There is a paved road so don't be fooled by Waze :)

CG is very quiet and has scenic sites that are well spaced out. The sites were big enough and paved well to easily park teardrop trailers and RVs. It felt very private with not many people on the campground. The wind in October was pretty strong so be prepared.

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Facilities / Amenities

Bathrooms were clean but no showers. The cleaning station was locked because of cold. No fire rings on the camp site but there are picnic tables.

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Surrounding area

This campground is close to the visitor center. The night sky and the sunset were fabulous!

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Sunset View: Pretty good, w some nice more private sites . 1/4 mile to all trailheads

(71 yr olds in 17’ trailer.)

Overall Rating: 3.6 Price 2024: $ FREE Security: No Usage during visit: Pretty full by sunset Site Privacy: Some sites are Site Spacing: inner circle sites are pretty close. Most outer circle sites are nice Pad surface: Blacktop Reservations: No Campground Noise: Quiet Outside Road Noise: Not close to highway Through Traffic in campground: No Electric Hookup: no Sewer Hookup: no Dump Station: no Potable Water Available: yes Generators: allowed Bathroom: Flush toilets. Not well maintained and only one stall operational in the men’s Showers: No Pull Throughs: Some sites Cell Service (AT&T): 1-2 bars Setting: On a ridge of sorts w juniper and piñon pines Recent Weather: 60 and low 70s high w wind. Solar: Excellent. Trees are short enough. In site #7 w 409 w panels filled 100 amp battery even on cloudiest day Insects: No issue this time of yr Host: No Rig Size: 28’ posted as max. Sites: most liked:2, 7*, ,9,11,13,14(best view),15*,16*, 23*, 28. Better pull over sites: 3(w view from picnic area) & 30.

This is a really nice campground within Navajo Nation near Monument Valley Park. With tax, we paid $47 for full hookups. Pretty pricey for us, but we didn’t have many other alternatives if we wanted to stay in this area. No boondocking allowed on Navajo Nation land. 

There are a few RV sites with no hookups for $29 available, but you are charged $10 to use the dump anyway. There are also tent sites available. The views from this campground are just amazing, and there are several short hikes from here as well. They offer laundry, showers (hot and free and clean), wifi, and there is a store with some basic necessities. 

A short walk away (about a mile) is the lodge, gift shop, museum, movie theater with a John Wayne movie every night, and restaurant. There’s also a grocery store. The setup is your basic RV park lineup of sites all in a row, but we didn’t mind at all, surrounded by such gorgeous scenery. Each site comes with a picnic table and fire ring. 

Heads up that RVs are not allowed on the scenic loop through Monument Valley. Also that the America the Beautiful Annual Parks Pass is not honored here and it’s $20 to enter.

There are a few families close to the entrance to the park that have small campgrounds. From what I can see, this one is the best. Camping at Arrowhead gives you the feel that you are alone (or almost alone) in the desert with a surreal view of ancient mittens outside your tent or RV window. The experience is close to boon docking. Each of the five sites have a picnic table, fire pit, and shade structure. There is a shared pit toilet in the far corner of the three acre campground. It is super clean. There is no water, but if you need a jug filled, the host can help you out.  The surface is pretty flat and close enough to level that setting up your rig is easy. 

What really sets this place apart is the view. That's what you are coming to the Monument Valley for, and the place has got it. The sites are set up in a semi circle. Each has an excellent view of a handful of the distant mittens. 

All the sites have great views. I recommend sites three or five. My guess is that they will expand soon. Future sites may end up behind the original five and may have obstructed views.

Jeremy, the host is very accommodating. He meets each camper as they arrive (at lease as we have been able to observe). His extended family has been on the land for two hundred years. If you need anything like a guided tour of the park or Navajo Tacos, he likely has a relative that can help you out. We got picked up for a tour of the private sections of the park at our campsite. 

We are spending three nights in the area, so I had a chance to check out a few other campgrounds. The campground inside the park is simply a big gravel parking lot with RV's lined up in a row. They allow about twenty feet between units. We would have stayed there if they allowed dogs. I'm glad we brought our dog along. Otherwise, we would have missed this place. If you want hook ups or other amenities, there are other places to stay a couple of miles away (try Gouldings).

The one downside I'll share is the wind. When the wind is up, it howls through the area. I don't think you could find a campground within thirty miles that was protected from it. That said, the sand blows through Arrowhead pretty severely. 

We are really happy that we happened to choose this place. If we come back to the area, we are staying here.

A must stop - we cannot believe this campground is free and so unpopular. There are full service restrooms with a camp sink outside, charcoal grills and picnic tables at each site. Note that fires are not permitted and sites do not have fire rings. We arrived around 5pm on a Monday on our way from North Rim Grand Canton to Monument Vally and Arches. There were only 4 or 5 others here and about 30 sites. The sites are spread out and have great privacy between them thanks to vegetation. The temperature is mild and we’re in for a fantastic sunset view from our site tonight (#4)!

This is a New KOA during our stay the had some working being done still, they have just finished the bathrooms and showers, the road was still also being worked on, but was fine to drive in my car. It's very close to the actual park entrance only a few miles away, the wifi is spotty at best, and our electrical on our tent site was not yet up and running, they only had fire would for sale, as they were putting a small store together, and the road noise is not bad but it's right by the main roadway, with that all being said, all can easily be put aside as the VIEW.....AMAZING!!!

The bathrooms and showers had very nice materials in them, they were also putting together the kids playground, I plan to come back next year when hopefully it's complete. For the 3 night stay Under $120 it was perfect, which included our grass site for two tent's a fire ring with grill insert and a picnic table. There's another cool rock structure called Mexican hat which is about 30 minutes east and if you drive a little over an hour you can visit the four corners.