Moki Dugway to Valley of the Gods — Cedar Mesa Escarpment and Monument Valley Approach

The Moki Dugway on Utah’s Highway 261 is one of the most dramatic road descents in the American West — a dirt shelf road blasted into the face of the Cedar Mesa escarpment in 1958 to haul uranium ore out of the canyon country below. From the top, the entire Valley of the Gods spreads out below you like a busted-open piece of the Colorado Plateau, with Navajo sandstone towers rising 400 feet from the desert floor. Once you’ve dropped the switchbacks, the 17-mile dirt loop through Valley of the Gods itself winds between named formations including Setting Hen Butte, Rooster Butte, and Battleship Rock — isolated, eerie, and completely unpeopled on most weekdays. The full circuit connects to Mexican Hat on US-163, making it a legitimate point-to-point with Monument Valley visible on the southern horizon.

The Moki Dugway itself is passable by most high-clearance vehicles in dry conditions — the surface is hard-packed clay and gravel — but it is absolutely not for the nervous or the novice. Fifteen percent grades, sheer drop-offs, no guardrails, and it narrows to one lane in places. Valley of the Gods road turns impassable when wet; that red clay is as slick as ice. Best run spring or fall — summer heat is brutal and monsoon season (July–September) can trap you. No permit required. Dispersed camping throughout the BLM land in Valley of the Gods is free and legal. Fuel in Blanding or Mexican Hat. This one earns its reputation every single mile.