The Four Corners Region

Why the Four Corners Is Worth A Stop
(Even If It Isn’t “Pretty”)

Let’s be honest up front. The Four Corners Region … highlighted by the Four Corners National Monument … isn’t Angel’s Landing or Delicate Arch. It is a concrete plaza in sparse desert country. The wind is usually blowing. The nearby landscape isn’t even that cool.

The dust whips through the plaza and parking lot with nothing to stop it. It is not particularly scenic when compared to some of the other sites in the area.

Yet … if you like geography, road trips, or Americana … this little spot where Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico touch is oddly intriguing. You can stand with a foot (or a hand) in four states at once.

You can pose for the classic photo while doing so. Buy a frybread taco and a piece of handmade jewelry from a local artisan.

You also get to check off a bucket-list oddity before moving on to explore a nearby region that is anything but ordinary.

Like the area itself, this article was just a footnote after describing all the other places my wife and I experienced on our 1,800-mile southern Utah and Colorado road trip.

Nonetheless, we didn’t have to go out of our way to visit it so we added it to our list.

What The Monument Is (And Isn’t)

The plaque marks the legal intersection of the four states as recognized today. Surveyors first set a monument at this spot in the late 19th century.

Later measurements refined the lines somewhat but the accepted boundary remains where the original surveys placed it. The site is run by Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation and sits entirely on Navajo Nation land.

It is ringed by vendor stalls from Navajo and Ute artisans although many of them were either empty or closed the day we visited. I'm not sure if this is seasonal or year-round reality.

There is an $8 entrance fee. National passes and senior passes don’t work. Some reviews may say that $8 isn’t worth it.

If you’re in this area, though, you’ve probably been traveling and $8 isn’t much when compared to some other things you may have to pay for.

We visited in early June so the crowds were way down we were told. The bathrooms are outhouses but you really don’t have a choice way out here.

In fact, some of the outhouses were closed (for unknown and unfathomable reasons). This seems to be an ongoing problem.

Even with the smaller off-season crowds, expect a line at the medallion or marker. It seems like the cool thing is to take a selfie while posing on the large medallion.

We had to endure the loud-mouthed old guy from Texas with the young woman on his arm pose for a montage of action shots. We know he was from Texas as we later saw him driving through Mesa Verde.

His license plate revealed where he was from. Luckily we didn’t have to listen to him there. “I’m not even drunk yet” was a warning shot to us that he gets even worse.

There is a ring of booths with jewelry, pottery, crafts and some food stands. It might have been because of the slow season but many of them were closed on our visit. The plaza area was clean and well laid out.

The road in and parking area is gravel and dirt. Expect to get dusty and dirty. The setting is nothing special. Even a little ugly considering what you may have experienced nearby at Monument Valley or Goosenecks State Park in Utah.

Why People Actually Like It

Once again, the area is not impressive at all. You come for the novelty but maybe you leave with a sense of place. The plaza is nice and well laid-out.

The Four Corners Area may seem like it is celebrating a plaque out in the middle of nowhere. Even so, it is a crossroads of cultures and landscapes: Diné (Navajo), Ute Mountain Ute, Hopi, and Pueblo homelands.

There are sandstone buttes and badlands nearby but there is nothing that stands out about the surrounding terrain that I could see.

We read that there were even high meadows and cedar-studded mesas nearby although not apparent from the monument. It is where you are going or where you are coming from that makes this a convenient stop along the way.

What To Expect At The Marker

There was a short queue to stand on the seal when we visited. I can imagine there being long lines on busy days. Of course, there are the youthful limber ones taking the “starfish” pose … one limb in each state … while someone crouches to frame it all.

The short line seemed to move along quickly except for the aforementioned “big hat” guy. They say to come early or late for smaller crowds but we were there on a June mid-day and it wasn’t bad at all.

Summer will be hot with very little shade. It was pleasantly in the mid-70’s F in early June. Water, sunscreen and a hat are good items to carry. Of course, if you’re visiting this area, you should have those anyway as they’ll be needed elsewhere.

The Four Corners Region: Where To Go Next

Should you make a special trip to see The Four Corners Monument? Is it worth it? I would say no.

If you’re driving to the Four Corners just to see this monument, you’ll be disappointed. If you’re visiting some of the surrounding attractions and it is a convenient drive-through, then go for it.

We were on our way from Monument Valley to Cortez, CO so we took the route through Kayenta. It was basically on the way so it wasn’t a big deal for us. Plus we wanted to be able to say that we’ve been there.

Within a couple hours’ drive you do have world-class landforms, ancient ruins and classic “Old West” vistas. Chances are that if you are thinking of visiting The Four Corners region, then you’re already planning on visiting one or more of the following:

• Monument Valley: 45- 75 minutes depending on your approach. The buttes you’ve seen in a hundred films. Navajo-led tours reach places the self-drive cannot. This place was everything we envisioned.
• Hovenweep National Monument: Quiet, photogenic pueblo towers perched on canyon rims. Sunrise and sunset are fantastic. A thought-provoking outdoor museum requiring some hiking.
• Mesa Verde National Park: Cliff dwellings and a deep dive into Ancestral Puebloan culture. Plan on ½ to a full day here. It is a long way up to the top of the plateau. The wildfires of the early 2000’s left an amazing scarring the area is still recovering from. We hadn’t envisioned the amount of Mesa Verde terrain that had burned before this visit.
• Bears Ears Country: In Utah. Valley of the Gods, Goosenecks State Park, Muley Point. Big sky, few people, immense views.
• Shiprock: In New Mexico. Iconic volcanic neck rising from the flats. Admire from a distance and respect Navajo Nation regulations.
• Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness: Also in New Mexico. Badlands with hoodoos and otherworldly rock forms. Great for hikers and photographers.

You won’t do all of these in a day obviously. You can pick one or two and still make it a memorable loop.

Getting To The Four Corners Region

The monument sits just off US-160 on NM-597 which is a short signed spur road. Choose the approach that fits the rest of your trip:

• From Cortez, CO: Head west on US-160 through Towaoc and the Ute Mountain area. Watch for the well-marked turn to NM-597 near the state line.
• From Kayenta/Monument Valley, AZ: Take US-160 east. The spur appears soon after you cross into New Mexico. This is the route we took. Not a lot to see along this route.
• From Bluff/Mexican Hat, UT: Drive south on US-163, then east on US-160 to the spur.
• From Durango, CO: Follow US-160 west via Mancos and Cortez to the NM-597 turnoff.

Fuel up beforehand. Depending on where you’re coming from, Cortez, Kayenta or Bluff are your best bets.

Download offline maps and expect spotty cell service throughout this region once you leave the bigger towns.

When To Go (And How Long To Plan)

You can visit the Four Corners Region year-round. Spring and fall are the sweet spots with cooler temps and clearer skies.

Summer brings heat and afternoon monsoon downpours. Winter can be cold and windy but crowd-free.

The actual Four Corners Monument is a short stop. 20 to 45 minutes depending on the time of year (crowds) and how long you browse the booths. Add time for any of the side trips above and it quickly becomes a full day.

We drove from Blanding to Bluff (and Goosenecks State Park) to Mexican Hat to Monument Valley to Kayenta with a quick stop along the way at Four Corners before heading to Cortez, CO all in one day.

We left Blanding by 09:30 and were in Cortez by 4:00 PM. We saw most of the things along the way we wanted to see despite running into road construction on the way to Kayenta.

This Is Mostly A “Been There” Stop

Think of the Four Corners Region like a milepost on a great road trip. It certainly wasn’t a highlight of this road trip.

But it was a short … probably essential for us … chapter. It’s the kind of place we can say that we’ve been to (“We stood in four states!”) .

Memorable? Barely. As I’ve said previously, most people aren’t impressed. Consider me in that group. There’s nothing impressive about it other than the location.

If you can include it along the way to or from one of the many memorable places in that area of the country, then check it out. If you miss it, no big deal. You didn’t miss much.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Canyonlands National Park

Wasatch Mountains

Lake Powell

Zion National Park

Arches National Park

Great Salt Lake

Monument Valley