One of the most anticipated stops on our road trip from the East Coast to the West was the Four Corners Monument, but there are definitely a few things I would have liked to know about visiting before we made the trek out there.
Four Corners is the only place in the United States where you can stand in four states at the same time (or if you’re like me, pretend you’re Spider Man in four states…). The Four Corners Monument is located on the Navajo Nation land (also home to the Utes) where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah intersect.
- You’ll wait in line to get your picture taken. Plan out your photos and poses before your turn comes so you aren’t the annoying family that takes 10 minutes. And there will be people in your picture. Just go with it. While we were there, there was a lady calling ALL of her friends and family, walking in a circle saying over and over, “Guess where I am now? Hellooooo from Colorado! Wait. Guess where I am now? I’m in Utah! Wait. Wait. Helloooo from Arizona!” And over and over and over. I actually love that we caught her in our family picture above because it makes us laugh every time we think of Four Corners.
- There is a $5 per person entrance fee (not a per car fee) and they only accept cash. Be prepared.
- The parking lot is rough. If it has rained recently, cover your shoes with plastic bags before getting out of the car. Or just expect muddy shoes.
- Four Corners is in the middle of nowhere. Make sure you fill up your gas tank when you have a chance (Teec Nos Pos is about 6 miles away and has a small gas station, but Teec Nos Pos is in the middle of nowhere, too).
- Bring water and snacks. There is no running water at Four Corners (they do have portable pottys and snacks available for purchase).
- Plan time to browse the vendors. At first I was a little turned off when I saw that the monument was literally surrounded by vendors selling their goods….until I started looking at them and talking to the vendors. The best part of our visit was chatting with a Navajo man who taught my boys how to make arrow heads and arrows. He even graciously let me take some pictures of him working and teaching my boys. THAT was worth the entrance fee for us. Funny side note: this guy worked in our area last winter!
- Address: 4 Corners Road, Teec Nos Pos, NM 86514 (There will be signs directing you from Teec Nos Pos) Note: our GPS “found” Teec Nos Pos in Arizona. We had a tough time finding on GPS at first.
- Hours: I couldn’t find a definitive answer about the hours (lots of conflicting info). Check before you go that these times are current (or go in the middle of the day to be safe): Open 7 am – 8 pm (June – Sept) and 8 am – 5 pm (Oct – May) – Phone: (928) 206-2540
- Is it worth the visit? We were glad we stopped…but we were also glad that we hadn’t gone out of our way to get there. We were fortunate that Four Corners was a pretty convenient stop on our road trip. We all decided that Four Corners is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of opportunity. It is SO cool to be there, but it’s definitely something you only need to do once.
In the area…
We had stayed the night before in Farmington, New Mexico and our route to Four Corners took us through Shiprock. The rock formation that gave the area its name was quite a sight! This shot was taken through the window:
We drove to Arches National Park after stopping at Four Corners, and our route took us by an incredible rock formation sitting alone by the side of the road. We found out later that it is called Church Rock, and it can be found along Route 191 between Monticello and Moab, Utah. There was a nice place to pull off the road for pictures (there were at least 4 or 5 other families there at the same time) but you can’t get close to Church Rock. It’s on private land, so you’ll have to make do with a road-side view.
Have you ever been to Four Corners?
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How cool that you’ve got family in that area! There are so many other spots in that region that I want to go back and see.
My family visited four corners when I was a kid- we would go west every summer to see the sights. 15 years later, I married into a family from that area! My MIL grew up in SW Colorado so now I have family all over there. We were just out visiting three weeks ago but didn’t make the trek over to four corners. I wish we had though. Maybe when the kids are a little older and we can do that and Mesa Verde.