Visiting the Four Corners Monument

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Do you like unique geographical locations and want to stand in 4 US states all at once? Then you’ve got to visit the Four Corners Monument one day! It’s the only location in the US where the borders of 4 states touch.

The Four Corners Monument. Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico. USA
The text around the marker says, Four States – Here Meet – In Freedom – Under God

Where are the four corners located?

The four corners monument is located in the states of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. The land is owned and operated by the Navajo Tribal Park. It also is a boundary between the Navajo nation and the Ute tribe.


What’s nearby?

To be honest, saying it’s in the middle of nowhere isn’t a stretch. You probably would not go on a specific trip just to see the Four Corners, however if you’re going to other places out west, then it’s worth it as a stop in between or on the way to different locations.

You will need a car to get here as well.

We came here as a stop on our 2 week western parks road trip. After leaving the Grand Canyon south rim, we stopped first in Monument Valley, then the 4 corners, and onto Mesa Verde National Park. It was a great in between for these locations!

Distance & Time from other points of interest nearby:

Are there places to stay at overnight?

Nothing very close. You’re best off to head out towards Monument Valley and the town of Kayenta, or Cortez, Colorado which isn’t too far either.

 

Four Corners hours and entrance fee

There’s an entrance fee of $5 per person, cash only, and it’s open from 8am till 5, or 8pm depending on the season. Check dates and times on their website here.

Parking is very plentiful–you can basically choose which of the 4 states to park in! We parked, and also used the bathroom(port-a-potty that it was), in New Mexico 😀

desert landscape
The land is very deserted here. Not much to see other than a lot of dirt and just touches of green from some desert plants. This was the view from all 4 states behind the monument area. It’s so dry all around, although the San Juan river does run nearby in Colorado.

Things to Do

Stand in four states at once!

Of course this is THE thing to do, the reason why you come here! People stand around and wait their turn to go and sit, stand, or make a wacky pose on top of the marker. There are signs around saying there’s a limit of 3 photos, which is a good thing if it gets crowded I’m sure, but when we were there, it wasn’t so we did take a few more than just 3. No one seemed to mind and those around were respectful of giving everybody a turn.

sitting on the Four Corners monument
Yes! Checked this off the bucket list. Got to stand-and sit- in all 4 states at once!
geological Marker for utah, colorado, arizona, new mexico 4 corners
The Four Corner’s Marker sitting on top a granite slab.

Shop around at the many Navajo vendors selling their arts & crafts

Surrounding the monument are tons of shopping stalls. There’s lots of jewelry, both cheap and expensive, dream catchers, pottery, paintings, and a lot more. Many of them are even working on their craft right there. The one man we saw was making painted decorated arrows with arrow heads made out of some type of stone that when held up to the sun the light shined through beautifully!

Take a walk on “Dancin’ Horse Trail”

Yes there is actually a small trail here! It’s not long either,  only about 0.3 miles. It leads to a spot with a few overlooks of the San Juan River.

Dancin Horse Trail sign
The only trail at the Four Corners.

Get a bite to eat if you can

When we were there, there was only 1 food vendor, we thought there would be more-and maybe at other times of the year there is (we went in October).

The food vendor was out in the parking lot area somewhat near the main entrance in a white trailer with a slightly larger area attached on for shade and a place to sit.

It was closed when we first went over to it. This was bad, because we were both planning to get some food here, and we were hungry. After maybe a half hour or so though (we went back to look around at the shops for bit), there was an “Open” sign out and the door was open too, yay!

Navajo fry bread shop
Navajo Fry Bread, Hot Dogs, Tacos, and Sno Cones were for sale.

There wasn’t a lot on the menu, but we didn’t care, we were starving by now! We each got a Navajo Hotdog, which was simply a hot dog with your choice of toppings on some fry bread for a bun.

There was just a single woman cooking inside the trailer, doing orders individually, one at a time. Thankfully there were only 2 people in front of us when we ordered, so after their food came out it was about a 15 minute wait for our food. Was nothing exceptional, but pretty tasty!

Four Corners Food vendors
Inside the little boarded up room where the food vendor was selling & making fry bread, etc.

 

Is the Four Corners Monument worth seeing?

I see a lot of up and down reviews on the place. Some people say it’s a waste of time and money to charge a fee to stand on a spot on the ground in the middle of nowhere. Others, like myself, think it’s pretty awesome to be able to stand in 4 states all at once! I personally think it was very much worth it, but I love traveling, geography, and unique places such as these!

Four Corners Monument plaque
Plaque stating that the monument here is the official location of the Four Corners. There are disputes to its exact geographical location, but this is the officially recognized spot by the government.

And…that’s about it!  You can make this a quick 1 hour stop or less if you wanted to. And make sure you bring your own food if you’re really hungry, especially some water as it’s very sunny and can be hot! I felt it was an hour or two well spent on our road trip in between Monument Valley and driving to Mesa Verde National Park.


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16 thoughts on “Visiting the Four Corners Monument”

  1. Whoa. I did not know about the The Four Corners Monument. I am a border junkie. Even though this one is not an international border but I still find it an exciting place. Hope to see it someday.

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  2. I totally agree with you, I think if you ventured off that far anyways why not do it? “When in Rome” as they say. I would totally pay to stand there, how many times can you stay you’ve stood in four different parts. I am hoping to revisit that part of the States and when I do, I know where I am going lol

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  3. I am quite surprised that there would be people who would think that is a waste of money. I think it is absolutely cool! It’s not just a border between two places, it is an intersection of four different states! It is so amazing to stand in that spot. I’ve actually seen photos of people who would crouch on all fours so they get to touch all four sides!

    Reply
  4. I LOVE places like this! The whole idea of being in more than one place at the same time really excites me! When I was in Ecuador I went to the equator and was in the Northern and Southern hemisphere at the same time, and at another point I’ve been in Nepal and India at the same time. Everybody knows about both experiences because I won’t shut up about them! I’ve actually never heard of the Four Corners Monument but honestly it really does sound like my kind of place! Especially if it’s owned and operated by the Navajo Tribal Park – two birds, one stone!

    Reply
    • Oh I’d love to go to the equator and stand in both hemispheres! That’s going on my to-do list for places to visit 🙂

      Reply
  5. Glad to hear you had a good time even though there wasn’t much to do. This reminds me of the movie A Walk to Remember, but with 4 states! Must be pretty cool to be in 4 different places at once.

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  6. You know I never knew about this place until a couple of years ago, when I saw a comedy that has a scene here. How cool being able to stand on 4 states at once and I too would love to be able to sit on the 4 states. I think I might be just adding this one to my list 🙂 Cool pictures too

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  7. I have watched a few videos about the four corners monument. But in real it might be totally thrilling to be in 4 states at one point of time. Hope you had an amazing time. Thanks for the insight.

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  8. Looks like a unique place to stop off for a while. I am sure you can get some deep thinking done here since it’s so deserted and there’s nothing much else to do. Thanks for posting!

    Reply
    • When we went there it was in October, so no it wasn’t hot. I had a long sleeve light jacket and pants on and I was fine. It was VERY sunny however, and as you can see not a cloud in the sky lol. Very dry too so we were drinking a lot of water. In the summer I imagine it can get pretty hot though.

      Reply
  9. This is so great! I am a art/photography travel blogger also! We are a RARE breed! Great post about the corners. I wanted to go when we went to Monument Valley but of course, my husband said it would be a waste of time.

    Reply
    • Oh how cool, I will definitely be checking out your blog! I’m lucky that my husband doesn’t really care and will just go along with what I want to do travel-wise, otherwise I might get the same reaction lol. Hopefully you can go back someday and check it out though 🙂

      Reply
    • Thanks! Yes it was pretty warm out there under the afternoon soon at least! I still had a light jacket on but there were others in t-shirts and shorts even lol.

      Reply

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