My sister visited this site in April 2018 on her way through the area and told me I needed to stop. When I drove back from a trip to Zion and southern Utah in October 2020, I did.

The turnoff is marked with a handmade sign just off US-160 west of Tuba City. A short bumpy dirt road leads to a small parking area where local Navajo residents have set up jewelry and craft vendor stands. A guide comes out to greet you — my guide was a community member who lives in Moenave, the small settlement adjacent to the site. The admission is free. A tip of $5 to $20 is the appropriate way to compensate your guide and support the community. Bring cash — there's no card reader in the desert.

What You're Looking At — 200 Million Years Old

The Moenave Dinosaur Tracks date back to the Early Jurassic period, approximately 200 million years ago. They've been verified by paleontologists from Northern Arizona University. The tracks are in Moenave sandstone — formed when this entire region was a marshy riverbed where dinosaurs moved through wet sand, leaving impressions that were subsequently covered by silt and hardened over millions of years into the rock formations visible today.

There are no glass exhibits with carefully cut, stone pieces of fossilized footprints. Just actual dinosaur tracks all over a section along the bench below Hamblin Ridge — hundreds of well-preserved prints in a wide variety of sizes from four inches to two feet across. You walk among them. You can put your hand in them. The scale of some of the larger tracks is immediately humbling.

While scientists can't identify the exact species from tracks alone, researchers believe the carnivorous dinosaurs Eubrontes, Grallator, Coelophysis kayentakatae, or Dilophosaurus wetherilli likely made these prints. The site also reportedly contains what guides identify as fossilized eggs, a large bone emerging from the ground, and coprolite — fossilized dinosaur waste. The guide's identifications are not always scientifically precise — some visitors have noted guides claiming T-Rex and velociraptor tracks that are geologically impossible given the Early Jurassic age of the site. Take the specific species identifications with appropriate skepticism while appreciating the genuine age and wonder of what you're walking on.

The Guide — A Community Connection

What makes Moenave distinct from a conventional archaeological site is the community-based access model. Navajo residents from Moenave provide the tours — they live here, they know this land, and they present the tracks through a lens that combines paleontological information with Navajo cultural context. My guide lives in Moenave — that proximity to the site is part of what makes the experience feel genuine rather than curated. After the guided portion you're free to wander the area at your own pace.

The vendor stands at the parking area sell handmade Navajo jewelry and crafts — worth browsing and worth buying from. Purchasing something from the vendors supports the same community that maintains access to this remarkable site.

The Setting

The landscape surrounding the tracks is striking — red and buff sandstone formations, open desert, the Hamblin Ridge rising above. The tracks are fully outdoors and fully exposed to the elements. Morning and late afternoon are the best times for photography — the angled light brings out the depth of the impressions in the sandstone dramatically. Midday visits work but the flat light washes out the detail and the heat can be significant in summer and early fall.

How This Visit Came to Be

My sister visited in April 2018 — on her own route through the area just before our family Route 66 travels that same month. She came back with the recommendation. I filed it away and two and a half years later, driving back from Zion and southern Utah in October 2020, I made the stop on the way home. That's how some of the best bucket list entries happen — someone who has been there already tells you not to miss it.

More Information

• Free admission — no parking fee, no required tour guide fee

• Tip your guide: $5–$20 per party — bring cash, no card readers on site

• Guides are community members from Moenave — not officially affiliated employees; exercise reasonable judgment about accuracy of specific claims

• Vendor stands at parking area sell handmade Navajo jewelry and crafts — purchasing supports the community

• Best light for track photography: morning or late afternoon

• Handmade signs on US-160 mark the turnoff — watch carefully, easy to miss at highway speed

• No drones permitted on the Navajo Nation

• Alcohol prohibited on the Navajo Nation

• Respect the land, the guides, and the community — this is private Navajo Nation land managed by community members

Contact

Navajo Moenave Dinosaur Tracks

US-160 west of Tuba City, AZ 86045

discovernavajo.com/dinosaur-tracks

Hours

Open year-round during daylight hours — guides typically present during daytime hours. No guaranteed hours — guides are community members not official employees.

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