Hike Navajo Mountain Navajo Nation, UT

Jun 01, 2022 — Navajo Mountain stands high above the sandstone desert surrounding Lake Powell, a tempting summit since it can be seen from every direction from far distances. The peak is on Navajo tribal lands, but recent reports state no permit is necessary and all are welcome. This might change in the future because the native tribes seem to change their permit and access rules with absurd regularity. The hike follows a road for its duration and is completely underwhelming, the exception being one nice viewpoint along the way. To reach the summit, drive to here (37.01384, -110.79096) and turn left, heading west. The start of the road begins a bit sandy, but two wheel drive should not have a problem, though high clearance is necessary. Crossover vehicles could make it to where I parked, though the last half mile might give some trouble. I parked where I did because just past there was a very steep section. You could potentially drive to the summit with a crazy enough vehicle, but I really wanted some exercise after all the driving it took to get here. Also, being this far from civilization and all alone, I didn't want to risk any car problems.

From my parking spot, I hiked the initial steep slope and a few switchbacks, some interesting rock outcroppings to the east making me think the hike could be prettier than anticipated, but after a few miles of forest and minimal views, I popped on my headphones. Past the initially steep section the road calmed down for a bit, so I was a little antsy about all the easy and fairly flat road walking. However, even if you did manage to drive past that initial rough patch, you really have to be determined to not do any exercise at all if you are willing to drive up the rough switchbacks that start at around 8700'. This is a very poor section of road with loose rock and steep hairpin turns. These road switchbacks cleared enough trees away that I was happy I could finally see the amazing desert scenery below. This lasted only a short time and I was back in the forest for the rest of the hike to the summit, which was covered in too many trees to see past the many ugly radio towers.