Monument Valley, UT – Here’s a hint for your initial arrival: don’t head toward the Lodge! It’ll be tempting because it’s called Goulding’s Lodge and you’re staying at Goulding’s Campground and there are no signs indicating the Campground is somewhere else. Well, it’s somewhere else. Just stay on the main road and you’ll find a sign in a bit. It’s easy to find from there.
Our site (#36) is not easy access for a big rig and I would recommend asking for another site. The entrance to the site has a large mound of dirt you must drive up, putting the rear of your rig at risk of scraping the ground. Then the front of the site has another mound of dirt when leaving the site, causing our generator exhaust to scrape the ground. From walking around, most other sites don’t have this problem, we just got unlucky. But most sites, including #36, are quite uneven. We used all 8 leveling blocks we own and never fully achieved level.
The site was quite uneven, but the views were awesome
But my biggest complaint is low voltage problems throughout our entire 2 week stay. Once the daily temps heated up and everyone had their ACs on (highs were 95F), leg 1 dropped to 108 volts. Leg 2 was better, around 115 volts. But early morning when it was still cool out, both legs were at their nominal voltage of 120. This means the campground needs some electrical help, likely an upgrade. Note I used a voltmeter to confirm the readings at the pole, and they matched Silverleaf numbers.
Given the un-levelness of the sites and the low voltage problems I’m hesitant to recommend this campground. And that’s a shame because it’s located in a beautiful area with spectacular views in every direction and a network of hiking trails that leave right from the campground. Perhaps at a cooler time of year their electrical system could keep up?
Another view of our site
Goulding’s RV Park is located across UT-163 about 4 miles from the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park entrance. Goulding’s also offers a lodge, restaurant, gift shop, gas station, and grocery store. While staying here we also visited: Canyon De Chelly National Monument, the Navajo National Monument, Goosenecks State Park, the Natural Bridges National Monument, toured areas of Bears Ears National Monument and the Cedar Mesa/Grand Gulch BLM Lands including the Valley of the Gods. The region is rich in scenic beauty and has many ruins from the Ancestral Puebloans (formerly known as Anasazi).
We had difficulty leveling in our site which was unlevel both side-to-side and front-to-back
Rating: 
Campground website: Goulding’s Campground
Date of Stay: May 28 – June 11, 2018
