by Mike McCann
Mark your calendar & RSVP today:
Combined Day Trip/Weekend Getaway
Monument Valley Airport/Goulding’s Lodge – UT25
Day Trip participants – Saturday Oct 4, 2025
Weekend Getaway participants – Fri/Sun Oct 3-5, 2025
Greetings fellow APA members…. this month I’m very excited to share our plans for the upcoming combined Daytrip & Weekend Getaway flying event. As mentioned in a prior newsletter, Rod Kunkel (Weekend Getaway coordinator) and I thought a joint event would be great fun, bringing an even larger group of APA members together for a unique experience.
Monument Valley offers not only a truly singular destination (not found anywhere else in the US), but also a destination best accessed by airplane with its on-site runway. Most people travel to Monument Valley via car with a 6-7 hour drive time from the Phoenix metro area. However, those able to fly can reach Monument Valley in 1.5 – 2 hours depending on the airplane you fly.
In this article, I will focus on details for Daytrip participants. APA’s June newsletter included an article by Rod which focused on Weekend Getaway participant details. If you’re interested in staying for the weekend, please read June’s newsletter article.
Please note…this event is limited to APA members and this RSVP is for Day Trip only participants. Those wishing to participate in the full weekend should contact Rod Kunkel at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Day Trip Itinerary (all times are MST, NOT Phoenix time):
10:00am - Arrive at UT25.
10:30am - Gather for private ground tour of Monument Valley
11:00am – APA tour departs Goulding’s Lodge for Monument Valley
2-2:30pm – Tour returns to Goulding’s Lodge
3:00pm – Day trip participants free to depart at their leisure
As shown above, Daytrip participants should plan to arrive at UT25 by 10:00am. This will allow time to park & secure your aircraft. And remember, UT25 is located is on Mountain time (one hour ahead of Arizona during October).
Pilots should also bring tow bars if you have one to allow hand-parking aircraft in the event that the asphalt parking is full and you need to park in the gravel areas. Also, there are cables to attach tiedown ropes in the gravel area, but no attach points in the asphalt area so plan accordingly. There will be plenty of APA members on-site to help with parking.
Note also that there are no services at UT25 so all pilots will need to plan accordingly.
Daytrip and Weekend participants will plan to gather around 10:30am. We’ve arranged for a private shuttle tour of Monument Valley which will last between 3-3.5 hours and will include a box lunch. The shuttles will leave Goulding’s at 11:00am. Cost is $100 per person.
A Few Important Points for all participants – please read carefully:
Goulding’s required all aircraft/pilots to sign a liability waiver (Click here for waiver) prior to landing at UT25. Rod and I will provide the waiver document and collect all signed copies before the October 3/4 event. Rod will coordinate directly with Goulding’s so nothing more will be required from you.
Goulding’s also requires proof of aircraft insurance before landing at UT25. Rod and I will collect the proof of insurance from each pilot and handle all permissions so APA members will not have to contact Goulding’s for permission.
All are encouraged to review the Goulding’s website as it has important information on the airstrip. You’ll may see that Goulding’s requires prior permission before any aircraft lands at UT25. Rod will handle this requirement on behalf of the APA group so there’s nothing you need to do. I’ve also included links to Goulding’s airport rules and flight operating procedures. Please review all carefully ahead of the October event in case you have any questions.
https://gouldings.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Gouldings_Airport_Rules-1.pdf
https://gouldings.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Gouldings-Flight-Operating-Procedures.pdf
Wrap-Up:
As always, be sure to thoroughly preflight both yourself and your aircraft. And do thorough flight planning as would be required for any cross-country flight. UT25 is a non-tower-controlled airport, so pilots are encouraged to review Advisory Circular 90-66C for proper operation in non-towered airports.
Feel free to contact me with any questions (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and we'll look forward to seeing you in October!
Safe flying,
Mike