Four States, Four Limbs, and Forty Bucks: Navajo Nation and the Four Corners

Some stops on a road trip are obligatory—not because they’re packed with exhibits or sweeping hikes, but because they scratch a curious itch. That’s what brought us to the Four Corners Monument, the only place in the U.S. where you can simultaneously touch Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado. So we did what everyone does: stretched out our limbs, pointed our toes, and took the classic “one body, four states” photo. We paid for it—$40 for our family for less than 20 minutes.

And worth every cent. Not just for the thrill (though the kids were amused by spreading across four states) but because we witnessed the brilliance of the Navajo Nation turning geography into economy.

We’ve been to over 30 National Park sites with our $80 America the Beautiful pass. That’s well under $3 per site for the whole family (and falling), thanks to federal subsidies.

Four Corners? Navajo-run, unsubsidized, and full price. It’s $8 per person ages six and up. James and Carolina were free, but the rest of us paid in full. No park pass, no discounts—just clean, direct pricing for a one-of-a-kind moment.

And it’s efficient. A small entry gate, basic pit toilets, and a central plaza built for that one photo. Around it, vendor stalls—selling jewelry, crafts, and keepsakes—offering a steady stream of sales when the crowds roll in.

The monument offers wide-open sky, desert, and a brass marker in the ground. But that’s the brilliance. The Navajo Nation—half the size of New England—has transformed a simple corner into a profitable tourist enterprise.

We came, we posed, we paid. And we left not just with a photo, but with admiration for a people who have turned an expanse of sand into opportunity.