Mexican Hat is a census-designated place (CDP) on the San Juan River in south-central San Juan County, Utah, United States. It is on U.S. Route 163 just three miles (5 km) south of the junction with State Route 261, and is just outside the northern boundary of both the Navajo Nation and Monument Valley. With a total population of 88 at the 2000 census, the community saw a significant decrease from the 1990 figure of 259. The name "Mexican Hat" comes from a curiously sombrero-shaped, 60-foot (18 m) wide by 12-foot (3.7 m) thick (18.3 x 3.7 m), rock outcropping on the northeast edge of town. The "Hat" has two rock climbing routes ascending it. Goosenecks State Park is located just nine miles (14 km) west-northwest, Alhambra Rock is six miles (10 km) west-southwest, and the Valley of the Gods is to the north on U.S. 163.