Goblin Valley is a simple to go to state park that’s situated in southeastern Utah. With its hoodoos, toadstools, “goblins,” and quick however candy mountaineering trails, this park is pure enjoyable to go to.
Youngsters, and children at coronary heart, will LOVE this park!! The primary part of hoodoos and goblins is free to discover…there isn’t a want to stay to a delegated mountaineering path. Which implies that youngsters are free to discover, play conceal and search, and uncover the nooks and crannies of this magical place.
There are additionally just a few mountaineering trails and viewpoints to go to. Goblin Valley State Park may be very compact, so just a few hours are all you want, however if you’re having time, you might keep all day.
On this submit, I cowl issues to do in Goblin Valley State Park with recommendations on the way to plan your go to when you’ve got restricted time.
About Our Expertise
We visited Goblin Valley State Park in mid-November on the drive from Capitol Reef to Moab. After we arrived, snow clouds have been quickly shifting in. We have been fortunate to have a couple of minutes of sunshine, to get just a few brilliant and sunny photographs of the hoodoos, nevertheless it didn’t final lengthy.
As you will notice from our photographs, we spent a whole lot of our time exploring Goblin Valley throughout a snow bathe. Possibly it was our early timing, or possibly it was the snow, however crowds have been very gentle throughout our go to.
We had a blast exploring the park. Our go to solely lasted just a few hours since we additionally had Little Wild Horse Canyon on our to-do listing for the day.
Tips on how to Go to Goblin Valley State Park
Tips on how to Get to Goblin Valley State Park
Goblin Valley State Park is situated within the San Rafael Swell. It’s situated on Utah State Route 24 north of Hanksville.
Listed here are driving distances and instances from close by locations:
Hanksville: 32 miles, 35 minutes
Moab: 100 miles, 1 hour half-hour
Capitol Reef: 80 miles, 1 hour half-hour
Salt Lake Metropolis: 225 miles, 3 hours half-hour
While you get to the park, you’ll pay your entrance charge on the pay sales space. Past the pay sales space, the street forks. Take the street to the left, to drive previous the Three Sisters and to park in the primary parking zone. From the parking zone, it’s a simple stroll down in the primary valley and you’ll have entry to most of the mountaineering trails.
From the pay sales space, for those who flip proper, you go to the campground and the trailhead for the Curtis Bench Path.
Sensible Data
Entrance Price: $20 per car
Hours of Operation: 6 am to 10 pm every day
Drones: Drones can be utilized by allow solely. You may acquire a allow on the customer middle for $10.
Get up to date pricing and hours on the official web site.
Whereas in Goblin Valley State Park, please observe the seven rules of Go away No Hint: plan forward, keep on the paths, pack out what you convey to the mountaineering trails, correctly eliminate waste, depart areas as you discovered them, decrease campfire impacts, be thoughtful of different hikers, and don’t strategy or feed wildlife.
Issues to Do in Goblin Valley State Park
Statement Level
That is your first view of the park. On the finish of the parking zone, proper earlier than you stroll down the steps into the valley, you get this view:
Discover the Three Valleys
The primary part of the park, aptly named Goblin Valley, is a big, comparatively open space that’s suffering from these loopy wanting rock formations. That is the spot to wander previous the hoodoos and goblins. As soon as you might be down within the valley, it seems like you might be strolling on a special planet.
There aren’t any designated trails right here so you might be free to wander wherever you want.
There are three valleys to discover, named Valley 1, Valley 2, and Valley 3 (you possibly can see these on the map above).
Valley 1 is situated closest to the parking zone. The hoodoos are smaller and extra spaced out right here. There are just a few hills you can hike up for aerial views over this a part of the park.
Valley 2 sits subsequent to Valley 1 and these sort of merge in collectively. Hidden at the back of Valley 2 is the placement of Gobin’s Lair.
Farthest from the parking zone is Valley 3. Earlier than our go to, everybody instructed us that that is greatest spot to discover the hoodoos, and I agree. There are many nooks and crannies to discover right here and you’ll hike up onto the hills for excellent views.
It’s arduous to know the place you might be, in relation to the valleys. You may see them on the map however they don’t seem to be labeled within the park. My recommendation is that if you wish to get to Valley 3, preserve strolling away from the parking zone to the underside of the park. There will probably be a large, pure wall, so you possibly can’t stroll too far. However the hoodoos, goblins and rock formations get noticeably denser right here and this a part of the park is delight to discover.
To get again to the parking zone, you possibly can retrace your steps by way of the valleys or stroll up the flat and quick sandy wash on the west aspect of the valleys. From a lot of the valley, the parking zone is seen, so it’s nearly unimaginable to get misplaced right here.
It might take between 1 and three hours to discover the valleys, relying on how a lot enjoyable you might be having.
Right here is Goblin Valley in photographs.
Valley 1
There are hills you possibly can climb for aerial views like this one.
View of the parking zone from the highest of one of many hills. The darkish sky is the approaching snowstorm.
Tim on prime of the hill.
Valley 2
Coming into Valley 3
Valley 3
Valley 3
This was our view on the finish of our go to…the snow actually started to choose up.
Hike one (or Extra) of the Mountain climbing Trails
There are 5 mountaineering trails in Goblin Valley State Park. Be aware: We didn’t hike any of those trails, preferring to avoid wasting our time and vitality for Little Wild Horse Canyon, which we did subsequent.
The Three Sisters. 1 mile, simple. The Three Sisters is a rock formation of three hoodoos. You will notice this on the drive by way of the park so I don’t suppose it’s value doing the hike until you need a nearer view.
Entrada Canyon. 1.5 miles a technique, average. This hike begins on the campground and ends with a viewpoint over the park.
Curtis Bench Path. 1.5 miles a technique, simple. This path goes alongside a ridge, providing views of the park and out to the Henry Mountains.
Carmel Canyon Loop. 1.5 miles, average. This hike gives views of the Three Sisters on the best way to the Goblin’s Lair. You’ll hike by way of a brief slot canyon and do some little bit of rock scrambling alongside the best way.
Goblin’s Lair. 1.5 miles a technique, strenuous. Goblin’s Lair is a dimly lit slot canyon. The path begins on the parking zone and follows the Carmel Canyon Loop earlier than splitting off to enter the canyon.
Rappel into Goblin’s Lair
For the final word journey in Goblin Valley State Park, you possibly can rappel into Goblin’s Lair. These with expertise and equipment will pay $2 per particular person to get a allow on the customer middle. You too can take a guided canyoneering tour with Get within the Wild Adventures.
View the Evening Sky
Goblin Valley is a Darkish Sky Park, making this an superior place to view the evening sky.
Go Mountain Biking
Referred to as the Wild Horse Mountain Biking Path System, there’s a community of mountain biking trails that sit to the west of Goblin Valley. These trails are comparatively quick however for those who add all of them up, they quantity to 7 miles of mountain biking trails.
Play Disc Golf
Subsequent to the campground is an 18 gap disc golf course. The course is free and you’ll lease discs on the customer middle for $1 every.
How A lot Time Do You Want in Goblin Valley State Park?
Just a few hours are actually all that you simply want right here, to wander by way of the hoodoos, take your photographs, and hike one of many trails.
Listed here are just a few other ways to spend your time:
Goblin Valley in two hours: With two hours, I like to recommend exploring the three valleys, since that is the simplest and quickest technique to see the goblins and hoodoos.
Goblin Valley in half a day: Spend just a few hours exploring the valleys and hike the Carmel Canyon Loop to Goblin’s Lair.
Goblin Valley in someday: Spend just a few hours exploring the valleys. Rappel into Goblin’s Lair. Hike the Curtis Bench Path or Entrada Canyon.
Goblin Valley + Little Wild Horse Canyon
Simply down the street from Goblin Valley is likely one of the most thrilling slot canyons within the space. Little Wild Horse Canyon options tight passageways, curving, scalloped partitions, and quick sections of simple rock scrambling.
This hike is often completed as a loop, combining Little Wild Horse Canyon with Bell Canyon. If completed as a loop, the hike is 8 miles spherical journey and might take anyplace from 3 to six hours, relying on how briskly you hike.
You may shorten this hike, by mountaineering Little Wild Horse Canyon out-and-back. In the event you do that, it turns into a 4.5-mile hike that takes 2 to 4 hours.
What We Did: We drove from Capitol Reef to Goblin Valley. Tim and I spent two hours exploring the valleys. We wished to hike to Goblin’s Lair, however with our plan to additionally hike Little Wild Horse Canyon, we skipped it. We hiked the complete Little Wild Horse Canyon + Bell Canyon Loop after which drove to Moab.
If you wish to go to each Goblin Valley and Little Wild Horse Canyon, you are able to do them in both order. Simply notice that no matter you do second, you might have points with parking. Each locations are extraordinarily common within the spring and fall months. We have been right here in November, so visitation was low and we had no points getting an area at Little Wild Horse Canyon.
Tricks to Have the Greatest Expertise
Count on large crowds on the weekends from March by way of June. The state park web site has a warning that you might have delays of a number of hours to enter the park throughout this time as a consequence of excessive ranges of visitation and restricted parking. To keep away from these crowds, plan to get right here very early within the day or plan your go to mid-week.
Pack a picnic lunch and plenty of water. There aren’t any eating places within the park. The closest place you may get meals is in Hanksville, which is half-hour away, and even right here your selections will probably be restricted. So, plan to convey sufficient meals and water to get you thru the day.
Count on scorching situations throughout the summer time months. The very best time to go to the park is within the spring and fall, when the climate is delicate. Winter is a pleasant time to go to, however snow is a chance.
The place Are You Going Subsequent?
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