Four days at Goblin Valley State Park…
Campground…
The campground was very nice and fairly peaceful. We were surrounded by the rock features that make this area unique. Sites were paved and large enough for most RVs with plenty of room between neighbors. There were no hook-ups and no cell phone signal, but water, a dump station, and nice bathroom facilities with showers were available. Turnover was high with most folks staying just a night or two. We could hike the great trails right from our front door…excellent! Spring and fall are a bit busy so make reservations well in advance. There is a lot of BLM land nearby so you could certainly find your own temporary slice of paradise with a little searching.
About Goblin Valley…
A long time ago, this area was a tidal flat. Alternating layers of sandstone, siltstone, and shale were deposited here with the ebb and flow of ocean tides. If you have ever been to an area that has robust tides and huge tidal flats, it’s easy to imagine vast amounts of water entering and exiting numerous tide channels. Over time, weathering eroded the weak edges of the fairly soft Entrada sandstone, producing the unique spherical-shaped goblins. The area still looks like a tidal flat, but the goblins are mesmerizing. The imagination goes nuts in a place like this!
Visitor Center - Click the pictures for a better view
Hikes…
Evening hike to a geocache…
After we set up camp, we headed out for an evening hike. The goal was to find a geocache and release our first “travel bug” into the wild. Our initial glimpse of Goblin Valley blew us away…It really looked out-of-this-world! We headed straight towards the geocache, but it was a classic case of “you can’t get there from here”. We scampered up, down, and around the complicated alien landscape to get within a couple of hundred feet of the cache only to hit insurmountable dead ends. After being stopped 3 or 4 times and nearing surrender, we finally found success. Our little evening stroll was twice as long and twice as difficult than we expected it to be, but it was a great adventure on day 1 in Goblin Valley!
Goblin Valley…
We spent a good chunk of day 2 roaming around the strange valley. Overnight rain made some sections soft and others a little slick. Like the evening before, we hit a few dead ends, but we were more prepared. We had time, we had snacks, and we had more water…bring on the challenges! We took our time and enjoyed negotiating and discovering our own route. Meandering among the otherworldly shapes was pure joy…what a cool place!
Chute Canyon…
Chute Canyon is one of the many narrow fissures through the San Rafael Reef. The upper section of the canyon is popular with “canyoneering” folks that repel down and negotiate the sometimes 2-3 feet wide gap with multiple steep drops. We hiked three miles down the wash and turned around and walked back. The canyon slowly constricted but was easy to navigate. The steep walls occasionally rose a thousand feet above us. The patterns and sculptures in the sandstone were always interesting. Our favorites were the “swiss cheese” and “honeycomb” rocks. We stopped for a break in the shade and noticed a little graffiti 6-10 feet up the opposite canyon wall. On closer inspection, the “graffiti” was from the late 1800s and early 1900s…wow! Our guess is that exploring Mormons left their mark in this remote canyon. We mentioned it to a park ranger who wasn’t familiar with the carvings, but was very interested in the details and took a few notes. Who knows…maybe we stumbled onto something a little special?!? Either way, we felt a connection with those hardy folks.
Evening hike to the “Bat Cave”…
The weather was just too perfect to pass up our third evening at Goblin Valley. After an early dinner, we set out for a geocache named “Entrance to the Bat Cave”. The hike started on the northern end of Goblin Valley and skirted one and a half miles around impressive sandstone cliffs. Recent rains made the desert awash with pretty flowers. The light breeze wafted sweet smells to our noses…it was very pleasant. We made the final tough ascent to the geocache and gaped down into the large cave. The cache was in sad shape…it had been crushed. On the way back, the lowering sun cast interesting shadows on the funky landscape. We really enjoyed this short hike on a perfect spring evening.
Bell Canyon and Little Wild Horse Canyon…
If Goblin Valley doesn’t quite make you want to visit this area, then Little Wild Horse Canyon should!
Like Chute Canyon, Bell and Little Wild Horse Canyons cut narrow gaps through the San Rafael Reef. To tackle both canyons, it’s a roughly nine mile loop hike…perfect. Per our guide books, we chose to go clockwise up Bell Canyon first. There were some tough sections with “choke stones” that nearly blocked the narrow route, but a little scrambling and teamwork got us through. The vertical sandstone walls and cool patterns in the rock always grabbed our attention. We had the incredible canyon nearly to ourselves the entire time. It was very peaceful. After two and a half miles or so, the canyon opened up and we were on the opposite side of San Rafael Reef. The next one and a half miles was mostly up hill on a 4-wheel drive road and led us to the west entrance of Little Wild Horse Canyon. A short ways in, we ran into the first few folks going the opposite direction. The canyon walls constricted…a bunch! There were long stretches where it was only 2-4 feet wide and the air was cool because the sun couldn’t penetrate the vertical walls hundreds of feet above us. Now there were tons of people heading the opposite direction. We often had to stop in slightly wider spots with our backs to the wall, to let them squeak by. Even though we had hiked over eight miles, it seemed to end too fast…we wanted it to go on and on! This loop hike rates as one of our favorites. Little Wild Horse Canyon is the highlight and should not be missed!
Can I go this way?
Looking down Bell Canyon / Looking up Bell Canyon (Arleen in bottom center of both pics…click to zoom)
Arleen on top of a choke stone in Bell Canyon / Pretty sandstone patterns in Bell Canyon
About to enter Little Wild Horse Canyon
Little Wild Horse Canyon starting to narrow A great place for a break!
Little Wild Horse Canyon
Little Wild Horse Canyon
Little Wild Horse Canyon
The Goblin Valley area is absolutely worth a 2 or 3 day trip. If you visit central Utah, don’t miss it!
Next we will spend 10 days in quaint little Junction, Utah. We’ll explore the nearby Tushar Mountains and get the kayaks on a lake or two for some fly-fishing. The adventure continues…
Parting Shots…
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Awesome photos! I can't believe what great shape you two must be in to do all of this hiking, biking & kayaking. You could be in a triathalon! Thank you for sharing, I really enjoy following your blog.
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