Thousands of mushroom-shaped sandstone formations scattered across a flat valley floor with no trails and no rules about where you walk. That’s the Valley of the Goblins.

Goblin Valley State Park sits about 20 miles northwest of Hanksville in the San Rafael Swell, roughly four hours from Salt Lake City. The Valley of the Goblins is the park’s main event: an open basin packed with Entrada sandstone hoodoos that have been shaped by erosion into forms that look genuinely alien. You walk among them, not on a trail, just into the formation field and through it at whatever pace and direction you choose.

Here’s everything you need to visit the Valley of the Goblins.

Quick Facts

Area Name	Valley of the Goblins
Location	Goblin Valley State Park, near Hanksville, Utah
Coordinates	38.5673, -110.7076
Distance	Unstructured, typically 1-3 miles of exploration
Elevation Gain	Minimal (under 100 feet)
Difficulty	Easy
Time	1-3 hours
Dogs Allowed	Yes (on leash)
Fee	$20/vehicle day use
AllTrails	View on AllTrails

How to Get There

From Salt Lake City, take I-15 south to Salina, then head east on I-70. Exit at US-24 (exit 147) and drive south through the San Rafael Swell toward Hanksville. Before reaching Hanksville, turn right onto Goblin Valley Road (State Route 101), signed from US-24. Follow Goblin Valley Road approximately 7 miles to the park entrance. Drive time from Salt Lake City is about 4 hours. From Moab, drive northwest on US-191 to Green River, then west on I-70 to the US-24 exit, then south. About 2.5 hours from Moab.

The road into the park is paved and accessible in a standard vehicle. Estes handles it fine and so does any car with reasonable clearance. The San Rafael Swell scenery on US-24 is genuinely excellent. Don’t rush the approach.

Parking Information

A large paved parking lot serves the main Valley of the Goblins viewpoint. The lot is spacious with restrooms, picnic tables, and shaded areas. A $20 per vehicle day-use fee is collected at the park entrance station. The America the Beautiful Annual Pass is accepted. The lot fills on spring and fall weekends. Arriving before 8 a.m. gives you the formations in good morning light and ahead of the crowd.

Cell Service and Navigation

Cell service is essentially nonexistent at Goblin Valley. The park is remote and the nearest reliable signal is back toward Hanksville or on US-24. Download offline maps through AllTrails or Google Maps before leaving the highway. Navigation in the valley itself is intuitive since the main viewpoint is above the formation field and visible from most of the valley floor, but having a GPS track helps you stay oriented if you push deeper into the goblins where the formations are dense enough to block sightlines. Let someone know your plans before you go. This is genuinely remote desert.

What to Expect in the Valley of the Goblins

The Formation Field

From the main viewpoint at the parking area, the valley floor drops away to reveal the full formation field below. Thousands of Entrada sandstone hoodoos, ranging from a few feet to over 20 feet tall, fill the valley in every direction. The shapes are genuinely bizarre: bulbous tops on narrow stems, clusters that look like figures mid-gesture, formations that appear to lean toward each other in conversation. The reddish-brown rock takes on different character depending on the light. Early morning and late afternoon are dramatically better than midday.

Exploration

There are no designated trails in the valley. You walk in from the viewpoint and go wherever looks interesting. Most visitors do 1 to 3 miles depending on how deep they push into the formation field. The terrain is mostly flat with minimal elevation change. Scrambling on and between formations is allowed, but do so carefully. The Entrada sandstone is soft and formations can break. Walking around them rather than over them preserves them for the next person.

Difficulty and Length

The Valley of the Goblins has no formal trails. Exploration is open and self-directed. The terrain is flat and the elevation change is minimal, making it one of the most accessible destinations in this guide. Most people walk between 1 and 3 miles total depending on how much they explore. The main physical consideration is heat. The valley is exposed with no shade and desert sun on sandstone is brutal by late morning in summer. Pace your water consumption from the moment you start walking.

Dog Friendly?

Yes. Dogs are allowed on leash throughout the park including the Valley of the Goblins. The flat terrain is manageable for most dogs. The desert heat is the primary concern. The valley has no water sources and temperatures can spike above 100°F in summer. Bring significantly more water than you think your dog needs and plan your visit during the cooler parts of the day. Early morning is the practical solution in warm months.

What to Bring

Water is the priority. At least 2 to 3 liters per person for even a short valley exploration in warm weather. The desert will drain you faster than the casual terrain suggests. Sunscreen, a hat, and sunglasses for the exposed valley floor. Trail shoes or hiking sandals for the uneven sandstone. A camera with a wide-angle lens for the formation scale and a telephoto for isolating individual goblin shapes. A tripod for sunrise or sunset golden hour when the light on the sandstone is exceptional. A headlamp if you’re staying for sunset and need to navigate back to the parking lot.

Best Time to Visit the Valley of the Goblins

Spring (March through May) and fall (September through November) are the best windows. Temperatures are manageable, the light on the sandstone is excellent, and the park is at its most photogenic. Summer works but the heat is serious. Visit before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m. in summer. Winter is quieter and the formations look exceptional with snow, but cold desert temperatures and occasional road conditions require preparation.

For photography, sunrise is the move. The east-facing valley catches the first light directly and the goblins cast long shadows across each other in the low angle. The color of the Entrada sandstone at golden hour is unlike anything else in southern Utah. Arrive at the parking lot before dawn, hike down into the valley, and position yourself before the light hits. Sunset is excellent from the main viewpoint above the valley looking west.

Rules and Regulations

Goblin Valley State Park is managed by Utah State Parks. The $20 per vehicle day-use fee applies. Dogs on leash at all times. Climbing on formations is permitted but do so carefully. The sandstone is fragile. Leave No Trace fully: pack out everything, don’t build cairns or stack rocks on formations, and don’t disturb the desert crust around the formations. Camping is available in the park’s campground with advance reservations. Cell service is nonexistent in the park. Check Utah State Parks’ website for current conditions and reservation requirements before heading out.

Where to Stay Near Goblin Valley

Goblin Valley State Park has a campground directly in the park with hookups and a dump station, one of the better-positioned campgrounds in southern Utah. Book well in advance through the Utah State Parks reservation system, particularly for spring and fall weekends.

Hanksville, about 20 miles east, has basic lodging and services. For more amenities, Moab is about 2.5 hours southeast with full lodging inventory. For points travelers, check available Marriott Bonvoy properties, IHG Rewards hotels, and Hilton Honors options in Moab, Green River, or Salt Lake City along your route.

Camping Nearby

The Goblin Valley State Park campground is the best base for the valley. Electric hookup sites and a few primitive sites are available, all reservable through the Utah State Parks system. The campground has restrooms and a dump station. Book 3 to 6 months in advance for spring and fall peak weekends.

Dispersed BLM camping is available on public land in the San Rafael Swell surrounding the park. No hookups, no reservations, outstanding sky. The Swell is one of the better dispersed camping landscapes in Utah.

Nearby Adventures

Goblin Valley State Park has more than just the main valley. The Goblin’s Lair Trail leads to a spectacular cavern within the park and is a must-do addition to any valley visit. Carmel Canyon Trail offers a loop through the park’s geology with different rock layers and canyon views. Both are worth adding to the same trip.

Little Wild Horse Canyon is one of the best slot canyon hikes in Utah and only about 20 minutes from Goblin Valley. At 8.0 miles and 787 feet of gain it covers the full Bell/Little Wild Horse loop through some of the most sinuous and colorful slot canyon terrain in the state. Leprechaun Canyon (2.2 mi / 147 ft) is a shorter slot canyon option in the same area.

Further afield, the San Rafael Swell contains significant backcountry terrain including Ding and Dang Canyons, Sid’s Mountain Wilderness, and miles of BLM open to exploration. Capitol Reef National Park is about an hour east and provides a full national park experience including Hickman Bridge, the Goosenecks of Sulphur Creek, and the Fremont River Canyon.

For established trail hikes in the Escalante corridor a few hours south, Lower Calf Creek Falls (6.1 mi / 531 ft) and Moki Dugway are both worth building into a multi-day San Rafael Swell and Escalante road trip.

Plan This Visit

AllTrails has the Goblin Valley area mapped with the main exploration zones, the Goblin’s Lair Trail, and Carmel Canyon Trail. Given the open exploration format of the main valley, the AllTrails satellite imagery and waypoints help you orient your wandering without making it feel too structured.

View on AllTrails

AllTrails Pro is worth it for a San Rafael Swell trip where you’re navigating multiple objectives and need offline maps across a remote area with zero cell service.

Chase the Quiet

The Valley of the Goblins at sunrise with nobody else in it. The formations casting long shadows across each other in the first light. The color of the sandstone somewhere between red and orange. The silence absolute. This is what the American West looks like when it hasn’t been touched. Goblin Valley is protected by state park status and a long drive from everywhere. That combination keeps it honest. Show up early and it rewards you exactly the way it’s supposed to.

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