Goblin Valley State Park

The park contains thousands of mushroom-shaped goblins. You can walk amongst the hoo-doos in Goblin Valley, there are hiking trails and a cave on the back side of the valley called the Goblin’s Lair

Goblin Valley State Park contains thousands of mushroom-shaped red rock (goblins) also called hoodoos. Cowboys searching for lost cattle first discovered Goblin Valley.

In the late 1920s, Arthur Chaffin, owner/operator of the Hite Ferry, was searching for an alternative route between Green River and Cainsville. They came to a vantage point about a mile west and were awed by the view of five buttes and a valley of strange-shaped rock formations surrounded by a wall of eroded cliffs. He called it Mushroom Valley and finally returned in 1949 to explore the area further. The state of Utah later acquired the property and it was designated a state park in 1964.

The area was once covered by ancient seas, the rock formations are the result of alternating hard and soft layers of sandstone, mudstone and siltstone. Once the water receded the area was worked by water and wind with the softer rock eroding faster than the harder layers, leaving behind the hoodoos we enjoy today.

Website

https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/goblin-valley/

Getting there

1.5 hours from Moab, the road to Goblin Valley State Park is paved the entire distance and is accessible year-round to all vehicles.
West of the town of Green River: Follow I-70 west for 11 miles to Exit #149 and take Highway 24 south 24 miles to mile maker 136 and the signed turn-off to Goblin Valley State Park located on the west side of the road.

A beautiful sky above the road into the park entrance

Parking

38.5643783N, 110.7034986W

The parking lot is called Goblin Overlook

Cost

$20 per car

Hours

6am-10pm

Note

Can be combined with nearby Horse Shoe Canyon
Dogs allowed on leash
Wander freely among the interesting rocks

Photo Notes

Early morning and late afternoon offer the best light to bring out the colors and shapes of the goblin
Drone use is by permit only. Permits may be obtained at the visitor center for a fee of $10.00.

Distance

1-2 miles total, it depends on your exploration of the area

A fiery sky just after sunset in Goblin Valley Utah

How the Goblins formed

The area is divided into 3 valleys or basins.

Valley 1 is the closest to the parking area and where the vast majority of visitors will spend their time and is the basin with the greatest collection of goblins.
Valley 2 sits behind and south of Valley 1
Valley 3 extends quite far south of Valley 1 and the parking lot.

Routes

Curtis Bench Valley of the Goblins Spur to Observation point

Distance

1.8 miles total out and back

The Curtis Bench Trail comes all the way over from the campground, however, unless you are camping there, there is little reason to take it from there. Instead, follow a backward route from the Parking lot to the overlook.

Valley of Goblins (Valley 1) Off-Trail

Distance

1-2 miles depends on how much you explore

There is no official trail here. You just choose a direction and go, you have the freedom to choose how you wander between the goblins, climbing over and around them.

Goblin’s Lair Trail

Distance

2.75 miles round trip loop

Note

There are two ways into the Goblin’s Lair, rappelling through the ceiling or via the hiker’s rock scrambling entrance ( 38.561381, -110.695231 )(this would be the exit if you rappelled in). Most people visit via the hiker’s rock scramble entrance via the Carmel Canyon loop/Goblin’s Trail route.
Permit Required to rappel the entrance through the ceiling
Download your backcountry permit here to rappel into Goblin’s Lair. Permits are $2/person (up to eight people in a group) in addition to the park entrance fee. Simply print the form, fill out the top half, and present it to a ranger upon arrival at Goblin Valley State Park.

Route

From the parking lot take the Carmel Canyon Loop Trail. This beginning of the trail will give you sweeping vistas of the Carmel goblin formation, the Molly’s Castle outcrop, the Three Sisters, and on clear days, even the La Sal Mountains far to the east.

At the junction of the Carmel Canyon Trail and the Goblin’s Lair Trail turn to the right to follow the Goblin’s Lair trail. The Carmel Canyon Trail to the left does contain a short section of colorful narrows to explore as a side trip.

Continue on east and then south on the Goblin’s Lair Trail…

Shortly you come to a junction, the Goblin’s Lair will be straight ahead and to the right, to the left is a short out-and-back trail to the Goblette’s Lair (a smaller version of the Goblin’s Lair).

The entrance to the Goblin’s Lair

A vertical scramble up some boulders takes you to the entrance of the Goblin’s Lair.

The Goblin’s Lair is actually a 70-foot deep natural sandstone cave/slot canyon the entrance has been sealed by rock fall. This rock fall is what you have to scramble/climb down into the Goblin’s Lair. It’s not that difficult, just be careful in a few spots.

Once inside you can head to the back wall and look straight up at the rappelling entrance in the ceiling.

When done, scramble back up to the hiker’s entrance and you can follow the 1/4 mile trail to the Goblette’s Lair.

The Gobblette’s Lair is a smaller version, and doesn’t require much scrambling to get inside it.

After visiting both Lairs, head back the way you came, you can explore the Carmel Canyon Trail before you head back to the parking lot or down into the valley of the Goblins.

Carmel Formation and Molly’s castle in the far background

The Three Sisters – an iconic formation that you can see from the road between the campground and the parking lot, a short trail can take you out to it

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Horseshoe Canyon – Hike

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Little Wild Horse Slot Canyon – Hike

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Black Dragon Pictographs, Petroglyph Canyon & Spirit Arch

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Goblin Valley State Park

The park contains thousands of mushroom-shaped (goblins). You can walk amongst the hoo-doos, there are hiking trails and a cave on the back side of the valley called the Goblin’s Lair

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