Carl's Critter Garden

A stop in Hanksville Utah to visit the eclectic and amazing Carl’s Critter Garden

Carl was a local fellow who fell in love with collecting ‘junk’ and over a decade, turned it into thoughtful roadside art. Carl is gone now, but his garden lives on.

The two big themes you will notice quickly are dinosaurs and peace.

The earth fashioned out of found objects in Carl's free Critter Garden

Take your time and look around, soak in this art oasis in the desert. The Critter Garden is a paradise filled with dinosaur sculptures, glass beads, recycled machinery, antique objects, and much more all lovingly handcrafted into a free sculpture garden with witty sayings and deep thoughts to keep you occupied for a time in this small town.

While the garden is free to explore there is a donation box to fund the upkeep of the critter garden.

One of my favorite pieces is the Hanksville Love Bus, complete with glass beads sitting atop its found art ironwork pedestal.

Spend some time reading Hank’s verbose and humorous explanations and deep thoughts, afterall, how many times do you get a chance to be at the center of the universe?

Explore Nearby...

Hikes...

Leprechaun Canyon – Hike

A short and fun hike in a non-technical slot canyon with corkscrew narrows, beautiful high-colored walled sections and a final narrow section with just a crack of light that will shine down from above.

Arsenic Arch

A little-known, rarely visited arch you can have all to yourself is hidden inside Poison Spring Canyon.

Hog Spring – Hike

Hog Springs is a nice rest stop and picnic area next to the highway with a short scenic hike that takes you to a spring-fed pool and the Cleopatra rock art panel is also close by

Scenic Drives...

How to photograph Factory Butte

Tips for photographing Factory Butte rising 1400 feet above the barren otherworldly landscape surrounding it

Moonscape Overlook – a photography paradise

A must-see viewpoint east of Factory Butte overlooking the moon-like badlands below

Hite Crossing Bridge

The bridge marks the upstream limit of Lake Powell and is the only bridge spanning the Colorado River between the bridge 110 miles upstream in Moab and the Glen Canyon Bridge, 185 miles downstream.