16 miles from Moab, this Utah valley has 350 people and one of America’s darkest skies

Castle Valley’s red rock world sits 16 miles from Moab

Castle Valley doesn’t show up on most people’s itineraries, even though it sits 16 miles from one of the most visited corners of Utah.

About 350 people live here, 4,800 feet up, tucked between the Colorado River and the La Sal Mountains. The valley takes its name from the sandstone formations that frame it on every side.

Come at dawn, and the towers around you glow pale orange. Stay past dark, and the sky above you does something most Americans have never seen.

A 400-foot tower of sandstone rises above the valley floor

Castleton Tower goes by two names. The official one is Castle Rock.

Locals call it Castleton. Either way, you’ll spot it from miles out, a single column of Wingate Sandstone rising 400 feet from a base that already sits 1,000 feet above the desert floor.

First climbed in 1961, its main route earned a spot in “Fifty Classic Climbs of North America.” You don’t have to be a climber to get close.

Hikers in good shape can make it to the base for a look straight up the face.

Stone formations named for priests and nuns line the ridge

Connected to Castleton along the same ridge, The Rectory stands at a similar height.

Just beyond it, a cluster of spires called The Priest and Nuns rises in a shape that gives them their name: one tall column standing above several shorter ones, like a priest at an altar. Sister Superior and the Convent sit further northwest.

All of it is Wingate Sandstone, laid down in the late Triassic and early Jurassic periods. As the light shifts through the day, the rock runs from pale orange to deep crimson.

River Road winds through canyon walls along the Colorado

State Route 128 runs along the southern bank of the Colorado River through a tight gorge of sandstone walls. Locals call it River Road.

The official designation is the Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway, and it also forms part of the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway.

The drive from Moab to the Castle Valley turnoff covers about 16 miles and takes roughly 30 minutes.

Along the way, the road runs along the southern boundary of Arches National Park, though you’d never know it from the canyon floor.

The Fisher Towers shoot 900 feet into the desert sky

A few miles before the Castle Valley turnoff, a cluster of dark red spires rises from the desert floor.

The Fisher Towers are made of Cutler sandstone capped with harder Moenkopi stone, and millions of years of erosion have draped them in red mud curtains that hang like frozen waves.

The tallest of the group, The Titan, climbs about 900 feet above the trail, ranking among the tallest freestanding sandstone towers in the country.

Rock climbers come from around the world to attempt routes here, including a corkscrew-shaped summit called Ancient Art.

The Fisher Towers Trail winds through canyons and under cliffs

The trail around the base of the Fisher Towers runs about 4.4 miles round-trip.

You’ll dip into sharp canyons, pass beneath vertical walls, and at one point, cross a metal ladder bolted into the rock. Some hikers turn around there.

If you push to the end, a high ridge opens up with a long view across the Onion Creek drainage, Castle Valley, and the Colorado River below.

There’s almost no shade on the trail, and the sun reflects off the rock, so bring more water than you think you’ll need.

Porcupine Rim drops 2,800 feet with Castle Valley in full view

Porcupine Rim is one of the most well-known mountain biking trails near Moab.

The route runs about 14.4 miles one way, dropping roughly 2,800 feet to the Colorado River, and it serves as the final leg of The Whole Enchilada, a 33-mile ride that starts in the La Sal Mountains.

At the top of the rim, you get a long look down into Castle Valley, the towers laid out below you in the afternoon light. You don’t have to bike it.

Hikers can reach the overlook too, on foot, for the same view.

The La Sal Loop Road trades red rock for aspen and pine

South of Moab, the La Sal Mountain Loop Road climbs out of the desert and into a different world entirely.

The 60-mile paved route winds up into the Manti-La Sal National Forest, through groves of aspen and pine, before dropping back down into Castle Valley.

The La Sal Mountains are Utah’s second-tallest range, and from the valley floor, their snow-capped peaks rise directly behind the red rock towers. Oowah Lake and Warner Lake sit along the route for a stop.

Skip this drive if you’re in an RV; the switchbacks are tight.

The darkest sky in Utah sits right above this valley

In 2024, Castle Valley became Utah’s fourth International Dark Sky Community, certified by DarkSky International. The town’s outdoor lighting ordinance goes back to 1991, requiring all fixtures to be fully shielded.

On a clear night, the Milky Way spreads overhead, planets sit low on the horizon, and distant galaxies are visible without a telescope.

The valley sits surrounded by nine International Dark Sky Parks, including Arches and Canyonlands. A group of residents spent years updating regulations and building community support to earn that certification.

Desert sandstone demands its own climbing techniques

Castle Valley draws serious rock climbers from across North America and beyond.

The Kor-Ingalls Route on Castleton Tower sits near the top of most desert climbers’ lists, but it’s far from the only option.

The Rectory, Priest and Nuns, and Fisher Towers all have established routes ranging from moderate to expert-only. Desert sandstone climbs differently from mountain rock, and the techniques don’t always transfer.

Utah Open Lands and other conservation groups have worked to keep the climbing areas around Castleton Tower open and accessible to the public.

Cell service drops out and the valley stays quiet by design

The valley has almost no commercial development, and that’s not an accident.

Residents have pushed back against rapid growth for decades to keep the natural character of the place intact. Cell service is limited or nonexistent in much of the valley.

The drive along the Colorado River gives you time to adjust, with the towers rising slowly into view as the canyon opens up. No gas stations, no chain restaurants.

What you get instead is a place that still looks roughly the way it did before most people knew the name.

Arches and Canyonlands both sit within an hour of the valley

Castle Valley works on its own, but it also puts you within reach of some of the best canyon country in the American West. Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park are both less than an hour away.

Dead Horse Point State Park, with its overlook of the Colorado River far below, is close too. The Colorado River runs just minutes from the valley for rafting and kayaking.

Stack the Fisher Towers hike, the River Road drive, and a night under the dark sky together, and you’ve got a few days that don’t need any national park at all.

Visit Castle Valley off SR-128 northeast of Moab

From Moab, take US-191 north to SR-128 east and follow the river road about 16 miles to the Castle Valley Road turnoff.

The Fisher Towers trailhead is about 21 miles northeast of Moab, just off SR-128, with a small Bureau of Land Management campground at the trailhead.

Spring and fall are the most comfortable seasons for hiking; summer temperatures often top 100 degrees. There are no gas stations or grocery stores in the valley, so fuel up and stock up in Moab before you head out.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• Why serious hikers skip Zion and head straight to Snow Canyon instead
• This corner of Utah looks like Mars and you can touch every rock in it
• Southern Utah’s biggest forest is larger than Zion, Bryce, and Capitol Reef combined