This free-roam Utah valley has no trails on purpose — just giant goblins everywhere

It’s full of rock goblins

Somewhere on the edge of Utah’s San Rafael Desert, about 5,000 feet up, the ground turns into something you’ve never seen before.

Thousands of reddish-brown rock formations rise from the dirt in shapes that look like melting creatures, toadstools, and figures from a dream you can’t quite place. They call them goblins.

The park that holds them covers nearly 10,000 acres, and most of it feels like you’ve left Earth entirely. But the strange rocks are only the beginning.

Cowboys found it while looking for lost cattle

The first outsiders to lay eyes on this valley were cowboys chasing stray cattle across the desert.

Then, in the late 1920s, a ferry operator named Arthur Chaffin came through while searching for a shortcut between Green River and Caineville.

He took one look at the rock formations and called the place Mushroom Valley. Chaffin came back in 1949 to photograph what he’d found, and word spread fast.

Utah made it an official state park on Aug. 24, 1964.

Wander through three valleys with no trails at all

The heart of the park is a three-square-mile stretch where you won’t find a single marked path. You just pick a direction and walk.

The area splits into three connected valleys.

Valley 1 is the biggest and draws the most people, with squat, mushroom-shaped goblins that kids love to weave through.

Valley 2 runs through small canyons, and the formations grow taller the deeper you go.

Valley 3 sits more than a mile from the parking area and sees far fewer people.

170 million years carved these shapes

The goblins started as Entrada sandstone, laid down about 170 million years ago when tidal flats and coastal dunes sat along the edge of an inland sea.

Over time, layers of sandstone, siltstone, and shale stacked up and compressed into rock. Wind and rain wore the softer layers faster than the hard caps on top, and that left the mushroom shapes you see today.

The same Entrada sandstone formed the arches at Arches National Park.

The Three Sisters stand guard by the road

You can spot the park’s most recognized formation before you even leave your car. The Three Sisters are three tall rock spires standing shoulder to shoulder, visible right from the road.

A short path, about 250 yards, takes you to their base.

Throughout the valleys, people pick out shapes that look like dinosaurs, chess pieces, alien faces, and creatures that don’t have names yet.

Erosion keeps carving the surrounding cliffs, so new goblins are still forming. Knock one over, though, and you face a felony under Utah law.

Walk the slot canyon on the Carmel Loop

The Carmel Canyon Loop runs 1. 5 miles and drops you onto the desert floor through a short, colorful slot canyon.

Go clockwise. The slot has small drop-offs that are easier to slide down than climb up.

About half a mile in, the trail meets the path to Goblin’s Lair.

In the evening, the light shifts across the layered rock walls, and you get wide views of Molly’s Castle outcrop and the formations scattered below it.

Light pours into the Goblin’s Lair cave

On the park’s eastern edge, a massive chamber hides inside the rock. Goblin’s Lair is not a true cavern but a slot canyon sealed by rockfall at the entrance.

At certain times of day, light drops through ceiling vents more than 100 feet above the floor and fills the space.

You can reach the opening by a marked trail that branches off the Carmel Canyon Loop, with some scrambling over rock along the way. Experienced canyoneers can rappel in with a permit from the visitor center.

Catch views from the Curtis Bench ridge

The Curtis Bench Trail is an easy two-mile out-and-back along a ridge above the valley. From up there, you look down over the goblin fields and south toward the Henry Mountains.

If you want more distance, the Entrada Canyon Trail runs 1.3 miles from the campground to the valley floor, passing formations you can’t see from anywhere else in the park.

Link the two together, and you get a roughly four-mile loop through country that changes with every turn.

Play disc golf and bike across the mesa

The Wild Horse Mesa Mountain Bike Trail system gives you about seven miles of looping single-track, ranging from beginner to intermediate, with views of the park rolling past.

Near the campground, a disc golf course sits right in the desert and costs nothing to play beyond your park entry. You can rent discs at the visitor center for a dollar each.

The red dirt and open sky make both feel like you’re doing something ordinary on a very different planet.

See the Milky Way with your bare eyes

Goblin Valley holds certification as an International Dark Sky Park, and when the sun drops, you understand why.

With virtually no light from nearby towns, the full band of the Milky Way stretches across the sky clear enough to see without a telescope. Every light fixture in the park points downward to keep it that way.

Photographers come out after dark to frame goblin silhouettes against the stars. Rangers lead full moon hikes and telescope viewings throughout the year.

Squeeze through Little Wild Horse Canyon

About five minutes by car from the park entrance, Little Wild Horse Canyon cuts through BLM land and ranks as one of the most popular non-technical slot canyons in southern Utah.

The walls narrow until they barely fit your shoulders, with layered rock rising high on both sides. The trail follows a dry wash and doesn’t need special gear, though sturdy shoes help.

Flash floods are a real danger here, so check conditions at the visitor center before you head out.

Half a million people a year find this place

Goblin Valley pulls in about 500,000 visitors annually, and weekends and holidays can pack the parking areas.

The park sits between Capitol Reef National Park and Moab, so it fits naturally into a Utah road trip.

Gates open at 6 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. daily. Cell service barely exists out here, so download your maps and bring what you need.

For families, the open valley works like a giant outdoor playground where kids can scramble and explore with no ropes required.

Explore Goblin Valley State Park in Utah

You’ll find Goblin Valley about 20 miles north of Hanksville and roughly 216 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. Day-use entry runs $20 per vehicle.

The park has 25 campsites at $45 per night and two yurts at $150 per night, with showers and restrooms on site. The visitor center sells maps, snacks, and cold drinks.

For gas, food, and other supplies, Hanksville is about 20 minutes south, and Green River sits roughly 50 miles north.

The park is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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