Utah's Goblin Valley - Nature's Hidden Gem of Strange Formations
Goblin Valley State Park and the nearby Little Wild Horse Slot Canyon offer a unique family travel experience in Utah, filled with natural beauty, physical activity, and imaginative exploration.
Nestled in the heart of Utah, Goblin Valley is a sandcastle-like formation of eroding red rock formations, each standing about 10 to 15 feet tall. Known as the Valley of the Goblins, families can walk among mushroom and monster-shaped rock hoodoos, identifying shapes and even playing games like hide and seek. The environment is vast and easy to navigate, with opportunities for photography and extended stays.
The area around Goblin Valley offers fun and adventure for all ages. The campground offers spacious RV sites with terrific views, cozy tent sites, and amenities like flush toilets, showers, and an RV dump. The visitors center offers terrific displays on the flora, fauna, geological, and human history of the area.
The park offers seasonal talks and ranger-led hikes of the valley at no charge. The Entrada hiking trail goes from the campground to the heart of the Valley of the Goblins, weaving through a sandstone maze. In some spots, previous visitors have done some home-decorating, collecting pretty rocks and placing them on knick-knack shelves in the canyon walls.
The approach to Goblin Valley features a huge rock formation resembling a gothic cathedral. Three "goblins" stand together like greeters on one side of the rock formation. The erosion process at work in Goblin Valley is identical to the one at Arches National Park, but results in different rock formations. Goblin Valley State Park is less visited, more remote, and just as stunning as Utah's beloved national parks.
Nearby, the Little Wild Horse slot canyon provides thrilling yet family-friendly scrambling and hiking loops through narrow canyon walls. The walls of Little Wild Horse Canyon follow rounded contours and have deep pockets where eddies of water swirled and washed away the rock, forming little shelves. The rock in the canyon is grippy, making it easy to get a handhold or foothold in places where hikers have to hoist themselves up and over various blockages.
Visited in October, the weather was warm with clear, bright blue skies. However, watching the weather closely is important before venturing into slot canyons, as they fill with water in a heartbeat when it rains. The ancient peoples used these canyons, as evidenced by petroglyphs and pictographs dating back two thousand to ten thousand years.
Overall, these destinations combine natural beauty, physical activity, and imaginative exploration, making them outstanding family travel experiences in Utah. Whether you're camping, hiking, or simply exploring the unique rock formations, Goblin Valley and Little Wild Horse Slot Canyon offer a memorable and exciting adventure for the whole family.
After an exciting family trip to Utah's Goblin Valley State Park, families can further their exploration by visiting the nearby Little Wild Horse Slot Canyon. This destination offers a blend of home-and-garden aesthetics, with unique rock formations serving as natural knick-knack shelves, and travel adventures through thrilling hiking loops.
