Goblin Valley State Park is one of the smaller state parks in Utah, but it is not a place that disappoints. I drive to Moab multiple times a year and every time I always found myself looking towards an area off the side of the road wondering what's over there. Little did I know it was the San Rafael Swell, a place I had heard so much about and was planning on checking out. We decided to do a quick day trip and finally scratch this area in Utah off our to-do list. It's also one of the best places to go when you are starting to get spring fever and it's still snowing all the time in Salt Lake City. It's a bit shorter of a drive than Moab, it took us about 3 hours to get to the Visitor's Center from Salt Lake.
If you aren't looking to do a day trip, there are TONS of camping options close-by on BLM land or you can stay in Hanksville. We made a pit stop to gas up and found the cutest gas station whose store was built into a rock, checking out Hollow Mountain is a great way to stretch your legs and see something unique. Hanksville is also on the way to Capitol Reef National Park, so another option would be to stop in Goblin Valley on the way to Capitol Reef. There are lots of ways to explore Goblin Valley. I think if you are wanting to do the hikes we did it would be perfect to just do a day trip. BUT if you are wanting to explore more of the San Rafael Swell camping would be the way to go. There is plenty of room between each area and it can accommodate big groups.
Alright, now to what you came here for, the hiking! We explored Goblin Valley State Park and some slot canyons that were super close by called Little Wildhorse and Bell Canyon. I'll give you the run-down of Goblin Valley first.
Goblin Valley State Park trails are very short and family friendly. The Valley of the Goblins Trail isn't a proper trail it is more of a choose your own adventure loop. You can climb on the goblins but be mindful of doing any damage. If it has recently rained stay off of them, the sandstone is softer and easily damaged in that state. Even though this is a super easy trail it is a must-do to get close to the goblins.
The trail I can't recommend enough if you want a little more adventure is the Chamber of the Basilisk or Goblin's Liar. This trail has everything: rock scrambling, open desert views, a cave, and a secret cave within a cave. This 2.4 mile trail takes you to the back of the park and into a chamber like cave. I saw Chamber of the Basilisk and had to do this hike because I am a proud Dumbledork, as my husband calls me. I was so blown away. The scramble down into the cave is a little intimidating but is totally doable. Just take your time and make sure you have a spotter if you are nervous. I won't tell you where the secret cave is, part of the fun was finding it, just keep your eyes peeled.
Alright now to the real adventure of this trip. This part of the story is embarrassing, because everyone in our group knows better and how to be prepared for hikes. We totally proved that the more experienced you are the more likely you are to find yourself in trouble because you can get complacent...and have bad communication, which was the real problem. Learn from our mistakes, or be reminded if you are a seasoned hiker. Ha! Little Wildhorse & Bell Canyon is a beautiful looped trail that will take you through 2 slot canyons. However, if you do the entire loop it is about 8 miles. We planned to just do Bell Canyon. It is the more picturesque slot canyon of the two. We started hiking and were just going to go until we wanted to turn around. But here is the problem, we decided to just "do the whole thing." My friend and I thought that meant do BOTH slot canyons while my husband was just talking about just doing the whole thing of ONE slot canyon. Mistake #1, not clarifying what the plan was then and there.
It is really hard to tell when the slot canyon ends because it can open back up and then narrow again. So we just kept walking, we did not bring a ton of water and food because we thought it would be a quick little hike to check it out and then turn around. By the time we started to realize that we had hiked in pretty far, we were 4 miles in and it was either going to be 4 miles back the way we came or 4 miles to the next slot canyon. It was already pretty late in the afternoon and we had to make the call. We ended up hiking over to the second slot canyon, but as you can see there was still snow on the ground and we were not dressed for cold weather if the sun went down before we could get off the trail. I will tell you that it is a VERY long hike if you are not prepared for it.
It's beautiful and totally worth it, but just don't be like us dummies and plan for a longer hike if you are going to do the WHOLE thing. ;) Utah always takes my breath away and Goblin Valley and Little Wildhorse and Bell Canyon were no different. Even though we ended up hiking 13 miles in one day between all the hikes and were completely exhausted, these are how the best memories are made and new friendships are formed. We went with our friends girlfriend who was down for an adventure and it was so much fun to get to know her and now we have an epic story of our first hike together. Friendships are based off of inside jokes, right? Like remember the time we hiked a half-marathon on accident?!
What You Want to Know:
Take Me There!
Here is the a link to Google Maps that will take you to the Goblin Valley Visitor's Center and here is a link to the trailhead for Little Wildhorse and Bell Canyon, both of these are from Salt Lake City. It's about a 3.5 hour drive.
How Long is the Hike?
Valley of the Goblins is as long of a hike as you make it. If you did the whole loop it is 1 mile. This is the most family friendly out of all the trails.
Goblin's Liar is a 2.4 mile out and back trail.
Little Wildhorse and Bell Canyon is a 8 mile looped trail.
What Do I Wear?
Depending on the time of year you may need a jacket. Spring and fall can be quite cooler than you expect in the desert especially when the wind picks up. We went in March and were glad we had jackets. I would also recommend sturdy hiking boots for both trails because there is a lot of scrambling on rocks. I recently upgraded my boots to the Adidas Swift R2 Goretex hiking boots. I am obsessed. They are super comfortable, really stylish, and functional! As always bring plenty of water, especially in the warmer months, it will get hot.
Can I Take My Dog?
Dogs are allowed on all of the trails if they are leashed.
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