Goblin Valley State Park

Goblin Valley State Park in Emery County, Utah, protects a 3,654-acre basin filled with thousands of sandstone hoodoos locally called 'goblins' — rounded, mushroom-shaped formations eroded from Entrada Sandstone over millions of years. Unlike the tall vertical hoodoos of Bryce Canyon, Goblin Valley's formations are shorter, rounder, and denser, filling the valley floor like a sea of alien stone figures in shades of red, orange, and brown. Visitors can roam freely off-trail among the goblins — an unusual freedom compared to most national parks — climbing and weaving through the formations without restriction. The main valley viewpoint overlooks the full basin from a covered pavilion at the end of the paved park road. The Valley of the Goblins can be freely explored in 1–3 hours of self-guided wandering; the soft sandstone floor is easy to walk on and the goblins are generally safe to touch and climb on smaller formations, though the park discourages damage. Three designated hiking trails radiate from the campground: Goblin's Lair Trail (1.5 miles round-trip) descends into a collapsed cavern filled with even more dramatic hoodoo formations in a darkened grotto, while Carmel Canyon Loop (3 miles) and Curtis Bench Trail (5 miles) explore surrounding canyon terrain and rim views. The park's remote location in central Utah, approximately equidistant between Capitol Reef and Canyonlands, makes it a natural stopover on road trips through the Colorado Plateau. The night sky above Goblin Valley is certified as an International Dark Sky Park, and the formations create distinctive silhouettes against the Milky Way on clear moonless nights. The park campground has 25 sites with full hookups and three yurt cabins, all booking weeks in advance during spring and fall.