The main attraction of Goblin Valley State Park is the Valley of the Goblins. This is where you can find thousands of clusters of hoodoos (or goblin formations). These goblin formations are what Goblin Valley is known for. Valley of the Goblins is located at the end of the main parking lot, the Goblin Overlook. There are three different valleys in Goblin Valley: Valley 1, Valley 2, and Valley 3. Because Valley 1 is directly below the parking lot, it is the easiest to explore. Valley 2 is next to Valley 1, while Valley 3 is a lot further out. There are NO trails in the Valley of the Goblins. You are free to wander wherever you want, including exploring the passageways in between the hoodoos. It is really fun to explore! In this blog, we’ll show you how to explore all 3 of the valleys.
Important: The Valley of the Goblins is mostly undeveloped land with no maintained trails. It is important to bring a personal tracking device, such as a Garmin InReach, and know how to navigate the backcountry. Also, please don’t climb on the more fragile hoodoos or disturb any cryptobiotic soil or plants.
Goblin Overlook
Goblin Valley Rd, Green River, UT 84525
38.564333, -110.703485
There is a decent-sized paved parking lot in front of the trailhead.
Goblin Valley State Park requires a fee to enter. For more information, please visit the park’s website.
Vault toilets on both ends of the parking lot.
5.1 miles R.T. (all 3 valleys)
167 ft
Easy to Moderate. Since the area doesn’t have any actual trail, you’ll need to know how to find your way around.
Takes an average of 45 mins to 3 hours, depending on whether you’re doing all 3 valleys or not.
Pets are allowed on trails here; however, they have to be on a leash no longer than 6ft.
The best time to visit Valley of the Goblins is in spring (March–May) and fall (September–October), when daytime temperatures are mild, typically between 60°F and 80°F. Summer can get very warm, and winter can be freezing cold.
We recommend hiking this either earlier in the morning or later near sunset, when the light is soft. The hoodoos look especially spectacular during these times.
Valley of the Goblins is located at the end of the main road for Goblin Valley State Park, where the Goblin Overlook is. To get here from Hanksville, take UT-24 East for about 19.6 miles. Then turn left onto W Temple Jct and follow the signs for Goblin Valley State Park. After about 5 miles, turn left onto Goblin Valley Road. From here, drive along Goblin Valley Road for 6.9 miles. Here, you’ll come to a junction. Once again, go left and follow the signs for Valley of the Goblin. The parking lot for Valley of the Goblin is at the end of this road. It is a decent-sized paved lot. The trailhead for Valley of the Goblin is next to the big shade structure, near the end of the parking lot.
From the parking lot, the Valley of the Goblins can be accessed by a series of wooden stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, you’ll come directly to a metal sign for Valley 1. As we mentioned above, there are no trails here. You’re free to wander around and explore wherever. It is really fun. However, it can be confusing for some people trying to navigate. If you plan to explore all 3 valleys, we highly recommend bringing a personal tracking device, such as the Garmin InReach. Besides that, as long as you’re paying attention to the landmarks, such as the big parking lot, it’s easy to find your way back.
Valley 1 is the main section of the Goblin Valley State Park, the first one visitors would see from the overlook. It is the biggest valley out of all the Valley of the Goblins. The whole valley is full of mushroom-shaped hoodoos, A.K.A goblins. These goblins are anywhere from 5 to 10ft tall. We love winding our way through all these goblins. The way they all cluster is very interesting. It is so much better being between the goblins than looking at them from above. From above, we didn’t realize how big and tall some of these hoodoos are.
Toward the back of the valley, looking from the parking lot, tall pinnacles are lining up. These pinnacles remind us of the caves at Cathedral Gorge. However, these are more knobby. They act as a fence line, separating the Valley of the Goblins from the rest of the landscape.
Valley 2 is right next to Valley 1, on the right-hand side if you’re looking down from the parking lot. There really isn’t any distinction between the two, which can be confusing. To find your way there more easily, look to the right for a large grayish-white hill that looks like a dome. It should be easy to find. It is the only grayish-white dome in the middle of the reddish landscape. This dome marks the entrance to Valley 2.
We seriously just wandered our way among the goblins until we made our way there. There is a metal sign for Valley 2 in the middle of the goblins. In certain sections, Valley 2 is also quite dense with all the goblins. The goblins here are taller than those in Valley 1. While Valley 1 is flat, there are more hills in Valley 2. Valley 2 also has fewer people.
If you want peace and quiet, you can make your way over to Valley 3 of the Valley of the Goblins. Valley 3 is much more remote, with an additional 1.8 miles each way. We completed all 3 valleys, totaling about 5.9 miles. Although you could get to Valley 3 from Valley 2 by climbing across the bluffs, the easiest way is to use the Red Canyon Trail. Even though it is called a trail, it’s technically a wash. There are some directional signs, but not many. The Red Canyon trail actually starts from the very southern end of the parking lot and runs along all three valleys. However, most people refer to meandering between Valleys 1 and 2 before taking the Red Canyon Trail to Valley 3.
If you are at the sign for Valley 2, head away from the goblins and straight toward the flat area where the wash is. You should be able to see a drop-down into the wash and a big metal sign for the Red Canyon and Valley 3. Here are the coordinates for the start of the Red Canyon trail to Valley 3: 38.557521,-110.704379. It will be about 1.5 miles in the wash before reaching a junction. You’ll want to turn left here, following the sign for Valley 3. Here’s our tracking for Alltrails if you want to use it for reference.
After about 0.3 miles along the wash, you’ll start to see the goblins popping up from the hillside above the wash. This is the start of Valley 3. You could go further along the wash to get to the heart of Valley 3. However, we found an access trail and made our way up the hillside early. Valley 3 is the second-largest valley. It has some taller goblins with some dense sections. When we went, we were the only ones there.
Once you’re done exploring, you can head back the same way. Valley of the Goblins is beautiful and totally worth spending time here. Another one is the Goblin’s Lair. If you like hoodoos and landscapes like this, Bryce Canyon is another place to visit. We also love Cathedral Gorge State Park. Chiricahua National Monument also features some interesting pinnacles and rock formations.
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These are the gear that we personally use and find helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.
Our favorite biodegradable, eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen!
This is Vy's favorite hiking bag! It has tons of room for snacks and water!
It's always good to bring a GPS tracker with you. We use the Garmin inReach.
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
If you tend to have foot blisters on hikes, get this! We use this all the time.
These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
Compact GoPro pole that extends to 25", perfect to bring on your adventure.
This is our go-to camera for all of our adventures. It comes with us everywhere!
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Hi! We are Dustin & Vy, the proud creators of Live That Adventure. We created this website because we wanted to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest. On here, you’ll find everything from hiking, canyoneering, kayaking, and snorkeling to adventure and travel tips, gear reviews, and bucket list items such as bungee jumping or wing walking. We’ll show you the ropes so you can do them too!
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