Goblin Valley State Park, Utah
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Goblins: The Valley, which is only about a mile across and two miles long, is full of thousands of mushroom-shaped pinnacles a few meters high that someone obviously thought resembled goblins - the formations have large orange-brown boulders of hard rock atop weaker sandy layers which have eroded more quickly. The Goblins are well hidden from the approach road and the flat, empty lands to the east by a long narrow ridge with eroded layers of grey and red-brown rocks, the far side of which provides perhaps the best views of the landscape - here the Goblins merge with the cliffs giving an eerie skeletal structure with distorted skull-like rocks and transverse bony ridges. A little climbing is necessary to see this view.
The Park: There are supposed to be several trails passing through the Park although they are not obvious and it is possible to walk almost anywhere. It may not take long to see the valley - an hour is enough - but it is certainly well worth the detour. The formations would be especially striking at dusk and for anyone wishing to stay the night, camping is allowed at a site ($15 per night in 2005, maybe a bit much) which is a few hundred meters from the main valley but does have some welcoming Goblins of its own. Entrance to the park itself is good value at $5.
Wilderness: The land west of Goblin Valley State Park is part of the San Rafael Swell and is like much of south Utah as it is remote but beautiful, and traversed only by a few dirt tracks; 4WD vehicles are recommended. There are various slot canyons in this area and some such as Little Wild Horse Canyon may be explored relatively easily.
