Larry Memmott's Blog

Goblin Valley is filled with the sandstone figures, looking like toadstools, towers, or, perhaps, goblins. Alternately called hoodoos, the goblins are formed of soft stone and are constantly changing with the erosion of the wind and water.  It’s fun to wander among them or clamber up them, and they make for some pretty cool photos.

One popular activity at Goblin Valley is nighttime hide-and-seek using flashlights.

The campground at Goblin Valley is small, but try to get one of the sites that are a bit apart from the others.  They sit back between rock fins, so you have some privacy. For a bit more cash, you can stay in one of the two yurts at the campground. We have stayed in real Kyrgyz yurts in Kyrgyzstan, so we didn’t feel the need to do it again in Utah.

At 57 miles, or an hour and a quarter, Goblin Valley makes a good alternative for camping after exploring Capitol Reef, just make sure you save time for the State Park, too.

You can get more information from the Utah State website. I also came across this excellent blog post.

On our last trip, we stayed in Coral Pink Sand Dunes, and then visited Bryce on our way to Goblin Valley, skipping Capital Reef and Kodachrome.  That makes for a longer day in the car, but also means camping in two State Parks with hot showers.  When I go again, I’ll camp in Kodachrome Basin.