Goblin Valley
The place served as the scenery of an alien planet in the movie “Galaxy Quest,” and until 1974 it was alien even to most Utahns.
Now it is being used as the backdrop of the Utah Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Recreation’s campaign to promote the state parks. Goblin Valley State Park in Utah’s Emery County is no longer alien – it’s more popular than ever.
But Goblin Valley assistant park manager Eugene Swalberg said the publicity the park received from “Galaxy Quest” didn’t contribute much to that popularity. The movie’s inclusion of the park went largely unnoticed, because most outside of Utah don’t know what or where the park is, he said.
Most of Goblin Valley’s popularity comes by word of mouth, said Kathy Hanna-Smith, director of the Castle Country Travel Region.
Swalberg said two things contribute to the park’s attractiveness – the Goblin-esque rock formations and the generally nice year-round weather.
“The Goblins themselves are considered a playground,” he said. “It’s got spectacular geology.”
Goblin Valley’s rock formations are the most unique of those in any other Utah state park, Hanna-Smith said.
According to Swalberg, kids love Goblin Valley because it’s a place for self discovery.
Park employees don’t encourage or discourage climbing on the formations within the valley, he said, but the park would like a graduate study to be done in the near future to see how it affects the rocks.
Most visitors, however, don’t even make their way into the valley to climb. The majority come, sit on a picnic table on a spot that offers a scenic panorama, “ooh and ahh,” and leave within the space of two hours, Swalberg said.
Goblin Valley, because of its remote location in the San Rafael Swell, took a while before it was even discovered. Explorers first came upon it in the 1920s. It wasn’t declared a state park until 1964, and no buildings were built until 1974, Swalberg said. The access road entering the park wasn’t paved until 1998. Recently, more money has been allocated to make such improvements, Hanna-Smith said.
“Development has been dispersed and slow,” Swalberg said.
Though it is not under the state park’s jurisdiction, Swalberg said the Goblin Valley visitors’ center answers many questions about Little Wildhorse Canyon, a slot canyon nearby. The road to Little Wildhorse, which is administered by the Bureau of Land Management, runs through the park. Of the approximately 80,000 visitors at Goblin Valley last year, half went on to Little Wildhorse, said Tom Gnojek, recreation planner for the Price BLM field office. Some visitors, however, go to Little Wildhorse and skip Goblin Valley completely, Swalberg said.
Little Wildhorse has become famous, receiving recognition internationally in newspapers overseas, Gnojek said. About 10 years ago, Little Wildhorse was relatively unknown and difficult to find because the location was unmarked. Now there is sign up, a restroom, a gravel parking lot, a sign-in box and a BLM ranger station at the junction of the Goblin Valley road, Gnojek said.
According to Gnojek, one of the “in” things lately is to be in the confines of a slot canyon. The hike up Little Wildhorse Canyon is “quite nice,” he said, because it makes a loop. Even if hikers decide to come back the same way, it feels like they are seeing different scenery.
For those looking for solitude, Gnojek suggested traversing through one of the other slot canyons nearby up the Temple Mountain Road. But though some want to avoid the crowds, other say part of the fun of Little Wildhorse is conversing with others making the trip, Gnojek explained.
Swalberg said potential visitors to Goblin Valley should learn how to orient themselves by becoming familiar with key landmarks so they don’t get lost because there is no trail system within the valley. Swalberg also suggested hikers carry plenty of water and know their physical limitations so they don’t over-exert themselves in the desert environment.
Hanna-Smith said visitors should wear plenty of sunscreen and check weather conditions before heading into the park.
Gnojek warned that hikers in Little Wildhorse will usually experience hot conditions and potential for flash floods. He said hikers should make sure others know where they are. The canyon is not a good place for little kids or dogs, he said.