Goblin Valley State Park

No where is quite like Goblin Valley. The rock structures are very odd looking, carved by wind and water for thousands of years. You can walk through them exploring, the valley is only about 1 mile wide and 2 miles long. A few movies have even been filmed here because of it's out of this world look to it. To reach the state park, go 24 miles south of I-70 on Highway 24, turn at Temple Mountain junction, follow signs 12 miles to park.

Cowboys searching for cattle were among the first to discover secluded Goblin Valley. In the late 1920s, Arthur Chaffin, owner/operator of the Hite Ferry, and two companions were searching for an alternative route between Green River and Caineville. They came to a vantage point about one mile west of Goblin Valley and were awed by what they saw � five buttes and a valley of strange-shaped rock formations surrounded by a wall of eroded cliffs. In 1949 Chaffin returned to the area he called Mushroom Valley. He spent several days exploring the mysterious valley and photographing its scores of intricately eroded creatures. Publicity attracted visitors to the valley despite its remoteness. In 1954 it was proposed that Goblin Valley be protected from vandalism. The state of Utah later acquired the property and established Goblin Valley State Reserve. It was officially designated a state park on August 24, 1964.

The wonderful stone shapes of Goblin Valley result from millions of years of geologic history. The goblins are made of Entrada sandstone,
which consist of debris eroded from former highlands and redeposited here on a tidal flat (alternating layers of sandstone, siltstone and
shale). The goblins show evidence of being near an ancient sea with 1) the ebb and flow of tides, 2) tidal channels that directed currents back to
the sea and 3) coastal sand dunes. Joint or fracture patterns within the Entradas sandstone beds create initial zones of weakness. The unweathered joints intersect to form sharp edges and corners with greater
surface-area-to-volume ratios than the faces. As a result, the edges weather more quickly, producing spherical-shaped goblins.