35. Goblin Valley & Little Wild Horse Canyon

One of the benefits of staying in Hanksville was that we could do some other cool hikes that we normally wouldn’t have stopped for otherwise. Goblin Valley is a state park 30 minutes from Hanksville with crazy goblin-like sandstone formations in what used to be a tidal flat millions of years ago.

This area of Utah has felt isolated. There’s generally no cell service. We rarely pass any other cars. The drive to Little Wild Horse Canyon was 6 miles even further into isolation. We parked & walked along the wide, dry riverbed & eventually made it to what we’d gone there for – slot canyons. Many of the spots are just wide enough to walk through – some spots were too narrow for even your foot. We had to scramble over boulders, “walk” sideways like crabs to navigate the walls, and really problem-solve how to get through. The kids said this is their favorite kind of hike. It truly was fun, & the slot canyons were so crisp and cool. Coming out of them, we were hit with a wall of 86-degree desert heat.