Goblin Valley State Park, Utah.

[Bull_Rider]

We will be traveling south from Flaming Gorge Rec. Area to the Dinosaur Memorial, then towards Bryce and Zion.

I thought that a visit to Goblin Valley State Park would he a hoot, but according to the Utah Reservation site, the campground is booked, almost solid.

I tried calling Utah State Parks to verify. So, is it going to be that busy in May? Would like to be there around May 1 and stay for two or three nights. Do they hold sites open for drop ins?

We can boondock too, would that be an option down in that area.

Thank You for your help on this one... 🙂

[Bull_Rider]

Thanks for the replies, we should be up there next week or so, we're in Saint George Utah now. Amazing red rocks...

[tandk]

We actually stayed over at Capitol Reef National Park and did a day trip to Goblin Valley. We saw people camping right outside Goblin Valley Park and had no clue it was allowed for camping. That would have been great! The park was so amazing. I had no clue what to expect and it was fun and beautiful 🙂

[dcason]

When we did our WildWest 2013 trip and the National Parks were closed, I called Goblin Valley and asked if they had openings. She said, no. I sighed and then she told me we are surrounded by Umpteen acres of BLM land and you can camp there. WHOOPIE:B

It is also a night sky area so it was magnificent. We are going to go back there.

My advice, skip the campground, visit the park as day visitor and camp outside the park. You can dump your tanks in park and take on water if you need to.

You can see what we did in Goblin Valley here. There are also two more posts about it for day 7 and 8.

Enjoy it! Make sure you are well stocked with food as there isn't anything close by or anything reasonably priced in the area.

[bcsslc]

If you are looking on GE follow the road that goes "west" of Goblin. if you look closely you can make out the two washes in the road one a few hounded yards after the other. In fact the one to the west has a small collection pond to the north. Between the wash next to the pond and where the road turns to dirt (about 1-2miles) you will see small spur roads that go to the south. This is where you want to go. Hit Goblin Valley in the evening the first night and if weather is clear hit Little Wild Horse canyon the next morning. Make sure to check the weather. Slot canyons must be avoided if there is any chance of rain.

[crosscheck]

If the State Park campsite has no vacancies, go just past the parking area to Bell and Wild Horse canyons. There is a large dispersed area where 2 years ago, we were the only campers. Got up early to miss the crowds and hiked up one canyon and down the other.

Goblin is only 15 - 20 min drive from there.

Dave.

[Bull_Rider]

Thank to all that have responded. I can see on Google Earth that to the north,and then west there are boon docking sites. I can see some RV's that are about a quarter mile off of the road. Looks fantastic. I can't imaging what the stars would look like in a place like that.

We've been to Moab, Bryce, Kodachrome, and Zion. Looking forward to Flaming Gorge Rec area, Dinosaur NM, and Goblin Valley.

Hope to go rafting on the Green River.

[RCMAN46]

The best time to see Goblin Valley State Park is in the evening.

[rexlion]

I ignorantly showed up one midafternoon about 4-5 years ago and they had a campsite for me. Guess I'm lucky that way. But like was mentioned, there are boondock spots just a few miles NW of the park near a slot canyon. Even if you don't want to do that, it is a good spot to visit for a couple hours or so on a day trip.

[Captain_Obvious]

Lots of BLM boondocking opportunities just outside of goblin valley sp. look north and a little west. We are headed there in mid May and yes, that area is popular from mid march to June. Warm days and not too cold at night. Later in the summer it gets very hot.

[NHIrish]

Near Bryce is another great one...Kodachrome SPO...they have a few full hookup sites. It is beautiful.

[Bull_Rider]

Thank You Thunder. I'm firing up Google Earth now. I appreciate the input. Hope we get to visit, sounds awesome...

[Thunder_Mountai]

Yes, that campground is very popular requiring reservations way ahead of time. It is a beautiful campground in an amazing setting. There are some beautiful BD sites on the way to Bell and Little Wild Horse Canyons just north of Goblin Valley.