Everyone who leaves Capitol Reef heading east faces the same dilemma. The goal is clear - to reach, sooner or later, Moab and two national parks - Canyonlands and Arches. But you can get there in two different ways - going further north on "24" to Interstate 70 and then down on "191". Or you can turn south from "24" onto "95" and get to Moab from exactly opposite direction.
Both ways have their adventages. The only disadventage is that chosing either one you're missing all the fun parts of the other. Going south it's Hovenweep National Park, managed by BLM Cedar Mesa (both with numerous ancient Pueblo and Anasazi Indian artifacts and ruins). There is also Natural Bridges National Park and the most southern part of Canyonlands called The Needles. And if go a little bit more south on "261" and "163" you can even see Goosenecks State Park and Monument Valley considered by some people as one of the best places to see in the US.
The way north is shorther and the best place on it is Goblin Valley State Park. We decided to go north mostly because we realized we didn't have that much time any more. And we saw some pictures from Goblin Valley and we really liked them. We read that kids love it so we wanted to check whether Maciek is a regular kid at all (so far all our efforts in trying to make him love the nature as much as we do end up in his declarations about how much he loves cities and coffee places where he can eat cakes and drink juice).
On the junction of "24" and "95"we turned north. It's easy to find a place to camp there. To get to the park you have to turn from "24" onto Temple Mountain Road. Then you have to turn left again onto the road that leads to the park, while Temple Mountain Road keeps going straight.
Free campsites start at the very junction. You can either turn to the park and look for a dirt road leading to the rocks on your right. When we got there in the afternoon there were a few rvs there. Second option is to keep going on Temple Mountain Road. More or less 1000 feet further on the left there is a large parking with fire rings (although you won't find even a stick around...) and a toilet. We stayed there, first night with a few more rvs and couple of tents, second night it got more private. Further on there are a few more places like that.
Free campsites start at the very junction. You can either turn to the park and look for a dirt road leading to the rocks on your right. When we got there in the afternoon there were a few rvs there. Second option is to keep going on Temple Mountain Road. More or less 1000 feet further on the left there is a large parking with fire rings (although you won't find even a stick around...) and a toilet. We stayed there, first night with a few more rvs and couple of tents, second night it got more private. Further on there are a few more places like that.
Goblin Valley turned out to be exactly as great as we expected. It's a place that no travelers with kids (or those who are kids at heart) can not skip .Unfortunately our America the Beautiful pass doesn't work in state parks so we had to pay the fee: 7 USD per family. It was worth it.
Comparing to all the great national parks of Utah, Goblin Valley seems to be a midget, funny scamp who crouched on the side. But it's a lot of fun for a whole day (as long as you can stand the burning sun). It consists of three valleys full of rock formations reminding Smurfs village turned into stone surrounded by town made of stone with spires like from a fairy tale. It's all amlost empty (crowd of people gathers near the parking and doesn't feel like going any further), and, what's best about it, among those smurfs' huts, goblins in funny hats and huge mushrooms there are no paved trails. You can go wherever you want and climb whatever you wish.
We wondered around the first valley for a long while, we didn't go much further as it was really hot and sunny and we didn't have too much water (practical tip: take a lot of water when you go there, as bottled water in the park gift shop is really pricey, there are no other stores in the area and tap water is very sandy and not tasty at all).
Those few hours we spent there were a lot of fun, especially for Maciek. He climbed the rocks, made us take pictures of him, run around, squeezed through natural windows, penetrated alcoves. Once or twice he slid on his butt but this didn't discouraged him at all. At the end we were exhausted and he kept climbing steeper and steeper hills dragging us behind.
Those few hours we spent there were a lot of fun, especially for Maciek. He climbed the rocks, made us take pictures of him, run around, squeezed through natural windows, penetrated alcoves. Once or twice he slid on his butt but this didn't discouraged him at all. At the end we were exhausted and he kept climbing steeper and steeper hills dragging us behind.
And how was the Goblin Valley formed? It's an area where the erosion uncovered rock formations formed by sediments deposited by an inland sea some 170 millions years ago. Now water, wind, sun and so on keep lashing goblins making them into more and more unbelievable shapes.
White man discovered it only in 1920s. A guy called Artur Chaffin who owned a transporting company was looking for a shortcuts between Green River and Caineville and he came across the valley. He didn't share his discovery with the world right away, he came back 20 years later, took some pictures and as soon as he showed them to the world it became a tourist attraction. State of Utah quickly announced it a state park so the feds from Washington wouldn't steal another place from them.
White man discovered it only in 1920s. A guy called Artur Chaffin who owned a transporting company was looking for a shortcuts between Green River and Caineville and he came across the valley. He didn't share his discovery with the world right away, he came back 20 years later, took some pictures and as soon as he showed them to the world it became a tourist attraction. State of Utah quickly announced it a state park so the feds from Washington wouldn't steal another place from them.
A bonus attraction in the area is San Rafael Swell, which is a part of bigger formation called San Rafael Reef. By some people it is called the best hidden secret of Utah. There are no leaflets or brochures in visitors centers we visited in Utah. It seems like nobody took it for themselves yet, looks like BLM is in charge but doesn't really do much with it. It will probably change, as some time ago they started to distibute maps of the area in Goblin Valley SP visitors center.
San Rafael Swell is a stone wall with beautiful and not very popular hiking trails including two slot canyons considered the most beautiful in Utah (although there is usually a quick reminder that Buckskin Gulch, that we've seen earlier, is on Arizona territory).
We took a walk in one of these canyons, Little Wild Horse Canyon. It wasn't as picturesque as Buckskin, but it was still pretty amazing. In some places it was so narrow that Kalina could easily reach both walls at the same time. It turned out to be quite popular too so every few minutes we would pass by some families with kids or groups of students (it felt strange, seniors look now more natural on hiking trails for us).
We took a walk in one of these canyons, Little Wild Horse Canyon. It wasn't as picturesque as Buckskin, but it was still pretty amazing. In some places it was so narrow that Kalina could easily reach both walls at the same time. It turned out to be quite popular too so every few minutes we would pass by some families with kids or groups of students (it felt strange, seniors look now more natural on hiking trails for us).
Little Wild Horse Canyon can be hiked in a loop with Bell Canyon. It's around 8 miles, 4-6 hours walk. Too much for us. Besides, even on the easy part we walked, there were some huge stones to climb over. Without kids - no problem. With Kalina in a snuggly and pretty cooperative Maciek (he still dreams of coffee places with cakes and juice but he is better and better at jumping on the rocks) it was not that easy.
Last but not least, one suggestion for really tough travelers. Just before the junction of Temple Mountain Road with "24" there is a gravel road to the right, leading straight to the horizon. It's a road to the Maze, the furthest and the most remote part of Canyonlands. To get there you have to be really well prepared. This gravel road goes for over 50 miles and a regular car should not drive there. Even those 4x4 cars should not take after rain.
We were not tough enough to try. The views are said to be amazing (which is not surprise anywhere in Utah), plus there are places on the way like Dirty Devil River. Green banks of that river and mazes of The Maze were favourite hidouts of many criminals of Wild West, including Butch Cassidy. Nobody wanted to go there to search for him...
We were not tough enough to try. The views are said to be amazing (which is not surprise anywhere in Utah), plus there are places on the way like Dirty Devil River. Green banks of that river and mazes of The Maze were favourite hidouts of many criminals of Wild West, including Butch Cassidy. Nobody wanted to go there to search for him...
From one of the most "backcountry" places of southern Utah we were just about to move to one of the most comercialized - Moab and two national parks nearby. Not to overdose civilization we found free camping and we got there just before dark.
8.5 miles before the Arches there is a road called Willow Springs Road turning left from "191". Less than a mile down this road the campsites start. It's quite a popular place but at the same time you keep your privacy. However the civilization is just around the corner. "191" to Moab is busy as a beehive, there is also a lot of trains going on a railroad there. But, as it was free, just a few miles from Arches and less than 30 miles from Canyonlands we can't complain…
8.5 miles before the Arches there is a road called Willow Springs Road turning left from "191". Less than a mile down this road the campsites start. It's quite a popular place but at the same time you keep your privacy. However the civilization is just around the corner. "191" to Moab is busy as a beehive, there is also a lot of trains going on a railroad there. But, as it was free, just a few miles from Arches and less than 30 miles from Canyonlands we can't complain…
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