Goblin Valley State Park lies at the edge of the vast San Rafael Desert, 12 miles from the small village of Hanksville, but far from any town of significance. It is reached along a turning off UT 24 after 11 miles of newly paved road.

Relatively few people visit Goblin Valley State Park, which is a pity since the eroded sandstone formations are every bit as beautiful as the more famous Utah national parks further south, although on a much smaller scale.

The valley, which is only about a mile across and two miles long, is formed by a seasonal wash (Red Canyon) and contains thousands of mushroom-shaped pinnacles or hoodoos a few feet high that someone obviously thought resembled goblins - the formations have large orange-brown boulders of hard rock atop weaker sandy layers which have eroded more quickly, as a result of millions of years of the combined effects of wind and rain. The park is easy to explore, by walking along one of three maintained paths, or just hiking off-trail over the level ground between the formations.