Reefs, Goblins, Sun and the Moon
We spent Memorial Day weekend 2024 just outside of Hanksville, Utah at Offroad RV Resort. . To us, this was our ideal RV Park. It has long, wide spaces with plenty of room between sites. There have full hookups and a dumpster on the property. Two walking trails are accessible from the park (short but nice). The only negative is that there isn't laundry available. No other amenities or frills which keeps this place clean and quiet! Plus, it's right outside Capitol Reef National Park and a close to Goblin Valley State Park.
We began with a day trip to Capitol Reef National Park. First, we got a hike in early to beat the crowds. Rim Overlook Trail (4.3 miles, 1,066 feet) begins at the Hickman Bridge Pullout. Hickman Bridge (1.7 miles, 416 feet) and Navajo Nobs (9.1 miles, 2,139 feet) trails also begin at this lot. We chose the hike with middle difficulty and are glad that we did. It felt a little drawn out at times. Plus, this being just the start of our day, avoiding the tougher, longer hike saved our energy for the rest of the park. There were some highlights though. Early on you'll get a nice view of Pectols Pyramid. It's a large rock structure jutting out of a plateau.
The trail continues up gradually though some lava rocks, green shrubbery, and interesting rock walls. You can get a view of Hickman's Bridge from this trail so there's no need to do both hikes unless you want to go up and touch it!
The trail is a bit of a slog after this point. Make sure to keep an eye out for cairns as it can be difficult to navigate over the slabs of rock here. It can also be deceiving as to when the trail is going to end but you will get there and the view overlooking the valley is tremendous!
The way down is the same way as up just be sure to follow the cairns so you don't lose track of the trail again! The trail was much busier on the way back. The majority of this was to Hickman's Bridge which luckily, is only towards the beginning of the hike.
After the hike we continued on down the road for two shorter hikes (2.5 miles total). Gooseneck's Point and Sunset Point trails both begin from the same lot. Gooseneck Point overlooks Sulphur Creek. You can see hikers that look the size of ants following the creek below. The white rim towards the bottom is over 280 million years old and was once an area of coastal sand dunes. Sunset point gives a different perspective of a vista of mountains and valley views.
We next took a pitstop at the Visitor's Center. Here you can find info about the geological eras of the park, animal species found here, and a small gift shop. Unfortunately, the scenic road from the park that goes to the Water Pocket Fold and Cassidy Arch Trailhead was closed while we were there. A sign stated that it will be closed until Fall 2024. Just before the road closed we pulled off and ate lunch at a picnic area where the grass was green and trees were plentiful. This was a little oasis in the rocky desert that covers most of the park.
On our way out of the park we stopped by the old Fruita schoolhouse. It was built in 1896 and was used until 1941. It’s amazing to think that a school this small was used even for the short time that it was.
This was followed by the famous petroglyphs. Descendants of the Hopi, Pueblo, and Paiute tribes lived here from about 300 to 1300 C.E. While here they carved images of people, animals, and beyond in the Red Rocks. They can be difficult to see at first but it you take the time and look close you will surely see them.
Our next adventure came a couple days later when we visited Goblin Valley State Park. Like Bryce Canyon's hoodoos, Goblin Valley has it's own sandstone structures. We decided to hike all three sections of the valley to check them out. We even continued on a little farther to get some incredible overhead views of the park and beyond! The first valley is easily accessible right from the Goblin Valley Overlook parking lot. This is the perfect spot for kids and large groups to explore these mushroom shaped stone structures. It’s also a nice spot for those with accessibility concerns as you can get amazing views right from the parking lot.
Valley 2 is close by and is more clustered together. There are less people here so it may be better for those looking to escape the crowds.
We continued on down a washout trail for over a mile more in the direct sun to the 3rd Valley. It's not the most exciting hike to get here so if you just want to see some goblins and get a feel for it then the first valley is more than enough. Valley 3 was nice in that there wasn't anyone else around and we were able to get lost in the maze of goblin structures. These seemed much bigger and more dense than the first two valleys. It's a bit difficult to navigate around here but just try to follow the washouts and it will eventually lead to the main trail. When we got our fill of Valley 3 we decided to continue on down a trail towards the mountains. There came a point where we could go up to the left one way or right to the other. Siobhan went left and I went right.
We're glad we did because it gave us some incredible views of the area and it's surroundings. From the top you can see the goblins down below, vistas that go on for miles, and Mt. Penell in the distance (main photo for post). The areas up top felt like being on another planet and seemingly no one had been hiking up there. It's well worth the extra steps to add this to your trip if you can!
A few days later we decided to check out the most iconic and least accessible part of the park. The Temples of the Sun and Moon are impressive, naturally formed structures located about an hour down a dirt road off Route 24. The road is long, narrow, and bumpy at times but most cars should be able to handle it with some patience. We arrived just in time to get a picture of the moon still in the sky behind the Temple of the Moon!
We took a ton of photos and roamed around. Temple of the Sun is enormous compared to the Moon and you can really get that perspective when viewing them from a distance (photo below). Don't forget to check out Glass Mountain on your way out. It's a naturally forming mound of selenite crystals and is an added bonus while exploring the temples.
It was very quiet here even on a major holiday. We only saw a handful of people and, at times had it all to ourselves. Before leaving the area, don’t forget to check out the Hollow Mountain Gas Station. If you’re not like us and like those roadside attractions, this is a cool stop on your way back to the highway. It’s even large enough for big rigs so no need to disconnect to fill up here.
