Goblin Valley Floor Trail

Goblin Valley Floor Trail descends into one of the American Southwest's most otherworldly landscapes — a broad valley filled with thousands of weathered sandstone hoodoos known as goblins, carved by wind and water from the Entrada Sandstone over millions of years. The trail loops across the valley floor among these surreal formations, which range in height from knee-level mushrooms to ten-foot alien figures frozen in bizarre poses. The total lack of maintained paths within the valley itself invites free exploration — visitors are encouraged to wander freely among the goblins.

The Entrada Sandstone that forms the goblins was deposited during the Jurassic Period when this region lay beneath a vast tidal flat at the edge of an ancient sea. Differential erosion — softer layers wearing faster than harder cap rocks — creates the mushroom and goblin shapes that make this valley unlike anywhere else on earth. Sunsets and sunrises transform the formations from grey-brown to deep orange and crimson, a phenomenon that draws photographers in large numbers. The alien landscape famously served as a filming location for the movie Galaxy Quest. Leashed dogs are permitted. A $20 per vehicle fee is charged, and the park provides restrooms and a viewing platform at the valley overlook.