The San Rafael Swell is a vast, sculptured wilderness where 60-million-year-old geological forces have carved an otherworldly landscape of rust-red canyons, hidden slot gorges, and wind-sculpted badlands. This remote corner of Utah rewards adventurers willing to venture beyond paved roads with stunning solitude, ancient rock art, and some of the most dramatic desert topography in the American West. Whether you're hiking through narrow canyon slots, searching for Ancestral Puebloan petroglyphs, or simply marveling at the layered geological story written in stone, the Swell feels like stepping into deep time.
Key Attractions
View all attractions →Buckhorn Wash (rock art)
Great Basin GEM Joint Venture (Firm) United States. Bureau of Land Management. Denver Service Center / wikimedia (Public domain)
Goblin Valley (overflow)
Fuson, Henry Harvey, 1876- / wikimedia (Public domain)
Little Wild Horse Canyon (alternate)
United States. Bureau of Land Management / wikimedia (Public domain)