Goblin Valley SP (near Hanksville), Utah
2-Day Itinerary for Solo Traveler
“Stone Ghosts and Wide Silence: 2 Days Among Goblin Valley's Hoodoos”
Out past Hanksville, the highway thins and the desert opens into something unclassifiable — thousands of squat red hoodoos huddled together like a petrified congregation, silent under a sky that goes on forever. Spring here means wildflower dust on the wind, mild days, and the rare chance to walk this alien floor with hardly another soul in sight.
At a Glance
Highlights
- Sunrise light pooling gold across the goblin hoodoos before the first tour bus arrives
- Squeezing shoulder-to-shoulder through Little Wild Horse Canyon's narrowest slot
- Solo scrambling on The Separates Trail with no one but ravens for company
- A ghost-town detour through Temple Mountain's abandoned uranium works
- Sunset at San Rafael Swell Overlook, watching a billion years of rock catch fire
- Total darkness and total quiet at a backcountry campground under the Milky Way
Day-by-Day Plan
Day 1: First Light Among the Goblins
A gentle first day easing into the landscape with roughly 3 miles of easy walking among the main hoodoo formations and a scenic overlook at dusk.
Arrive while the light is still low and gold, and the valley floor is yours alone — by 9am the parking lot fills and the spell thins with the crowd. Wander freely off-trail among the hoodoos; there's no marked path here, just you, the wind hissing through the slots, and rock formations that look like they're mid-stride across the desert. Solo travelers tend to love this one for the freedom to move at their own pace and the low-stakes terrain for a first solo desert wander.
After a midday break, the overlook offers something quieter than the valley floor — a wide, wind-scoured panorama where a billion years of stone lie stacked in visible layers. It's an easy, low-effort stop, ideal after a morning of scrambling, and a good spot to sit with a snack and just take in the scale of the place.
The drive in late light turns almost cinematic — washboard road underfoot, rust cliffs rising in impossible shapes, and the rusted bones of an old uranium mine standing sentinel against the sky. It's a solitary, contemplative way to close the day, and solo travelers often find the total quiet here more restorative than any overlook.
The valley greets you cold and gold at first light, hoodoos casting long shadows across the cracked earth before the day's first tour groups arrive. Wandering off-trail here feels less like sightseeing and more like trespassing on some forgotten planet — the only sounds are wind through stone slots and your own footsteps in the dust.
After the morning's wandering, the pace eases at San Rafael Swell Overlook, where the scale of the landscape finally sinks in — layered cliffs stretching to a horizon that seems to bend with the earth's curvature. It's a good midday reset before the evening's drive.
As the light softens, Temple Mountain's ghost-town remnants and backcountry road offer a slower, more solitary close to the day — the kind of quiet that makes solo travel feel less like being alone and more like having the whole desert to yourself. Dinner tonight is best kept simple: whatever you packed in from Hanksville, eaten under a sky just starting to fill with stars.
Day 2: Into the Slots and Out to the Edge
A more active day covering roughly 5.5 miles between a slot canyon squeeze and a quiet hoodoo trail, capped with a sunset return to the overlook.
Get here before 9am and you'll likely have the slot's narrowest sections to yourself — a rare treat given how photogenic this canyon is. The walls close in overhead until the sun's just a bright seam above, and the air turns cool and still; it's the kind of physical, immersive terrain that solo travelers often say is the highlight of the whole park. Do not enter if there's any rain in the forecast — flash flood risk here is real and cell service won't help you if trouble starts.
Trade the slot's tight walls for wide-open hoodoo country almost entirely free of other hikers — this trail is consistently the quietest option in the park, and for a solo traveler that solitude is its own reward. Burnt-orange spires rise against an endless sky, and the only interruption is the occasional raven call riding the wind. Pack lunch to eat trailside partway through; there's no need to rush this one.
A fitting way to close out the trip — return to the overlook as the sun drops low, the cliffs catching fire in shades of rust and violet. It's calm here in the evening, occasionally drawing a few other quiet gatherers, making it a low-key chance to trade trail stories with fellow travelers if you're in the mood for company, or simply sit with the view if you're not.
Little Wild Horse Canyon swallows you whole in cool shadow and smooth stone, the walls pressing close enough to touch on either side. It's physical in a way the open valley isn't — squeezing through narrows, scrambling over small ledges — and doing it solo, early, with no one else's pace to match, feels like a small triumph.
The Separates Trail opens the day back up into wide badlands silence, hoodoos stretching to the horizon with barely another hiker in sight. It's the quietest, most contemplative stretch of the whole trip — good ground for a slow lunch and unhurried photography before the light turns harsh.
The day winds down back at the overlook, watching the cliffs shift from rust to violet as the sun drops. Dinner options tonight are best planned around Hanksville rather than the park itself, since services here are essentially nonexistent — a modest meal in town, then an early night if camping, given how early the desert cold and quiet settle in.
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Customize This ItineraryRestaurant and service details near Goblin Valley are extremely limited and subject to frequent change; plan meals around Hanksville and confirm current hours before relying on any specific option.
Dietary compatibility tags are general guidance. If you have severe allergies, confirm directly with any restaurant or store before purchasing food.
Travel tips are general guidance, not professional safety advice. Check current weather, road, and flash flood conditions with the park visitor center before entering slot canyons or backcountry roads.
All prices are approximate and may vary seasonally.
