TR- Goblin Valley — High Mountains Drifter

Fisher Towers

One of the great things about living on the Western Slope, is that we’re only 45 minutes away from the San Juan Mountains, an hour from Palisade and Grand Junction, 90 minutes from Telluride and 2-3 hours from Moab, Utah.

So, when the dreary cold and darkness of the Colorado winters get too much, we can always head west into Canyon Country and enjoy the warmer temperatures and typically snow-free terrain. And that’s exactly what we did on this trip.

The Fisher Towers are some of the best-known desert towers to climb in the entire desert Southwest. Towers like, The Titan, Ancient Art and Cottontail Tower being some of the most well-known. This small valley is resplendent with massive, red-rock towers, fins and spires, strangely carved sandstone and even a couple easy hiking trails. The ‘rock’ here is comprised of Cutler Sandstone and the harder Moenkopi Sandstone. There’s a general patina of mud that covers everything like drapes.

We arrived at the trailhead rather late in the day. We grabbed our lone backpack and our dog, Kaiah and headed out on the Fisher Towers Trail, a 5.2 mile out & back class-1 trail to an overlook with Onion Valley.

This was my third time out here and Regina’s first. The trail is easy to follow even if cairns are a bit sporadic. There are plenty of footprints in the desert sands to follow. The trail starts off by descending into a small canyon, more of a fissure than anything else before it abruptly rears out onto slickrock.

Ancient Art. The thin, near vertical crack in shade (just left of center) is the access chimney

Looking up at the corkscrew of Ancient Art

We continued hiking in and around many wind-carved sculptures and stood looking straight up at the vertigo-inducing Ancient Art, arguably the most famous feature out here. Hopefully, one day this summer (2026), I can pay a guide to get my old ass up this beautiful corkscrew.

We contoured beneath the massive walls of the 800’ Cottontail Tower marveling at the 90° vertical walls wondering how anyone could even get up it. The trail continued around a corner and continued down into a second, shallower canyon. However, it was here that we decided to end the day at a great viewing area of The Titan. Light was fading fast.

We retraced our steps back to the small parking lot. Even though we didn’t hike the entire trail, we still got a good 4.2-mile hike in. And Kaiah got PLENTY of pets and attention from all the people on the trail. She was a happy doggo!

Goblin Valley State Park

Goblin Valley is one of Utah’s more remote if not THE most remote state park. When you hear the phrase, “Middle of Nowhere,” this is it. The closest town/settlement/village whatever you call it, is Hanksville. There are two gas stations, a restaurant and a boat recovery junkyard; maybe a motel, but I honestly don’t remember. Hanksville is roughly 32 miles away. Goblin Valley is a recognized “Dark Sky” location, completely free from all human-light sources. In the summer, temperatures are routinely over 100° F.

This particular patch of Utah desert is known for off-roading, canyoneering and climbing in the San Rafael Swell. Most camping is off-grid and open range. And like all deserts, it can get cold out there in winter. But compared to the cold winters of the Colorado high-country, it’s warm. So, we headed west again for some hoodoo’s and goblins.

Like I said, middle of nowhere!

Short video taken inside the Goblinette Lair (cave)

This was my second time to the State Park and Regina’s first. We stopped by the visitor center to have a look-see at their wares and merchandise. We left and almost immediately, we pulled over for a short .4-mile (.8-mile RT) hike to three small towers called the Three Sisters. I think the dog appreciated getting out of the car. It was cold enough that we needed gloves, a jacket and hat.

Afterwards, we drove to the trailhead for The Goblin’s Lair and Goblette’s Lair. This was by far the coolest hike of the day. This ended up being a 5.5-mile hike, out & back as we combined this with a side trip to Goblette’s lair and a return through Carmel Canyon. Both Goblin’s Lair’s were “small” caves in the rock swell. Some moderate rock scrambling was necessary to get into them. You could feel the air temperature instantly warm up a bit from the outside. On the way out, we even saw a Kangaroo Mouse! A rare sighting for this time of the year. Definitely recommended.

A Sundog around a nameless cliff

We walked Carmel Canyon back to the trailhead. This easy trail swings by the Three Sisters before it disappears into a tight serpentine canyon that at some parts, was only a few feet wide. All mud walls. It would be a BAD place to be during a flash flood.

Afterwards, we relaxed back at the parking lot with some snacks and a beer we bought at the State Liquor Store in Moab (Utah has some REALLY screwy liquor laws). It was still relatively cold outside but the sun felt good as we sat at the picnic table relishing, being the ONLY people in this normally very bust area. The benefits of visiting during the off-season.

Oh, and the 1999 movie, Galaxy Quest staring Sigourney Weaver, Tim Allen and Alan Rickman and the 2011 Terence Malick movie, Tree of Life starring Sean Penn & Brad Pitt were filmed here!

White Dome

The Three Sisters

Molly’s Castle

Wild horse Butte (still unclimbed)

Panoramic of Valley 1 at Goblin Valley State Park