The San Rafael Reef is the edge of the San Rafael Swell, a 75 mile uplifted, tilted ridge of layers of sandstone in central-eastern Utah.  It can be accessed by Highway 70, but for hiking trailheads, Highway 24 is the best route.   A number of trailheads start off the roads which go into Goblin Valley State Park.   The trails at this end enter the Reef through canyons among fins, cliffs, domes, and ridges.   Some of the canyons are very narrow and the whole area is very scenic.

This is an area we want to return to doing more hiking – Crack Canyon, Chute Canyon and a dozen other hikes.   We based our camp at Green River, but another option will be to camp at Goblin Valley.

More Information on hiking this area can be found on this website.    Use the search bar (Goblin Valley, Little Wildhorse Canyon, Ding and Dang Canyon).

Some of the photos taken while hiking the San Rafael Reef are featured here: