Published April 13, 2026 02:39PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
After a slew of rescues in Utah\u2019s Goblin Valley State Park in early April, first responders are urging visitors to be cautious when venturing into the area\u2019s slot canyons.<\/p>\n
Officials told Outside<\/em> that the recent spike in emergencies stems from two\u00a0dangerous, recurring mistakes: Hikers are underestimating the remote terrain and failing to check the weather.<\/p>\n Goblin Valley is a state park in southeastern Utah, known for thousands of mushroom-shaped sandstone hoodoos and twisting slot canyons. The bizarre landscape makes for a popular tourist stop, but the narrow canyons pose a serious flash-flood risk. The repetitive, maze-like terrain can routinely disorient even experienced hikers.<\/p>\n Drew Sprafke, Goblin Valley State Park manager, told Outside<\/em> that park rangers assisted with search-and-rescue incidents almost every day during the week of April 5-11.<\/p>\n \u201cIt really just comes down to not taking the canyon country seriously,\u201d Sprafke told\u00a0Outside<\/em>.<\/p>\n Emery County Sheriff Tyson Huntington, whose search-and-rescue team responded to several of the incidents, explained to Outside<\/em> that one rescue, on April 8, involved a lost hiker in Little Wild Horse Canyon, a slot canyon on public lands just west of the park. Another rescue occurred the next day, when a hiker broke her ankle in a cave-like area inside the park called The Goblin\u2019s Lair.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the biggest mistakes we come across is people just going too far before they call us,\u201d Huntington explained. \u201cWe don\u2019t get a distress call until 10:00 or 11:00 P.M., and because there\u2019s no daylight, it really hampers our efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n