Hiking - Ding Dang Canyons, near Goblin Valley SP 5/24/25

Itinerary:

Day 1

Carpool - 3:30 pm

Drive down to trailhead by 7pm (eat dinner on the way - 3 1/2 hr drive)

Laser Tag at Goblin Valley SP - 9-10 pm

Camp at trailhead (primitive camping - pit toilet bathroom at Little Wild Horse Trailhead)

*we camp because this time of year you need to be out of the canyon by lunchtime due to the hot hike out

Day 2

Ding Dang Canyon trailhead – 7 am

Hike - 7-1 pm

Drive home - 1-6 pm (eat dinner on the way)

Directions: Ding Dang Canyon Trailhead, near Goblin Valley SP

Activity:

Hike Ding/Dang Canyons - 5.9 mile loop UP Ding canyon and DOWN Dang canyon. Dang canyon has a 15 ft drop with a bolt and several other 10 ft boulder obstacles all which will require handlines. Generally, ropes or webbing are already in place, but bring your own in case it looks old or is missing. Lots of scrambling and sometimes a bit of water if there has been recent rain. This time of year there were 10 hand lines. Most of them can also be avoided if needed. This is a slot canyon, so do not enter if flash floods are possible.

Call Goblin Valley Ranger Station (435) 275-4584 for updated info. All Trails Trip ReportCamping - Make sure you are out of the wash in case of flooding. No services. BLM land with primitive camping - just find a good spot and leave it as you found it.

Tips:

• Highly recommend wearing hiking shoes and not sandals. The 1st mile in has a lot of sand and it just stinks having to get it out of your shoes.

• You must be able to do some steaming and bouldering to complete this hike. It is a solid intermediate to hard hike based on the stemming.

• Bring plenty of water.

• I would not recommend hiking poles. We did try to do this hike with it. They are good for the sand portion of it at the beginning but even brand new feet on the poles did not grip the rocks and we were constantly putting the right or passing them up in order to get around the bouldering and the hand lines.

• You can have campfire if you have firewood

• There are 10 hand lines some are passible some are not. The last 3 are not passible all the rest are. Drops on the hand lines 10-15 feet. Most of the hand lines are down climbs however there are a couple up climbs as well. 

• Hand Lines are currently in decent condition however I would highly recommend bringing extra webbing to be safe. 

• Water is avoidable and only up to the waist on a 5'2'' person if one chooses to walk the water instead of stemming it 

• There is one pot hole with water in now. If you are shorter we could not stem it and had to get wet and pulled up. 

• Much easier to do Ding then dang due to the hand lines and climbs 

• Some stemming required

  
  

Gear: thin T-shirt, thin long-sleeve shirt, fleece, rain jacket, shorts or hiking pants, running shoes, 3-4 L water , 6-8 snacks, small backpack, sunscreen, sunglasses, hat, first aid kit.

Camping: sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent, headlamp, pillow, pj's, food.

Rentals (2 day):

Tents (2 man - $13, 4 man - $22 BYU Outdoors Unlimited; 2 man - $14, 4 man - $18 UVU Outdoor Adventure Center)

Sleeping bags (0 degree - $22, 30 degree - $22 BYU Outdoors Unlimited; 0 degree - $14, 30 degree - $10 UVU Outdoor Adventure Center)

Sleeping pads (thermarest - $9 BYU Outdoors Unlimited; thermarest - $8 UVU Outdoor Adventure Center)

Backpacks (85 liter - $12 BYU Outdoors Unlimited; 65 liter - $14 UVU Outdoor Adventure Center)

Stove with fuel ($8 BYU Outdoors Unlimited; $8 UVU Outdoor Adventure Center)

Mess kit ($8 BYU Outdoors Unlimited; $10 UVU Outdoor Adventure Center)

Water Filter ($6 UVU Outdoor Adventure Center)