Goblin Valley really is an amazing place but by the 4th visit to the park I thought I had seen all it had to offer. After a trip down to check out the Chamber of the Basilisk (also known as The Goblins Lair) I can confidently say that I have been missing out on one of the best spots there! Getting to the chamber is super easy so anyone at any age could hike to it. There is a more technical route that includes a short repel down into the cave, but we aren’t going to be covering that here.
Once you get to Goblin Valley make your way over to the parking lot right next to the picnic area. To the north of the parking lot you will find the trailhead to Mollys Castle, this is also the start of the hike to the chamber. Follow this trail around the cliffside for about a mile. The trail is now pretty well marked from how popular the location is getting and I think we even saw a couple of signs pointing us in the right direction so it shouldn’t be hard to get lost. You won’t be able to see the entrance to the chamber from the bottom of the hill so make sure you keep your eyes open for the trail that goes up into the cliffside and follow it.
The most difficult part of the trail is the decent into the cave, there are a few steep sections of the climb down but nothing terribly difficult. While your enjoying the view notice the whole in the ceiling at the back of the cave, this is where the repel is if you decide you ever want to try it out (We didn’t have our gear this trip otherwise we would have come in this way)
When your ready just take the same trail you followed into the chamber to get back to the parking lot.
Trail Length: 2 Miles there and back
Time: 1.5 hours