Photo: Ron Clausen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Titan_aka_Titan_Tower_at_Fisher_Towers,_Utah.jpg)
Length
1 day
Total distance
367.1 mi
Driving time
7 h 5 min
Est. tolls
$0
Stops
3
Driving
Moderate
Best months
Apr–May, Sep–Oct
Budget
$$
A one-day, one-way drive from Salt Lake City to Moab, 367.1 miles and 7 h 5 min of driving with no tolls: brunch in Helper, the hoodoos of Goblin Valley State Park, and the Colorado River road past the Fisher Towers.
Drive time7 h 5 min
Distance367.1 mi
Est. tolls$0
Goblin Valley State Park: a basin full of sandstone hoodoos to walk through
UT-128 and the Fisher Towers: red spires along the Colorado River at low sun
Balance Rock Eatery & Pub in Helper: a big, old-fashioned brunch in a former coal town
The story
The first half of this drive is the usual way to Moab: I-15 south, then US-6 over Soldier Summit to Helper, a former coal-mining town where brunch is the day's only sit-down meal. The detour starts at Green River. Instead of turning straight for Moab, the plan runs south to Goblin Valley State Park, where thousands of knobby sandstone goblins fill a basin you can walk down into. Then it returns to I-70 east, leaves at Cisco and follows UT-128 beside the Colorado River, reaching the Fisher Towers in soft afternoon light before the last stretch into Moab. About a third of the miles are interstate (I-15 and I-70); the rest is US-6, UT-24 and the river road.
The rhythm follows real road trips: four blocks of driving between 56 minutes and 2 h 18 min, a driver change at each stop, one sit-down meal and no tolls. Pack a picnic for Goblin Valley. The plan assumes Saturday, October 24, 2026, and reaches Moab around 5:30 pm, about an hour before sunset. Late October is cool enough for both walks, but the days are short, so there is no room to dawdle; the Fisher Towers access road is gravel and UT-128 is narrow, best driven in daylight. Two alternatives in the options either skip the river road for a quicker finish or add a long detour through central Utah's Castle Country and the San Rafael Swell.
Day by day
1
Day 1 · 9 stops
Salt Lake City to Moab by Goblin Valley and the river road
Brunch in Helper, an hour among the goblins at Goblin Valley, then I-70 and UT-128 along the Colorado River for the Fisher Towers before a daylight arrival in Moab.
Logistics7:00 AM · 15 min
Start in Salt Lake City: Utah State Capitol
Meet at the Capitol, an easy landmark with parking nearby, and leave just before sunrise. Fuel up, change drivers if needed and pack a picnic lunch: the only sit-down meal is brunch in Helper, and Goblin Valley has picnic tables and a shade shelter.
Photo: GyozaDumpling / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Utah_State_Capitol_Building_in_2022.jpg)
Time
15 minutes to fuel, coffee and go
Utah State Capitol
350 N State St, Salt Lake City, UT 84114
Hours: Capitol Building Friday-Sunday 7 am-6 pm
Season: Typically open year-round; check current hours
I-15 S, US-6 E (Spanish Fork Canyon, Soldier Summit)
South on I-15 to Spanish Fork, then US-6 up Spanish Fork Canyon and over Soldier Summit, a climb and descent that ends in the old railroad town of Helper.
Helper is a former coal-mining and railroad town, and this Main Street restaurant serves down-home cooking in big portions. It opens at 8 am every day, so a 9:15 brunch fits the plan. Come hungry: this is the day's only sit-down meal.
US-6/US-191 S to Green River, I-70 W, UT-24 S, Temple Mountain Rd and Goblin Valley Rd
US-6 and US-191 south past Price to Green River, then I-70 west and UT-24 south through open desert. The last 12 miles from the signed Temple Mountain turnoff are paved.
Thousands of rounded sandstone knobs, weathered from Entrada sandstone laid down about 170 million years ago, crowd a basin below the observation point. Walk down among them for an hour; this is also the lunch stop, with picnic tables and a shade shelter. Day use is charged per vehicle.
Photo: cappellacci, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Time
About 75 minutes including a picnic lunch
Fee
$20
Parking
Day-use lot; fee per vehicle
Goblin Valley State Park
18630 Goblin Valley Road, Green River, UT 84525
Hours: Park 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily; visitor center 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Utah State Parks)
UT-24 N, I-70 E (exit for Cisco), UT-128 S to the Fisher Towers turnoff, then gravel Fisher Towers Rd
Back out to UT-24 and I-70 east past Green River (the last reliable fuel before Moab; Cisco is a ghost town), then off at Cisco for UT-128, the Colorado River road, and a 2.2-mile gravel track to the Fisher Towers trailhead. The longest block of the day.
Dark red sandstone spires stand above the road, and the afternoon light brings out their red. Walk the trail toward The Titan: the full out-and-back is several miles with some climbing, and an hour gets you to the first close viewpoints. There is no shade, so carry water.
Photo: Ron Clausen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Titan_aka_Titan_Tower_at_Fisher_Towers,_Utah.jpg)
Time
About an hour on the trail and at the base of the towers
Fisher Towers Trailhead
Fisher Towers Rd, Moab, UT 84532
Season: Typically accessible year-round; check road conditions after rain or snow
Gravel Fisher Towers Rd, UT-128 SW along the Colorado River, US-191 S into Moab
UT-128 curls beside the Colorado River between red cliffs to US-191 at the edge of Moab. Parts are narrow with blind corners and no shoulder, so keep it unhurried, and finish before dark.
Park near Main and Center Streets and walk Main Street for dinner. The Moab Information Center on this corner (open daily 9 am-4 pm) is closed by the time you arrive, so save it for the next morning.
Photo: Quintin Soloviev / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moab,_Utah_downtown.jpg)
Alternative route: skip UT-128 and finish on US-191
Same morning, same Goblin Valley stop, then straight from the park to Moab on UT-24, I-70 east and US-191 south from Crescent Junction. The whole day is 324.6 miles and 5 h 31 min of driving, about 42 miles and 1 h 34 min less than the main plan. It gives up Fisher Towers and the river road but gets you into Moab by early afternoon.
Alternative route
Alternative route: skip UT-128 and finish on US-191
Same morning, same Goblin Valley stop, then straight from the park to Moab on UT-24, I-70 east and US-191 south from Crescent Junction. The whole day is 324.6 miles and 5 h 31 min of driving, about 42 miles and 1 h 34 min less than the main plan. It gives up Fisher Towers and the river road but gets you into Moab by early afternoon.
Distance
324.6 mi
Drive time
5 h 31 min
Toll
$0
Via
I-15 S, US-6 E via Helper, US-6/US-191 S, I-70 W, UT-24 S to Goblin Valley, back on UT-24 and I-70 E, US-191 S to Moab
Alternative route: Castle Country and the San Rafael Swell
Instead of US-6 straight to Green River, drop south from Price on UT-10 through Huntington, Castle Dale and Ferron to Fremont Junction, then follow I-70 east across the San Rafael Swell and UT-24 south to Goblin Valley. Finish on US-191 as in the other alternative. The day is 392.6 miles and 6 h 50 min of driving, about 68 miles and 79 minutes more than the direct-finish alternative; it replaces the UT-128 river road and Fisher Towers.
Alternative route
Alternative route: Castle Country and the San Rafael Swell
Instead of US-6 straight to Green River, drop south from Price on UT-10 through Huntington, Castle Dale and Ferron to Fremont Junction, then follow I-70 east across the San Rafael Swell and UT-24 south to Goblin Valley. Finish on US-191 as in the other alternative. The day is 392.6 miles and 6 h 50 min of driving, about 68 miles and 79 minutes more than the direct-finish alternative; it replaces the UT-128 river road and Fisher Towers.
Distance
392.6 mi
Drive time
6 h 50 min
Toll
$0
Via
I-15 S, US-6 E via Helper and Price, UT-10 S (Huntington, Castle Dale, Ferron, Emery) to Fremont Junction, I-70 E across the San Rafael Swell, UT-24 S to Goblin Valley, back on UT-24 and I-70 E, US-191 S to Moab
Assumed day: Saturday, October 24, 2026. Leave the Capitol at 7:15 am (SLC sunrise about 7:47) and reach Moab about 5:30 pm, before sunset (about 6:29 pm in Moab, from standard solar formulas). All times are Mountain Daylight Time.
Totals: 367.1 miles and 7 h 5 min of driving, no tolls. Blocks of 1 h 56 min, 1 h 55 min, 2 h 18 min and 56 min; swap drivers at each stop. The direct route is about 3.9 hours.
Fuel: fill up in Helper or Price, and again in Green River, the last reliable fuel before Moab (Cisco is a ghost town). Only one sit-down meal (brunch in Helper), so pack lunch for Goblin Valley.
Roads: all paved except the 2.2-mile gravel Fisher Towers access road; UT-128 is narrow with blind corners, so plan to be off it by dusk.
Current conditions (as of 2026-10-22)
Goblin Valley State Park is open daily with the visitor center 9 am-5 pm. Day use is $20 per private vehicle (valid until 10 pm the day after purchase). The park posts flash-flood and wind advisories; check them and the forecast the night before.
Moab Information Center is open daily 9 am-4 pm (closed on arrival). Balance Rock Eatery & Pub is open Saturdays 8 am-9 pm.
Fisher Towers: the campground is first-come, first-served with nightly fees; the trailhead has no listed day-use fee. Check weather before driving the gravel access road.
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Hours, fees and road conditions change; confirm with the official sites in each item's sources.
Sources
Good to know: distances and drive times are typical figures without live traffic, and where routes are shown the route data comes from OpenStreetMap contributors. Toll amounts are estimates and change often, so check them in the DriftKin planner or with the toll authority before you plan around them. Opening hours, fees, prices, permits and closures also change, so confirm with the park or business before you go.
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