This quick hike on flat terrain that is right off Highway 24 outside of Hanksville in Southern Utah is accessible with low-clearance two-wheel drive vehicles and transports you into an alien landscape.
Long Dong Silver is Named After…
No, it’s not the name of an explorer, nor a pioneer, and certainly not a native.
The name Long Dong Silver comes from the retired British porn actor Daniel Arthur Mead who supposedly is packing a, long dong.
This monolith is not necessarily the most phallus of natural structures, but we can understand why the name fits.
Getting to Long Dong Silver
With all the informational and detailed blogs online today, it doesn’t take much effort to find Long Dong Silver.
Well sure, it’s not obvious with signs pointing to trailheads but it can be done with a few straight forwards steps.
Step 1: Save these coordinates to your Google Maps: 38°22'12.7"N 110°50'26.3"W
Step 2: At those coordinates, turn off Highway 24 and head North going mostly straight on the dirt road
Step 3: After about a mile you will come to an obvious parking area with signs that say no vehicles beyond this point.
Step 4: Continue to walk north, you can either follow the road, or choose to follow the walking trail that goes up the sand dunes.
Step 5: Whether you took the road around the bend or climbed to the top of the dune you’ll be in view of Long Dong Silver.
This photo was taken from atop the dune looking back towards Highway 24 and the parking area that is down in the flats. On the opposing side is the path that leads down towards Long Dong Silver.
My Trip to Long Dong Silver
I stopped off on my way to Capitol Reef National Park this fall in October 2023 on a solo trip while spending a couple weeks in Southern Utah before moving back to Salt Lake.
The area is cool and some incredible photography has been shot around this area so figured I’d go a little after sunrise after car camping near Factory Butte.
It was a mid-week day in the end of October and the only other person I saw was another photographer who left early on leaving me totally alone. There are tons of footprints and tire tracks all over the place so it’ll never feel completely wild but it has a desolate feel.
If you have a drone, this is such a great place to fly it in my opinion. My only mistake was showing up with a quarter full battery.
I say it won't, but it will probably happen again.
Outside of the monolith, the canyon walls and drainages are incredibly interesting features and the shale stone that erodes creates numerous lesser monoliths to check out as well.
So fly that drone high like I wasn’t able to but if you check out other shots from high and afar it’s incredible the expanse of the landscape.
In all, I spent about 1.5 hours in the area but you could do this in as short as an hour while you’re heading either direction on Highway 24 so would recommend saving the coordinates with a note and you maybe you’ll be with someone who’s never seen pictures of the place and can really impress them.
Best of luck!
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Photography exclusively by Dan Oliver unless otherwise stated and cited.
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