dinosaur national monument

The Dinosaur Quarry Exhibit Hall was mesmerizing! Who even knew this was here? A big modern glass and metal large 2 story building over a large landfill containing an amazing discovery of hundreds of dinosaur bones and related prehistoric artifacts. Took my breath away. Certainly worth traveling to this remote spot outside of Vernal UT spilling over into Colorado for educational and awe inspiring moments. Great shuttle bus from below the find.

You are not going to find fossils in the Colorado, Dinosaur National Monument Canyon Area. The fossil access area is about 30 miles west in Jensen, Utah. What you will find in Colorado is the Canyon's Visitor's Center which has maps, brochures, gift shop, restrooms, paved parking on site and a few displays. Basically it's your entrance to a scenic drive, camping, rafting, kayaking, canoeing on the Green river, fishing and swimming. There are Fremont Petroglyphs, homestead and ranching history in the canyon. The main road is the paved Harper's Corner road. it's 31 miles of scenic views and it is one way. There are overlooks and turnouts along the way but the last 12 miles is the most scenic. One mile, one=way trail at the end of Harper's Corner Road leads you to Vistas of , Whirlpool, Lodore and Yampa Canyon which are spectacular. Echo Park Road is off Harper's Corner Road. You will travel about 25 miles down Harper's Corner Road before you hit Echo Park Road. The road down into the canyon is not paved, steep with switchbacks and you will need a high clearance vehicle. With 22 camp sites, 1 is handicapped accessible. One and one half miles from the Echo Park Campground you will find the Pool Creek Petroglyphs. Whispering cave is about a mile away. People raft and swim in the green River. Hiking requires a good map and compass and knowledge about how to use them since there are no real trails. No GPS use either. Few areas have shade. Some camp sites have water and vaulted toilets during the summer.

This was a return visit for us. The monument was closed the last time we came through, and we wanted to see the rebuilt exhibition building. The first visit, we spent several hours, looking at the displays and the massive wall of dinosaur bones, picking out the complete animal bones, taking photographs. This second visit was quicker, but we were just as impressed. You won't find another place where so many dinosaur bones are in one place, so it's worth the time it takes to get to this fairly remote location.(catching up on reviews from a Fall 2014 road trip)

I had always wanted to visit Dinosaur National Monument, and finally here we were. In addition to hiking the mountain trails, what I was most looking forward to was the museum which is literally built over a mountainside with exposed dinosaur fossils. Though I had seen it before in photos, I was not prepared for how truly massive it was. There were literally thousands of dinosaur fossils frozen in time in the mountainside. If you like this place, than you will like the Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, which instead of Dinosaurs frozen in time in the earth, it contains mammoth skeletons. Extremely fascinating.

There's no a lot to the museum, but a chance to see the cross section of the mountain absolutely loaded with fossilized bones was worth the trip. It doesn't take long for the visitor's center, so then, plan on taking a hike alongside the river. While the park is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, I thought the drive from Grand Junction was spectacular.

We were headed from Steamboat Springs to Jensen to see the Utah section of Dinosaur. We decided to turn into the Colorado section for a short look. We took only a brief drive into the park and our appetite was whetted. There are no dinosaur fossils in this section, but the canyons carved by the Yampa river are stunning. Every bend we turned brought another awesome view. And so quiet! All we could hear was the wind and the sound of a bird. We only drove a couple of miles in and had to turn around because we had not left time to view this section of the park.Don't make the mistake we did. It is a short drive here from Jensen, Utah, and there is the most wonderful B&B there (The Jensen Inn). So stay an extra day or so and make the full drive.

Excellent trails, outstanding Rangers, and shuttle services. The quarry is a must see. Unfortunately someone damaged one of the fossils and stole a piece just before I arrived. I hope they find out who did it.

We took our grandsons to this park. At the Quarry Exhibit Hall, I was amazed how many dinosaur bones were visible. We took the ranger guided tour which allowed us to see some of the bones and fossils "in the field" and learn about the geology of the area. The 5-year old was not as interested as the 8-year old. They both enjoyed the auto tour of Cub Creek Road, walking at some of the stops to view the petroglyphs and the cabin that belonged to Josephine Bassett. It was a good 1-day activity we could share with our grandsons.

The dinosaur quarry is pretty amazing, but it might not be worth it (unless you or one of your kids is dino crazy) without the great scenery. A nice auto tour from the visitor center takes you to some short trails with petroglyphs and ends at the homestead of a famous pioneer woman (alleged to have consorted with one of the James brothers in her day). A great chance to see some high desert and other scenery. Even the high point, the dino quarry, was not crowded during what I suspect is the high season (July). Spend an hour with the dinosaurs, a couple of hours with nature (or more, if you are on a leisurely vacation). Vernal UT provides the most varied lodging and dining within easy driving range.

First, the site is in Jensen, Utah, NOT Dinosaur,CO. There is a museum in Dinosaur, Colorado yet to see dinosaur bones, you need to get to Jensen. About a 30+ drive past Dinosaur.Anyway, was there as a child and have now brought my kids. Just as amazing now as it was then. It is about 2.5 hours from Steamboat Springs, CO., so now that there is driving. The enclosed building covers an entire rock wall full of partially excavated bones. A sight to behold. There are hiking trails to see pictographs and petroglyphs. Likely need about 1-4 hours to visit. Bring your own food yet they do sell drinks (water, etc). There is a free shuttle from museum parking site to dinosaur bone area (5 minute ride), runs every 15 minutes.Can be hot and should bring sunscreen. There is a $10 national park fee.

We all loved this side trip! We have two boys 8 & 10 and an infant daughter. The boys were in awe through the whole experience. We rode the tram up about 9 am. Tram takes you to the wall of bones exhibit which is fantastic. From there you can take the tram back to the visitors center or opt to hike through dessert terrain to several unexcavated areas. Take water and wear sun protection but well worth the walk.

This part of Dinosaur is not crowded at all and the scenery is jaw dropping. The drive to Harpers Corner is paved and easy to navigate. Stop at the pull offs, sit on a bench, and just be surrounded by complete silence.

You should definitely visit this National Monument. The Quarry is AWESOME! A hillside with hundred of Dinosaur bones. The Ranger's really know their stuff, my boys had LOTS of questions and have a FANTASTIC time. You get to touch a real dinosaur fossil.My kids love the Jr. Ranger Program too!

I loved how uncrowded the section is from Dinosaur, CO. There's a long, gorgeous drive with plenty of stops and some hikes, but the main attraction for me was the Echo Park campground. You drive in from the Dinosaur, CO entrance and about an hour into the drive, the Echo Park Road splits off to the right and it's quite a road; a steep, dirt road with the occasional stream crossing, it's not advisable to take in a regular passenger car and definitely not while it's wet.The campground was surprisingly crowded for how difficult it is to reach, but most of the campsites are designed well enough that you can still pretend you're alone. $8 per night. I chose spot 1 because I got there around 5 pm and most of the good ones were taken, and I regret being that close to the bathroom and water spigot because of all of the traffic. There was some glorious stargazing until around 11:00 (maybe later, I didn't have my watch handy) when some people drove up and parked in front of the registration shelter and shined their car lights directly into my camp for fifteen minutes; another draw back, I would say.Down Echo Park Road there's a few neat little stops at some homesteads and some petroglyphs. There's a lot more dirt road stretching to the east but I was headed to the other direction so I regretfully didn't get to see what else was over there.I was considering staying longer, but this whole section of the park seems to be heavily infested with mosquitoes. They were mercifully absent while I was star-gazing but plagued me while I set up and took down my tent, while I ate dinner and when I tried to take short hikes along some of the overlooks back on the main road. They were deterred by bug spray for as long as ten minutes at a time.The views are glorious and the absence of people wonderful, but I may not return because the mosquitoes were so pestilent.

We visited in October one week after the government shut-down ended. We thought everything would be up and open. Wrong assumption. Visitor Center was closed. Bathrooms were closed. Entrance was open. If you have a 4-wheel drive vehicle, you have to visit Echo Park down below the rim. Unbelievable beauty, prisitne quiet and worthy views. We then drove the Yampa River Bed Road back out. Lots of fun. Also went around the next day to the north entrance to see Gates of Lodore. Again, no one around. Went for walk on short trail. The view of the canyon is not one to be missed. This seems to be an area just a bit too far away for most travellers, but don't be fooled. It seems from the boat ramp, many government boats parked there and info about rafting that boating in the right season would be busy. Go, rent a 4-wheel drive vehicle and get lost in the natural beauty. Bring lunch and be prepared to take many pics and wonder how come this area isn't more busy.