Dinosaur National Monument

In his book, The Immense Journey, Loren Eisley wrote, "Once in a lifetime, perhaps, one escapes the actual confines of the flesh. Once in a lifetime, if one is lucky, one so merges with sunlight and air and running water that whole eons, the eons that mountains and deserts know, might pass in a single afternoon without discomfort."

This is Echo Park, named by John Wesley Powell in 1869 during his first scientific expedition into the Colorado Plateau. It is here that the Yampa River, the last free flowing river in the Colorado River System, joins the Green River. This is home and critical habitat for the endangered peregrine falcon, bald eagle, Colorado pikeminnow, and razorback sucker. Indian rock art in Echo Park testifies to the allure these canyons and rivers had for prehistoric people. In 1825, William H. Ashley and his fur trappers were the first Europeans to enter Echo Park. In 1883, Patrick Lynch, a hermit, was the first to homestead in this canyon.

Dinosaur National Monument
4545 E. Highway 40
Dinosaur, CO 81610-9724
(970)374-3000 - Headquarters
(435)789-2115 - Visitor Information

By Plane
Flying in to Grand Junction, CO or Salt Lake City, UT would probably be the least expencive way to fly to Dinosaur. It is roughly a 3 hour drive from Salt Lake to the park in a rental vehicle, just over 2 hours from Grand Junction. Vernal, UT does have an airport and a few flights shuttle between it at Salt Lake every day.

By Car
The popular Fossil Bone Quarry area of the park is only a 30 minute drive east from Vernal, Utah. Take Rt. 40 (Main Street) east out of Vernal until a well marked turn left/north from Jensen, UT onto Rt. 149. 7 miles later you reach the park.

By Plane
There are no transportation services to the park such as a taxi or bus. You must have your own transportation. For private river runners vehicle and passenger shuttle service is available from Wilkins Bus lines (435) 789-2476 and River Runners Transport (435) 781-1120.

The day-to-day weather conditions are highly variable at Dinosaur National Monument. They change not only with the season, but with time of day and where you are.

Here are some of the activities that are offered at Mount Rainier National Park.

• Auto Touring
• Biking
• Camping
• Climbing
• Educational Programs
• Fishing
• Hiking
• Wilderness Area
• Wildlife Viewing
• Bird Watching
• Nature Walks
• Kayaking
• Whitewater Rafting
• Cross Country Skiing
• Snowshoeing

Recommended Activities
We have noticed that a lot of people assume that the main experience at Dinosaur National Monument is to see the dinosaur bones at the Dinosaur Quarry. That makes sense given the park's name. Nothing, however, could be farther from the truth. Even though this is a National Monument, it contains 210,000 acres of some of the most rugged and beautiful mountain and canyon country in the West. You really should plan to spend more than a few hours at Dinosaur National Monument. We guarantee you won't regret changing your plans to include an extra day or two.