Highlights of Dinosaur Diamond Parkway

The Dinosaur Diamond Highway's many scenic views capture the expansive area of land surrounding the byway. Wide vistas are normal in this desert country, with the horizon stretching on for miles. On hot summer days, the blue sky seems like an endless expanse, and sunsets -- going on forever -- are magnified because of the open sky. Vistas can include features that are more than 100 miles away.

Canyons with walls of red, green, beige, purple, gray, and white greet you. These scenes are intermingled with forested mountain passes and snowcapped mountains. As you travel winding roads out of canyons, sweeping views of the valleys below open up before you. Along the northern facet of the Dinosaur Diamond, the Uintas Mountains cut the skyline. Ancient faults and tectonics controlled the development of this maverick mountain range.

You can start anywhere along this circular byway, which loops through northeastern Utah and northwestern Colorado. For purposes of this tour, start in the southeastern Utah portion of the loop.

Hole 'N the Rock: At Cisco, Utah, just off I-70, follow Route 128 south to Moab, home of the Hole 'N the Rock, a 5,000-square-foot dwelling carved into huge sandstone rock. Moab sits at the foot of a mini-loop at the bottom of the larger byway loop.

Arches National Park: From Moab, follow U.S. 191 a short distance north to the visitor center for Arches National Park, a spectacular outdoor museum and site of the greatest concentration of natural stone arches and bridges in the world. Once the bed of an ancient sea, Arches National Park has more than 2,000 giant stone arches as well as pinnacles and spires. Dinosaur tracks and American Indian rock art are also preserved here. You can hike, backpack, camp, or sightsee along 24 miles of paved roads.

scene from dinosaurdiamond scenic parkway
©Byways.org
This stone arch in Bryce Canyon can be reached
 from Dinosaur Diamond Scenic Parkway.

Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry: Now follow U.S. 191 (which temporarily joins with U.S. 6) as it heads west and then north along the large byway loop. The Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry lies south of the town of Price not far from the byway. The quarry contains one of the densest concentrations of Jurassic dinosaur bones ever found (12,000, from 70 different dinosaurs), supplying museums around the world. There are picnic areas and hiking trails here.

Flaming Gorge Recreation Area: Continue on U.S. 191, which now loops northeast toward Vernal. If you'd like to cool off or fish at a lake, the Flaming Gorge Recreation Area lies north of Vernal along U.S. 191, surrounding 91-mile-long Flaming Gorge Reservoir and 500-foot-high Flaming Gorge Dam. The reservoir extends north into Wyoming.

Dinosaur National Monument: From Vernal, the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway follows U.S. 40 east toward Colorado. At the junction of U.S. 40 and State Route 49, 13 miles east of Vernal in Jensen, go north on State Route 49 to an entrance for Dinosaur National Monument. More skeletons, skulls, and bones of Jurassic dinosaurs have been found here than in any other dig in the world.

Dinosaur Quarry: Jensen is the site of the Dinosaur Quarry, a remarkable fossil deposit with an exhibit of 150-million-year-old dinosaur remains. The byway now continues east along U.S. 40 into Colorado.

Douglas Pass and Canyon Pintado: Enter Colorado via U.S. 40, which leads to the town of Dinosaur. Drive south on State Route 64 to Rangely. Continue south on Route 139, which travels through the 8,268-foot Douglas Pass. Along the route is Canyon Pintado, which has significant examples of Fremont Indian rock art. Watch for roadside displays.

Museum of Western Colorado and Dinosaur Hill: Grand Junction is home to the Museum of Western Colorado, which has exhibits on dinosaurs and regional nature and history. Dinosaur Hill has a self-guided walking trail that leads around a quarry with paleontological excavations.

Colorado National Monument: Route 139 meets U.S. 6 just north of Fruita. Follow U.S. 6 southeast to the town of Grand Junction. Rim Rock Drive, which may be accessed either from Fruita or Grand Junction, leads 23 miles along canyon rims in Colorado National Monument. Deep canyons, rounded domes, towering monoliths, and other geological features are located within the monument.

Rabbit Valley Trail Through Time: Now double back north on U.S. 6 to I-70, which leads west toward Utah. Just before reaching the Utah state line on I-70, the Rabbit Valley Trail Through Time offers a one-mile walking trail through fossilized flora and fauna from the Jurassic Age.

Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area: A bit off the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway southwest of U.S. 191 (via route 131) is Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area, which holds more spectacular rock formations, including arches, spires, and canyons. The huge, largely undeveloped park also has Native American pictographs and Puebloano ruins, desert flora, and portions of the Green and Colorado Rivers, where you can arrange whitewater trips. Some park roads are safe only for high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles. The byway then continues its loop into Utah.

Pack your excavating gear and take a trip into prehistory along the Dinosaur Diamond Highway.

Find more useful information related to Utah's Dinosaur Diamond Highway:

  • Utah Scenic Drives: Dinosaur Diamond Highway is just one of the scenic byways in Utah. Check out the others.
  • Price, Green River, Moab: Find out what there is to do in these cities along Dinosaur Diamond Highway.
  • Scenic Drives: Are you interested in scenic drives beyond Utah? Here are more than 100 scenic drives throughout the United States.
  • How to Drive Economically: Fuel economy is a major concern when you're on a driving trip. Learn how to get better gas mileage.