  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Click here for my main Dinosaur gallery
This area in the far northwest corner of the state is the most remote and the least traveled region in the state. While Dinosaur's fossil museum is in Jensen, Utah, three-quarters of the monument's boundaries, along with the headquarters visitor center lie in Colorado. There is much more to this area than just dinosaur bones, which by the way, you will only see at the quarry out of Jensen. This is beautiful desert canyon country, where at the heart of it, the Yampa and Green Rivers meander and slowly make their way west and thrilling adventures await.
The town of Dinosaur lies three miles from the Utah border. From here, it's one mile east to the main visitor center on the Colorado side. From the visitor center, take the Journey Through Time road which travels north 25 miles to the heart of the monument. There is no fee, unless you plan to plan to stay at the Echo Park campground. More on that coming up. Along the way are are some nice overlooks, most of them viewing down into the canyons. The Escalante Overlook is the first overlook you'll reach and is about six miles in. If you're fortunate enough to be here on a clear day, the view is quite expansive looking east to south.
View from Harpers Corner down to Steamboat Rock
and the Green River, 2,350' below
At the end of the road is the trailhead to the Harpers Corner overlook. It is reached by an easy one mile walk/hike and is on a rock cliff peninsula which overlooks Whirlpool Canyon and on into Utah to the west. And to the east, the confluence of the Green and Yampa Rivers behind Steamboat Rock. You can look straight east and let your eyes follow the canyon walls where the Yampa makes its countless number of goosenecks.
Backtracking five miles from the end of the road is the turnoff for the Echo Park road. There is a sign at the start that recommends 4-wheel-drive. In addition, nearly every web site and other media out there that mentions this road will say 4WD and a high clearance vehicle is required as well. This is absolutely not necessary. There is quite a bit of relatively deep sand in places in the appropriately named Sand Canyon below, but cars will not have a problem. It is eight miles to the Echo Park turnoff and an additional four miles back to the campground.
Steamboat Rock from Echo Park
As for Echo Park, this was love at first site when I first visited here. The view of the 800-foot Steamboat Rock above the Green River gooseneck is a western classic. I could spend a whole afternoon here just watching the rafters go by. Come to think of it, I have done that! These are relatively busy waters during the summer when rafters usually start their trip at Gates of Lodore at the northern arm on the monument.
Echo Park is a very relaxing place as there aren't any amenities here. Just you, a few other folks, and the quiet flow of the Green River as it circles by. The campground is within easy walking distance to the main viewpoint of Steamboat Rock and has 17 sites, most offering little, if any shade. There are no showers, unless you want to take a swim in the river to get refreshed. However, it does have a couple of clean outhouses along with water spigots.
This area is intimately surrounded by tall canyon walls on all sides and echoes do, in fact, thrive here. During the day, you may choose to spend your time walking the trails for a bit to either the Green and Yampa River confluence, or from the campground and paralleling the river on the west side of Steamboat Rock. On the latter trail, you'll get to see a number of lizards close up on the canyon wall that shoots straight up right next to where you're walking along the way.
During the summer (and possibly other times of the year), you may get visited by a park ranger who will invite you to a nature talk that evening. It can be a friendly get-together with you and your camping neighbors. It does get quite hot here during the summer, so come prepared. On one such trip here on August 1st, 2002, it got up to 107°—in the shade! Yeah, it was an oven alright, and being near the river, there was a bit of humidity as well. Therefore, I do not recommend August for your trip here!
Castle Park Overlook
Back at the turnoff for Echo Park and going east from here, the road is named the Yampa Bench Road where it parallels the Yampa River, which lies just off to the north. The first half-mile stretch, or so, after the Echo Park turnoff has a touch deeper sand than the final stretch coming down through Sand Canyon, but still passable in a standard passenger car. Just be sure to keep your momentum going in these sections, and in first gear. There are three great canyon overlooks starting 6.5 miles ahead where the road and river come closer together. The Castle Park Overlook is the first overlook and requires a quick, 100-yard walk to get to. Continuing one mile past Castle Park, there is a fork that goes to the left back to Mantle Ranch, and is marked as County Road 155. It's a short but neat drive through another sandstone canyon back to the ranch where there will be a gate. You'll need to turn around here. The second overlook, Harding Hole, is 2.7 miles further up the road, and this one you can actually drive right up to—and over if you so choose (please don't!). Wagon Wheel Point Overlook is the last of the three, and it, too, requires an easy, short walk to get to—about 250 yards. Both the Harding Hole and Wagon Wheel Point overlooks offer decent camping in their respective driveways, which makes getting to a good perch to photograph sunrise nice and easy.
Harding Hole Overlook
Beyond the Wagon Wheel Point Overlook you gain distance away from the river, and while the best views are behind, there's still a couple more ahead. There are also a few pullouts that would also make do for good (read, free!) campsites. As you're driving along, you'll be able to see the upper reaches of the canyon walls, but the best remaining view is when you make the final climb up off the Yampa Bench and make a couple switchbacks and look back down to where you've been. A few miles later you'll be out of the monument, where it is 16 miles to Elk Springs and Highway 40.
Wagon Wheel Point Overlook
The last stop on our tour takes us to the Gates of Lodore, the out-of-the-way place on the northern-most arm of the monument that only sits 8 miles from the Utah border and 18 from Wyoming's. It might be in remote territory, but Colorado always has one more surprise in store, and this place is no exception. The high canyon wall gates rise up from the otherwise flat land and provides a dramatic entry for the Green River into the monument. If you happen to be traveling here without a raft in tow, you will be in the distinct minority! In the summer, the parking lot at the campground is usually full of vehicles and boat trailers as their owners have departed downstream from what has to be quite the awesome adventure through major rapids and and the incredibly scenic canyons. Echo Park is 20 miles downstream from here. If you're curious about the naming of this place, here is a picture of a sign located here with the explanation.
If you want to photograph Lodore Canyon, sunrise is the time to do it. And while there is a good view from the boat ramp area at the campground, there is a better one where the below picture is taken from. Just go to the end of the campground loop and you'll see a trailhead sign. Park here and take the easy 3/4-mile nature trail.
Also, since you'll be in the area, just a few miles up the road is the Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge. Its main function is nesting and migration habitat for some bird species, but it does have some very short (~15') canyon walls that can be somewhat photogenic. The roads in the refuge provide a nice, quiet drive if nothing else!
Gates of Lodore
You have just completed the most in-depth virtual tour of the beautiful Dinosaur National Monument available on the Web! See, it really wasn't just made up of some old bones! I guarantee you'll enjoy your time here should you decide to visit. The main pictures on this page are of the monument's icons, but be sure to take a look at some of the more intimate views in the gallery below.
Official National Park Service site
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |