When you were a child, did dinosaurs fascinate you? Even as adults, dinosaurs and fossils still exert a hold on our imagination. During a visit to Dinosaur National Monument, you can indulge both your inner child and adult curiosity about these “terrible lizards” by actually seeing fossils still embedded in the rock.

That’s not all there is to this national monument straddling the Utah and Colorado borders, however. You can stand at view areas overlooking broad vistas of spectacular geology through which wind the Green and Yampa rivers. You can view petroglyphs (images carved into the rock) and pictographs (images painted or drawn onto rock surfaces) while learning about the Indigenous peoples’ cultural and spiritual connections to this landscape. Homesteaders, outlaws, river runners and fossil hunters have all claimed a place in history at Dinosaur National Monument. As the National Park Service puts it: “Whether your passion is science, adventure, history, or scenery, Dinosaur offers much to explore.”

Located on the eastern end of the Uinta Mountains - a broad anticline created between 70-40 million years ago, folded and faulted during mountain building, then eroded by the downcutting power of the Green and Yampa rivers -  Dinosaur National Monument was established  in 1915 to preserve the then-80 acres (32.4 hectares) surrounding the Carnegie Quarry in the Utah portion, at which these Jurassic-era fossils were discovered. President Franklin D. Roosevelt expanded the reach of the national monument in 1938 with the addition of another 200,000 acres (80,937 hectares) to protect the Green and Yampa rivers and their surrounding ecosystems.

So, what can you do? There’s a lot packed into this place beyond fossils.

Perhaps you might want to get a sense of the landscape first. There are five different scenic drives on either side of the Utah/Colorado border, some paved, some gravel, and each presenting visitors with a diverse range of environments including river canyons, mountains, desert, and sagebrush grasslands. If you don’t feel like driving the roads, how about bicycling them for a much different, slower-paced perspective of this national monument’s geography. Bicycles are allowed on any roads here.

You will definitely want to visit the Quarry Exhibit Hall where you can see a wall of approximately 1,500 dinosaur bones, and join a ranger to learn the story behind the fossils, their discovery, and the creation of the building.

Attend one of the day or evening ranger-led programs to learn about this national monument’s geology, night sky, and fossils.

Hike any of 13 established trails or set out on your own route off-trail. Most of the monument is open to off-trail or cross-country travel.

Bring your horse and go horseback riding. Pack and saddle stock, including horses, mules, burros, and llamas, are permitted in Dinosaur National Monument.

Rafting the Yampa and/or Green rivers is a popular way to experience Dinosaur National Monument's remote canyons from a totally different perspective while adding the excitement of maneuvering through Class III and Class IV rapids. You can apply for a permit for your own private, noncommercial river trip, or leave the rowing and planning to someone else by reserving a spot on a commercially-guided river trip.

Although there is no in-park brick-and-mortar lodging, the local communities of Vernal, Utah, Dinosaur, Colorado, Craig, Colorado, and Rangely, Colorado, offer various overnight options. If you’d rather pitch a tent and spend a night or two beneath the starry sky over this national monument, there are six campgrounds from which to choose.

If you are planning a trip to Dinosaur National Monument, the pages below will help you with your trip preparations. Even if you’ve visited this place before, you still might learn something new here.

Traveler’s Choice For: Scenic driving, photography, geology, fossils, hiking, rafting