Salt Lake City Excursions
Split Mountain, Dinosaur National Monument © National Park Service
Dinosaur National Monument
The Dinosaur National Monument straddles the border between Utah
and Colorado. The reserve was created to preserve the layers of
rock in which Jurassic Era dinosaur skeletons and bones were found
embedded at a site in the Utah section of the Monument area. In
1909 an exposed sediment riverbed was discovered to contain layers
of prehistoric plant and animal fossils. A quarry went into
operation on the site, where full dinosaur skeletons as well as
fossilised remains of sea creatures up to three times older than
dinosaurs were excavated. A visitor centre has been built over the
quarry to protect the fossils, and forming one of the walls is the
exposed rock layer containing over 2,000 dinosaur bones that has
been enclosed as a permanent exhibit. (This is currently closed,
but visitors can see fossils by hiking half a mile (1km) from the
temporary visitor's centre). Although the quarry is often the main
reason for visiting the Dinosaur National Monument, the area also
contains acres of some of the most beautifully rugged mountain
scenery in the north, with colourful sandstone cliffs, deep river
canyons and forests, along with a number of scenic hiking trails,
unique wildlife and thrilling whitewater rafting on two of the
Colorado River's fast-flowing tributaries.
Website: www.nps.gov/dino;
Telephone: (970) 374 3000 (Canyon Visitor Center), or Temporary Visitor Center: (435) 781 7700;
Transport: There is no public transport to the park;
Opening time: Temporary visitor centre open daily 8.30am to 5.30pm (summer) and until 4.30pm in winter. The park is open from sunrise to sunset;
Admission: $10 for a car, or $5 for an individual hiker or biker, valid for seven days. Fees are only collected at the Dinosaur Quarry area on the Utah side of the park from April to September
