15 Best Sights in Dinosaurland and Eastern Utah, Utah

An impressive array of Native American petroglyphs and pictographs adorn the 200-foot-high cliffs in Dry Fork Canyon, making the 22-mile round-trip drive from Vernal well worth your time. Two trails leading to the rock art are on McConkie Ranch, a privately owned property that asks only for a $5 per vehicle donation and respect for the site. Make sure to bring sturdy shoes because both short paths have steep and rough spots. If you call the ranch's number, Jean McConkie McKenzie, who was born and still lives here, will show you her collection of arrowheads and antiques. Her mother, Sadie, first opened the rock art to the public in 1930.

The Monument's astoundingly large collection of fossils was discovered by Earl Douglass in 1909, when he stumbled upon eight enormous dinosaur vertebrae exposed on a sandstone ridge. Although most of the park's acreage is in Colorado, the Utah side features its prime attraction: the Quarry Exhibit Hall. Here you can view more than 1,500 genuine fossils, displayed in their original burial positions in an excavated river bed, several stories high, 150-feet long, and now enclosed by a large, airy museum. A "touch wall" allows you to run your hands over some of the ancient bones, and various displays and dinosaur replicas help you put the jumble of bones in their prehistorical context. Before going to the Exhibit Hall, stop by the Quarry Visitor Center near the Monument's west entrance. There you can view a short video and see displays that give an overview of the site and its paleontological significance. Then hop a shuttle (in summer) or drive (in winter) up to the Exhibit Hall.

Use one of the interactive kiosks to identify the massive bones embedded in the wall, or, better yet, flag down a ranger, who can add interesting tidbits about the bones and their excavation.

Tremendous geological upheavals pushed through the Earth's surface eons ago, forming a giant oval-shape dome of rock about 80 miles long and 30 miles wide, giving rise to the name "swell." Over the years, the harsh climate beat down the dome, eroding it into a wild array of multicolor sandstone and creating buttes, pinnacles, mesas, and canyons that spread across nearly 1 million acres—an area larger than the state of Rhode Island.

Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Swell offers visitors spectacular sights similar to those in Utah's national parks but without the crowds. In the northern Swell, the Wedge Overlook peers into the Little Grand Canyon with the San Rafael River below, for one of the most scenic vistas in the state. The strata at the edges of the southern Swell are angled nearly vertical, creating the San Rafael Reef. Both are known for fantastic hiking, canyoneering, and mountain biking. As recently as 2018, proposals have been made to designate the Swell a national monument; until then, the San Rafael Swell remains one of the little-known natural wonders of the American West.

Interstate 70 bisects the San Rafael Swell and is the only paved road in the region. Although there are many off-road opportunities, the main gravel road and many of the graded dirt roads through the Swell are accessible to two-wheel-drive vehicles. The Swell is about 25 miles south of Price (typically considered the main gateway to the Swell), and the setting is so remote that it's essential you bring whatever supplies you might need, including plenty of water, food, and a spare tire. For directions on how to access the San Rafael Swell viewing area from Green River, turn to the Green River section of the Moab and Southeastern Utah chapter.  Always keep your wits about you, as flash flooding can be deadly, especially in the Swell's narrow slot canyons.

Around 150 million years ago, this was the stomping ground of dinosaurs, and you can see rock samples, fossils, Fremont and Ute nation artifacts, and a viewing lab where you can watch paleontologists restore actual fossils. The biggest attraction for kids is undoubtedly the outdoor Dinosaur Garden with its 18 life-size models of prehistoric creatures, including a T. rex and a woolly mammoth. The Field House also doubles as a visitor center for all of Dinosaurland, so stop here for maps and guides for the entire area.

If you're looking for a glimpse of the Wild West, head to Browns Park. Lying along a quieter stretch of the Green River and extending into Colorado, this area features plenty of high-desert scenery, a national waterfowl refuge, and a history complete with notorious outlaws of the late 1800s. You can explore several buildings on the John Jarvie Historic Ranch site and visit the museum, where a video details the ranch's history. Buildings date from 1880 to the early 1900s, and there's also a cemetery containing the graves of a few men who met violent ends nearby. In addition to his ranch, Jarvie ran a post office, store, and river ferry, and his spread was a major hideout on the so-called Outlaw Trail. The area also includes several campgrounds, OHV (off-highway vehicle) trails, and river-rafting opportunities. Reach Browns Park by driving 65 miles north of Vernal on U.S. 191, then 22 miles east on a gravel road, following signs to the ranch.

Paleontologists and geologists have excavated more than 12,000 dinosaur bones from the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, making this the densest concentration of Jurassic fossils ever found. Since the quarry's discovery by herders in the 1920s, scores of dinosaur remains have been uncovered here, and much of what the world knows about the Allosaurus was discovered on these grounds. Although many of the bones found in the quarry now reside in museums around the world, a trip to the remote landscape surrounding the quarry pit is worth the journey. Paleontologists still come here for digs every year. The visitor center, which generates its own electricity from rooftop solar panels, has a reconstructed dinosaur skeleton and exhibits about the quarry, and the area has some short hiking trails. The center is 15 miles on a gravel road from the nearest services, so bring food and water and dress for desert conditions. It's 33 miles south of Price: take Highway 10 south to the Cleveland/Elmo turnoff and follow the signs.

There's free admission for ages 15 and younger.

This museum provides a window into the daily lives of the pioneers. The large collection of artifacts (most donated by descendants of the area's early settlers) range from a working loom to guns to a mortician's tools. Most everything is displayed in period rooms, including a shop, a house, and a doctor's office.

This state park's original name, Starvation State Park, was most likely in recognition of the early homesteaders and cattlemen who battled bitter winters, short growing seasons, and other hardships in the area. In 2019, it was renamed in memory of a beloved director of the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation. Boaters and anglers come to cast for walleye, yellow perch, and smallmouth bass in the park's 3,500-acre reservoir. There are six campgrounds within the park, two of which are developed. Bring sunscreen, as there is little natural shade on site. Note that dogs must be on a leash at all times.

Located within the old Hotel Helper in the town's National Historic District, this excellent museum doubles as a visitor center. A labyrinth of rooms spread over four floors depict everyday activities of Helper's past and include uncountable trinkets, toys, clothing, and tools from the various businesses and homes here. Some visitors come just for the incredible historic photographs, including several by Dorothea Lange of a nearby coal camp in the 1930s. The museum also features one of the best collections in the state of WPA paintings from Utah artists, including Price's own Lynn Fausett. An exhibit on railroad and mining equipment is located outdoors.

A mile north of the crest of Bald Mountain Pass on Highway 150, this is arguably the best known lake in the High Uintas Wilderness. At an altitude of 10,000 feet, it offers a cool respite from summer heat. It's easy to reach by car, and families enjoy fishing, hiking, and camping along its rocky shores. Its campgrounds provide a base for hikes into the surrounding mountains, and the Uinta Highline Trail accesses the 460,000-acre High Uintas Wilderness Area to the east.

Established in 1960, this refuge consists of 11,987 acres of land along the Green River. Here you can see more than 200 species of migratory birds in spring and fall, mule deer and golden eagles year-round, and bald eagles in early winter. An information kiosk at the refuge has a bird checklist and other leaflets. The best times to visit are in the early morning and early evening. The park is open from sunrise to sunset.

In late June and early July, enjoy musicals, melodramas, or comedies under the stars. Shows typically run Monday through Saturday.

The Helper area—in particular the area around Spring Canyon, 4 miles to the west—probably holds the state's best concentration of ghost towns. Spring Canyon Road winds past the remnants of several, including the towns of Spring Canyon, Standardville, Latuda, and Mutual. If you're lucky, you might catch a glimpse of "the White Lady"—a ghost rumored to haunt the Latuda mine office. You can get a map of all the ghost towns in the Helper area at the Helper Museum information desk.

Ever since the 1910s, archaeologists have been coming to this rural area to excavate rare natural treasures, including dinosaur bones, eggs, skeletons, and fossilized tracks. These are all on exhibit at Utah State University Eastern's Prehistoric Museum. For families, this museum offers a small but excellent kids' discovery area where children can experiment with excavating dino bones all on their own. A second hall is devoted to indigenous peoples, with displays of beadwork, clay figurines, a walk-in teepee, and other area artifacts. You can't miss the museum's gigantic mammoth and saber-toothed tiger replicas.

Inside the Uintah County Heritage Museum are collections of Fremont and Ute Indian artifacts, including baskets, water jugs, and beadwork, as well as pioneer items like carriages, guns, saddles, and old-fashioned toys. Be sure to check out the wooden cataract boats built by local river-running legend A. K. Reynolds. They're still in great shape considering they date back to the late 1940s. The most off-beat installation is a collection of kitschy handmade porcelain dolls modeled after the nation's First Ladies, from Martha Washington to Nancy Reagan.