Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway
Must See Tour of Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway
| Departure: | Fruita, Colorado |
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| Destination: | Moab, Utah |
| Time to allow: | 3 days |
Drive the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway and take a journey into prehistoric times when dinosaurs roamed this region. Covering ground in Colorado and Utah, plenty of stops offer insights and remnants of an exciting past.
Day 1
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Start: Fruita
Fruita, located near the Colorado National Monument and Grand Junction, is the beginning point on this trip.
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Stop 1: Dinosaur Journey Museum
Directions from previous place: Go west on E Aspen Avenue for 0.2 miles toward N Maple Street. Enter next roundabout and take 2nd exit onto W Aspen Avenue for 0.1 miles. Turn left onto CO-340 E and drive 0.5 miles. Turn right onto Jurassic Court, and go for 0.1 miles until you reach the museum at 550 Jurassic Court.
Distance from Previous Site: 1 miles / 1.6 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 3 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour Visit the Dinosaur Journey Museum for a hands-on experience that combines robotic dinosaurs with unique fossil finds from the region.
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Stop 2: Dinosaur National Monument
Directions from previous place: Go east for 0.1 miles on Jurassic Court toward CO-340. Turn left onto CO-340 W and go 0.2 miles. Merge onto I-70 W via the ramp on the left and go 4.2 miles. Take the CO-139 N Exit (Exit 15) toward Loma/Rangely and go 0.2 miles. Turn right onto 13 Road/CO-139 and continue to follow CO-139 for 71.7 miles. Turn left onto CO-64 and go 19.5 miles. Turn right onto US-40/E Brontosaurus Blvd and continue to follow US-40 for 1.9 miles until you reach Dinosaur National Monument, located at 4545 Highway 40, in Dinosaur.
Distance from Previous Site: 98 miles / 156.8 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 2 hours Suggested Time at This Site: 2 hours Spend a couple of hours here, where you can see a 160-foot-long wall with over 1600 dinosaur bones. The monument is home to the world's largest Jurassic period dinosaur quarry.
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Stop 3: Utah Field House of Natural History
Directions from previous place: Go northwest on US-40 toward CR-161 (crossing into Utah), and go 35.0 miles until you reach the Field House at 235 East Main Street in Vernal, Utah.
Distance from Previous Site: 35 miles / 56.0 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 40 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour Here, learn about the region's animals, geology, paleontology, prehistory, and history through exhibits and 18 life-size replicas of prehistoric creatures set in a garden.
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Overnight Point: Vernal
Vernal, the largest community in the Flaming Gorge area, is your first overnight stop.
Total Distance Traveled in Day 1: 134 miles / 214.4 km
Day 2
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Stop 1: Red Fleet State Park
Directions from previous place: Go west on US-40/Main Street/UT-40 for 0.2 miles toward 200 E. Turn right onto Vernal Avenue/US-191 and continue to follow US-191 for 7.1 miles until you reach Red Fleet State Park, located at 4335 North Highway 191 in Vernal.
Distance from Previous Site: 7.3 miles / 11.7 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 10 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 3 hours Begin your second day at Red Fleet State Park, where you can boat, swim, and fish. Be sure to take a quick, 3/4-mile hike to see dinosaur footprints from the Triassic period.
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Stop 2: College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum
Directions from previous place: Go south on US-191 toward UT-301 for 7.1 miles. Turn right onto US-191/US-40 and follow for 29.7 miles. Turn left onto US-191 and follow for 28.2 miles. Turn left onto 100 Street/US-191 and follow US-191 for 43.5 miles. Turn left onto US-191 S/US-6 East and go 9.6 miles. Take the US-6-BL Exit (Exit 240) toward Price and go 0.4 miles. Turn left onto US-6 BL/UT-55/1st Street North and continue to follow US-6 BL/UT-55/W 1st Street North and go 1 mile. Turn right onto 1st East Street/100 East and go 0.1 miles. Turn LEFT onto Main Street and go 0.1 miles until you reach the museum at 155 East Main Street in Price.
Distance from Previous Site: 120 miles / 192.0 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 2 hours 20 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour Visit this museum, which features world-class exhibits including the Utahraptor Dinosaur and the Gastonia burgei.
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Stop 3: Canyonlands National Park
Directions from previous place: Go south on East Main Street toward 200 East for 1.5 miles. (East Main Street becomes US-6 BL/UT-55. (Merge onto US-191 E/US-6 E and go 81.7 miles. Take the US-191 Exit (Exit 182) toward Crescent Junction/Moab and go 0.4 miles. Turn right onto US-191 and go 34.9 miles. Turn left onto Resource Blvd and go 0.1 miles until you reach Canyonlands National Park, located at 2282 Resource Blvd in Moab.
Distance from Previous Site: 119 miles / 190.4 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 2 hours 5 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 3 hours Spend a few hours at Canyonlands National Park, and be sure to bring your camera; the park contains finely-shaped pinnacles, spires, mushrooms and fins carved by erosion in the orange and beige sandstone.
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Overnight Point: Moab
Moab, one of southern Utah's recreation hubs, is your second overnight stop.
Total Distance Traveled in Day 2: 246.3 miles / 394.1 km
Day 3
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Stop 1: Arches National Park
Directions from previous place: Go southwest Resource Blvd toward US-191 for 0.1 miles. Turn right onto US-191 and go 8.6 miles until you reach Arches National Park, located in Moab.
Distance from Previous Site: 8.7 miles / 13.9 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 15 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 3 hours Start your day at Arches National Park, which features the greatest concentration of natural stone arches and bridges in the world.
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Stop 2: Fisher Towers Recreation Area
Directions from previous place: Go east on US-191 for 2.6 miles toward Arches Entrance Road. Turn left onto UT-128 and go 20.9 miles. Turn right onto Fisher Tower Road and go 2.1 miles until you reach Fisher Towers.
Distance from Previous Site: 25.8 miles / 41.3 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 45 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 3 hours Continue a recreation-filled day at Fisher Towers Recreation Area, where rock pinnacles rise above red and purple-hued canyons.
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End: Moab
Wind down your last day by exploring the city of Moab, where you can see Indian rock art, dinosaur track sites, and dinosaur bone sites.
