Discover Uintah County: Dinosaurs, Rock Art and Nature

Uintah County offers different ways to explore nature and culture: dinosaur fossils, rock art, hiking trails and trips on the water. For planning, it is worth looking at the specific differences. A short loop is a different kind of trail from a challenging route that is several miles long each way. Activities also range from museum visits to river trips and a via ferrata. This lets you choose experiences based on the themes and routes that suit your travel plans.

Fossils, Tracks and Rock Art

The Quarry Exhibit Hall displays a wall with about 1,500 dinosaur bones. Visitors can also touch real dinosaur fossils there that are 150 million years old. Nearby, the Dinosaur Trackway Trailhead provides access to a well-preserved Jurassic-era site. Several dinosaur tracks are exposed in the Nugget Sandstone. The Dinosaur Trackway Trail is about a mile long and marked with cairns and informational signs.

The McKee Spring Petroglyphs offer a different focus: they include large, human-like depictions from the Fremont culture. Several petroglyph panels can be seen along a loop trail about a quarter of a mile long. Compared with the roughly one-mile-long Dinosaur Trackway Trail, this is a shorter loop; the two sites feature different subjects, one focusing on rock art and the other on dinosaur tracks.

Hiking Trails and Landscape

On the Utah side of Dinosaur National Monument, there are developed hiking trails near the visitor centers and along Cub Creek Road. In many areas, hiking off marked trails is also permitted; this option does not apply across the board. The Island Park Trail is about eight miles each way, challenging, and not regularly maintained.

Nearby, the Jones Hole Trail leads from the Jones Hole National Fish Hatchery to the Green River. It is four miles long, or eight miles round trip. Also nearby is the small, scenic Ely Creek Falls. To reach it, follow Ely Creek for about a quarter of a mile from a point about two miles from the fish hatchery.

Daniels Canyon runs from east to west and has high, vertical walls. The Daniels Canyon Wilderness Study Area is in Uintah County and offers views of Dinosaur National Monument. These two landscape features offer different perspectives: one on the shape of a canyon, the other on views toward the National Monument.

River Trips and Climbing Route

One-day rafting trips from Rainbow Park travel nine miles of the Green River through Class I to III rapids.

The Ashley Gorge Via Ferrata is a public climbing route in Ashley Gorge near Vernal. It was developed on property owned by Uintah County. Fixed steel cables, rungs, ladders, footholds and bridges provide climbing aids. This route is therefore very different from a hiking trail or a trip on the river.

Regional History and Exhibits

The Museum of Uintah County preserves and shares the heritage of the Uinta Basin, from the time of the first peoples to the present day. The First Peoples exhibit includes traditional clothing, tools, pottery and beadwork. The museum also offers tours, workshops, themed art exhibitions and other exhibits. Alongside individual sites, the focus is therefore on regional history and various ways of sharing culture.

Cycling and Finding Your Way

Nearby, the McCoy Flats Mountain Bike Trail System offers 35 miles of interconnected mountain biking loops for riders of all experience levels. The main parking area has a compacted gravel surface and space for 25 to 30 vehicles. Maps are available at the trailheads, with informational signs at the main trailhead. This information helps you plan for both cycling and navigation on site.

The Goblin City Trail is an existing, non-motorized hiking trail in Uintah County, Utah. Trail conditions and work may change, so check the current situation before your trip.

Discover more destinations: Vernal, Juab, Sevier County, Duchesne County, Daggett County, Sanpete County, Beaver County, Emery.

For the broader travel overview: Utah.