Dinosaur National Monument's Colorado side is canyons, not bones

Dinosaur National Monument sits across the Colorado–Utah line in far western Moffat County, and the part inside Colorado surprises a lot of first-time visitors. The wall of dinosaur bones that gives the monument its name — the Quarry Exhibit Hall, where you can see fossils still in the rock — is on the Utah side, near Jensen. If you drive in from the Colorado town of Dinosaur expecting to see fossils up close, you will likely be in the wrong part of the park.

What the Colorado side offers instead is dramatic river-canyon country. The Harpers Corner Road, a paved scenic drive, climbs to overlooks above the deep canyons of the Green and Yampa rivers. Some of the more remote drives, like the Echo Park and Yampa Bench roads, are unpaved, can require high clearance, and are not the place to be in wet weather.

So plan around which part you want. The two ends of the monument are a long way apart by road, and you cannot quickly cross from the Colorado canyons to the Utah fossil hall. Hours, road conditions, and which areas are open change by season.

For current visitor centers, road status, and what to see on each side, check the National Park Service page for Dinosaur National Monument before you go.