Dinosaur Adventures At A Glance
Dinosaur National Monument features two distinct districts with separate visitor centers. The gateway to the park’s prehistory is in the Dinosaur Quarry near Jensen, Utah. Here you will uncover the world-famous fossil exhibits that give the park its name. The Canyon district extends along the Green and Yampa rivers and provides extensive outdoor recreation opportunity.
Top activities include:
- Observe Dinosaur Bones at the Quarry Exhibit Hall
- Read the Stories in the Rocks: Visit Petroglyphs and Pictographs
- Enjoy the Monuments Many Day Hikes
- Drive the Scenic Back Roads
- Run Whitewater River Rapids
Welcome To The Utah Field House Of Natural History
Discover the prehistoric world, dig for fossils, and explore the dinosaur garden. Within an 80-mile radius of Vernal, evidence of the entire Earths history is visible. Utah Field House reveals this geologic story with hands-on exhibits and activities.
Conveniently located inside the museum, a free visitor center allows our guests to get all the necessary information to fulfill their adventure in the Vernal area. Our friendly and knowledgeably staff is available year-round to answer questions and help enhance your visit. Visitors can get up-to-date information about attractions, recreational opportunities, food, lodging, as well as local events.
Interested in participating in our current paleontology field program? See events section!
How To Use It
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- 1. This is NOT your pass and will not work at any location.
- 2. If you entered your mobile number during checkout, you will receive a text message with a link to your mobile pass. If you did not, you will receive an email from Bandwango containing a link to your mobile pass.
- 3. When you arrive at your first attraction, present your mobile pass to redeem your admission at that location. Follow the instructions on the pass when presenting your phone to the attendant. Each pass allows for one admission to each location.
- 4. Only this mobile pass will be accepted for entry to the participating attractions.
- Your voucher will be sent to your email after your booking is confirmed. Please check the usage instructions on your voucher for more info about how to use it.
- Any traveler groups not mentioned in the booking options are not applicable for voucher use.
- 1. Tour-specific inquiries : Please refer to the Tour-Specific Inquiries section of your e-voucher to find the relevant tour organizer’s details.
- 2. Change or cancellation issues: Please contact Trip.com Customer Support via the email address or contact numbers provided in your e-voucher.
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George S Eccles Dinosaur Park
Located in Ogden, Utah, a city about 40 miles north of Salt Lake City, Eccles Dinosaur Park is an indoor/outdoor attraction dedicated to dinosaurs. The park is a fun destination for kids and is home to more than 100 dinosaur sculptures–large, living art pieces based on fossilized skeletons and brought to life with moving parts and sound. The park also is home to the Elizabeth Dee Shaw Stewart Museum, where visitors will be treated to a variety of exhibits that include full dinosaur skeletons, fossils and teeth. Kids can dig in the quarry. The park hosts special events and is available for group events such as school trips and birthday parties. There is a dinosaur-themed cafe and gift shop on site.
George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park 1544 East Park Blvd. Ogden, UT 84401 801-393-3466 dinosaurpark.org
Dinosaur Museums In Utah
Dinosaur Museums in Utah
Travelers interested in dinosaurs and all things prehistoric should consider a trip to Utah. The Beehive State is home to many fossils and dinosaur attractions, including Dinosaur National Monument, fossil digs, fossil trails and a variety of museums. From the mountains in the north to the deserts of the south, you’ll satisfy your inner dinosaur hunter in Utah.
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Role At The University Of Utah
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The museum is part of the academic life of the University of Utah. The collections offer research opportunities and provide a learning laboratory for students. Museum programs expose students to many aspects of museum studies: educational outreach, exhibit design and fabrication development, public relations, and curriculum development.
The museum is a repository for collections that were accumulated by the university’s departments of Anthropology, Biology, and Geology. The collections are held in trust for faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates who have access to the collections for research and teaching purposes.
In-service training is offered by the Utah Museum of Natural History Education Department university credit can be earned with these courses, leading to salary lane changes for public school teachers. These courses are coordinated with the Academic Outreach and Continuing Education and the Department of Teaching and Learning. As the founder of the university’s Genetic Science Learning Center, the museum continues to partner in its teacher training program.
The museum meeting rooms are available for rental for on- and off-campus groups.
Red Fleet State Park And Dinosaur Track Site
After a few days exploring the incredible beauty of southern Utah, we headed to the northwest corner of the state known as Dinosaurland. John didnt want to set up and break down our camping gear on this trip, so we booked a teepee to make our camping leg a bit easier.
The drive into the park was exciting in and of itself. As you wind through the hills, the landscape is punctuated by signs describing dinosaur fossils that are found there. They are written to help you imagine the dinosaurs living and wandering through the very spot you are driving through.
The campground is on the banks of Red Fleet Reservoir in Red Fleet State Park. Its a beautiful spot to camp or to play for a day. But the big appeal for us was the dinosaur track site just a quick kayak ride away.
My only complaint about this park is that it is staffed by young people who are, lets say, not very professional. We planned to set up camp, and then rent a kayak to explore the track site and reservoir. Unfortunately, there is no posted schedule for renting watercraft. This leaves the staff to decide when they are going to let people rent them. On our day, it was a no. The only people able to rent any watercraft were the siblings and friends of the staff. They were given keys to take what they wanted.
If you hope to kayak to the track site, which looked like quite an amazing experience, bring your own watercraft if you can. If we return, well be bringing an inflatable kayak with us.
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St George Dinosaur Discovery Site
The St. George Discovery Site was our first stop in the state. The story of the museum began not too long ago. In 2000, Dr. Johnson was leveling a hill on his property when he came across a paleontological jackpot. He had uncovered a dinosaur track site on his property.
The family decided to share the tracks with the world and opened the farm to the public. In a short time, the states paleontologists and hundreds of volunteers revealed thousands of fossils at the site. According to paleontologist, Jim Kirkland, The St. George track site is not only the oldest Jurassic dinosaur site in Utah, it is the best basal Jurassic track site in western North America.
The museum you visit today is an indoor natural history museum built right over the original discovery site. The exhibits are content-rich and written for visitors with varying levels of interest and understanding. Young children will need some help digesting the information .
A big positive is that the staff strive to make the museum accessible to visitors of all levels. We were given a scavenger hunt that helped us navigate exhibit highlights. J and I moved slowly throughout the main hall. John and Bug skimmed the surface and then went on to dig for fossils in the lobbys sandbox before heading outside to the Dino Park. The outdoor area has a larger fossil-dig sandpit where Bug could have stayed for hours. They also have a couple of model dinosaurs that kids can climb.
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581-4303 nhmu.utah.edu
As the Utah state museum of natural history, this top attraction provides an introduction to the science in Utahs remarkable landscape! With engaging exhibits and over 5,000 artifacts on display, the Museum features Utahs paleontology discoveries, fascinating gems and minerals found world-wide, preserved artifacts from Utahs prehistoric peoples, and stories told by the five Native nations that lie within the states boundaries.
Journey to the top of a three-story indoor Canyon. Wander through Utahs dinosaurs and animal life. Interact with earthquakes, erosion, and our Digital Globe to discover how the earths surface and the Great Salt Lake have changed over time. Enjoy breath-taking views from our observatory deck. Hike the Bonneville Shoreline trail. Experience natural history as only Utah can reveal it.
Enjoy beverages, lunch or a snack at the Museum Cafe. Shop the Museum Store for unique jewelry and gift items influenced by natures design. Visitors with young kids will enjoy Our Backyard, an intimate, discovery-based environment that invites our pre-school visitors to experience natural history first hand!
For more information:
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What Is The Natural History Museum Of Utah
Its a fantastic museum detailing the natural history of the state of Utah. Tons of cool interactive exhibits, from minerals and metals on up to the flora and fauna, make the museum an excellent educational centerpiece for any trip to Utah. But even better, it has dinosaurs. Lots of dinosaurs. Utah is one of the worlds richest areas for dinosaur-fossil discovery, and the museums impressive exhibits of skeletal giant reptiles from the past make it a must-stop.
Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trails
The Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trail is a short nature trail that packs a big punch. Dinosaur bones can be viewed along the trail, still encased in rock. This is a short self-guided interpretive hike with signs along the way to help you identify the dinosaurs that lived here 150 million years ago. Staff at the Moab Information Center will give you a free brochure, or you can ahead of time.
Part of the drive to get here is on a dirt road which is impassable when wet. The soft sands might be tricky for some cars, but plenty of minivan drivers have said theyve made it. Its a good idea to ask for current road conditions and tips from the Information Center before you go.
Before getting to the Dinosaur Bone Trail, youll pass the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Track site. This is another quick walk along a boardwalk with interpretive panels. Each panel describes the dinosaur tracks found here.
These trails are free for the public to explore. Theyve survived there for millions of years, and now its up to visitors to continue protecting these valuable natural resources.
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Itinerary: Dinosaur Road Trip With Kids
The following is the itinerary for our week-long road trip through Utah dinosaur sites. We visited several of the sites listed above, but also stopped at non-dino-related places to keep our dinosaur days fresh and exciting. Theres so much more that wed love to do on a future trip!
We drove to Utah from California, so we started from Las Vegas and then left the state from Park City and headed to Reno. An itinerary like this can be easily modified with a roundtrip to and from Salt Lake City.
Day : Playing Near Park City
On our last full day in Utah, we started by ticking off something from Johns wishlist: a bobsled ride at the Park City Olympic Park. It was an exciting start to the day, and we were impressed by how much the park had to offer.
We watched kids learning how to do aerial ski jumps into a pool and then brought our usual picnic lunch to the kids area with free climbing structures. There were family-friendly ropes courses here and entertaining views of people zooming down the extreme tubing lanes!
We then headed into the Olympic Museum where we had fun with their interactive exhibits. Bug and I got to ride the virtual bobsled and JJ proved to be surprisingly skillful at the simulation ski jump!
Our last Utah dinosaur attraction of the trip was to the George Eccles Dinosaur Park in Ogden. After several serious dinosaur stops, it was fun to roam around outside looking at the sculptures and playing in the playground. It was a perfect farewell to our week of dinosaur fun.
We headed back to the condo for some pool time before calling it a day.
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Utah Field House Of Natural History State Park
A massive Diplodocus welcomes visitors to the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum. This is one of the key dinosaur sites in Utah, serving as both a large natural history museum and state park. Like many of the states wonderful museums, it was founded to conduct paleontological research while also serving as a site of edutainment for dino-enthusiasts.
At first glance, it seemed like we would quickly breeze through the museum. Then you open a side door and begin descending through levels with fascinating and interactive exhibits. Besides the Diplodocus, you can see complete skeletons of a Stegosaurus, Brontotherium, Haplocanthosaurus, and Allosaurus. A stone wall exhibit also challenges visitors to find fossils that were never fully excavated.
The exhibits get more friendly for younger visitors the deeper you go into the museum. Hands-on exhibits invite you to brush aside sand in a replica of the famous Morrison Dig and try to solve problems like a paleontologist. Theres even a space that asks you to put on a museum curator hat and construct your own dinosaur exhibit.
Outside, the boys loved exploring the Vernal Dinosaur Garden with its 14 life-size dinosaur sculptures. Their favorite was, no surprise, a T-Rex battling a Triceratops. We also had fun with the Utahraptor, placed as though hes looking through the museum windows.
Natural History Museum Of Utah Salt Lake City Ut
I first visited the Natural History Museum of Utah when the facility was located in the heart of the University of Utah campus. It certainly had character and a lot to offer, but it did not have nearly the abundance of space, particularly not enough to keep up with the ever-expanding fossil collection that NHMU has seen since a treasure trove of new species were discovered in Utahs Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in the past decade or so.
My son and I came about a week after the paper describing Kosmoceratops hit the national news, and we were very excited to see the skull of the new dinosaur in the lab undergoing cleaning and prep. The dinosaur section was great, I remember seeing Falcarius for the first time there. The Allosaurus fossil attacking the Camarasaurus fossil was a great display as well. They also had a nice collection of ceratopsian skulls.
Three years later, we returned after the new building The Rio Tinto Center on the edge of campus opened a few miles from the original siteand what a great surprise! The building itself is very beautiful and was built with materials that reflect Utahsandstone, red rock, copper, etc. But more impressive was the space now available to display some of their outstanding fossil collection.
Utahceratops
HIGHLIGHTS
Allosaurus Lythronax
IF I DONT LIKE DINOSAURS, WILL I ENJOY MY VISIT?
WHAT COULD BE BETTER?
DID MY CHILDREN ENJOY THEIR VISIT?
Ceratosaurus
HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD I PLAN TO SPEND THERE?
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Day : Dinosaur National Monument And Park City
The next morning we woke up and headed straight to Dinosaur National Monument. Of all the stops on the trip, this is the one JJ was most familiar with and he was thrilled to see it in person. We had a wonderful day here. I swear they have the friendliest Park Rangers weve met yet!
We hopped on the shuttle to the Quarry shortly after we arrived. I was more impressed than I expected to be after having seen it so many times on video! Id hoped to take the Fossil Discovery Trail back down, but we spent more time at the Quarry than planned so we took the shuttle instead.
Before leaving Dinosaur National Monument we drove the Tour of Tilted Rocks auto tour which leads to the parks pictographs and petroglyphs. After reaching the lizard petroglyphs on one of the final stops, 4-year-old Bug asked to keep going when we started to head back to the car. He didnt want to miss a single one!
Eventually, we made our way back on the road to our next stop, the Homestead Crater in Midway, Utah. This geothermal spring is hidden below a 55-foot cone-shaped rock on the property of the Homestead resort. Over 10,000 years in the making, this was a great spot for us all to unwind after several days on the move.
At last, we made our way to Park City, where Id booked an AirBnB for the last few days of the trip. Having a living room, television, pool and hot tub felt like a major luxury. We enjoyed a mellow night in our home away from home.
Day : Onward To Dinosaur Country
Its a long drive from southern Utah to Vernal, and, as we would learn, you need to be prepared before heading into central Utah. We had about 150 miles to go to get gas and thought wed be sure to pass something before then. Nope. We ended up backtracking to a small gas station that had been closed when we first passed by. Fill up before you leave the touristy areas. It wouldnt be a bad idea to bring a spare gas can too, just in case!
We took a lunch break in Helper, Utah, a small railroad town having an artsy renaissance. We packed a picnic lunch and ate in lovely Helper City Park where the boys could burn off steam.
Once in Vernal, we visited the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park. The boys loved the hands-on exhibits and running around the outdoor Dinosaur Garden.
Then it was on to Red Fleet State Park. We threw our bags in the teepee and set out to find a way to cross the reservoir to the dinosaur trackway. After renting a kayak didnt work out, we drove to the Red Fleet Dinosaur Trail. This turned out to be a beautiful, well-marked hike that Im glad we took the time to do. We seemed to reach the trackway in record time. It was pretty awesome to imagine standing on the same spot as the dinosaurs had millions of years before.
Back at the campground, we headed down to the banks of the reservoir. We ate a picnic dinner while the boys splashed along the shore. As the sun set, John couldnt resist the urge to jump off the docks a time or two!
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