This is a large museum near the center of Vernal, UT. It is a logical place for it, less than 20…read moremiles from Dinosaur National Monument. Parking is on-site in a dedicated lot behind the museum. The entrance fee when we visited was $10 per person. The museum is probably best for families with elementary school aged (or younger) kids. No one in our group was under 25, but we liked it. The exhibits are spread over 2 floors and also include some full size replicas of dinosaurs (and a mammoth) outside as well. If you start on the top floor, there are exhibits that include some dinosaur history and then basically trace life on earth through various eras. You descend on a long sloping hallway through these exhibits until you reach the most recent (still pre-history) section. This transitions into some dinosaur skeletons and simulated archeology digs. You are back on the ground floor at this point. Also on this level is a theater which shows a film about the history of the area, a window into a sop where they clean and prepare fossils for exhibit, and an exhibit about tourism activities in the area. It is worth checking out the full size replicas of multiple dinosaurs around about 1/3 of the exterior of the building also. We arrived here in the afternoon just an hour or so before closing time at 5 p.m. We still managed tour the whole place, but if you are really interested you may want to allocate at least 2 hours. If you are in Vernal, this is definitely worth checking out.

OK... realize Vernal is nowhere near the size of a big city - so set your expectations accordingly…read more- and you'll quickly realize that - wow - this place has so much more than you'd expect as a result. When you go in, there's a movie that sets the stage. Can get boring for kids, yet works well for adults. Then, you just follow the route through about six or seven rooms ranging from a fossil dig, to history going back to the dinosaur age, to geologic history, along with a room that is "find the ancient animal" that kids love. Once finished, you've gradually moved from the 1st floor to the 2nd. There's a few more small exhibits. Then... outside is a route that goes around much of the building that has life-size recreated dinosaurs in their habitats. Takes about 90 minutes to do the whole thing depending on whether you are just adults, or have kids that are interested.

You'll need the national park pass or plan to pay the $25 entrance fee to get into the park. I like…read moreto give that heads up since I wasn't expecting that hefty price. That said, I was very happy with the experience. The gift shop is modest in size, but does have some neat items in it. There's a shuttle that will drive you up to the wall of bones, if that's what you're here for (which I was). The shuttle driver was friendly and welcoming. Aside from this area, there's a handful of hikes you can do while you're here.

Absolutely stunning! It's a 3.5 hr drive from Salt Lake City, so a bit out of the way, but WOW what…read morea sight! The quarry visitor center is breathtaking. There are so many Dino bones in one spot and the history of the deposits are fascinating. You can even touch REAL dinosaur bones! These national park guide at the wall was so nice and answered all our questions. These Dino skeletons are all over natural history museums around the world, which is amazing. Recommend seeing the quarry visitor center, taking the shuttle to the dinosaur wall, and then doing the fossil hike back to the visitor center.

As the previous reviewer says, there is more than one entrance to Dinosaur National Monument, each…read moreone doing something different. This is the Visitors Center that leads to scenic views but no dinosaurs and no petroglyphs. BUT.. they do have their own National Park stamp for those collectors, they have a gift shop, knowledgeable Rangers and bathrooms so all is not lost! The Main Visitors Center is out of Jensen, Utah. Search Yelp under that city and it will come up.

First off, GPS F#cks you up coming out here. There is actually two locations. Make sure you do NOT…read morego the visitor center if you are going to try to see the fossils. The visitor center is LAME and about 40 miles away from the actual museum. The place is cool to see but idk if it's worth a $10 admission (per car) or driving out of the way to go see it. It's basically one medium sized building full of fossils. And in the middle of f#cking nowhere!

I love a small town museum that tells the story of its history. This one represents the vibe of the…read morecommunity very well with some artifacts of its early days and inhabitants. When I visited there were several quilts of display with active voting taking place. What says small town like a quilt display?

If you want to see the history of the area in a clean, compact museum -this is it! Starts with the…read moreinitial Native Americans all the way through today. Has a couple of movies. There is an area for the children to play. Takes about 45 minutes to an hour to see it all. Be advised that they are closed on Sunday. My wife and I expected that tourist attractions would be open on the weekends.

If you are looking to get away from it all... If you are…read morelooking to really go under the radar... If you are looking to explore a National Monument that barely gets attention, then I recommend you make the trip here....to Dinosaur, Colorado! Yes, here at Dinosaur, CO, I was transported away from my worries and stresses in life, and discovered a much more simple and quiet existence. Well...the real reason anyone comes to Dinosaur is because it's known as the "Gateway to Dinosaur National Monument"! And, for all you outdoor adventurers and enthusiasts, I believe Dinosaur NM is a place you need to check off your To-Do List. The Town of Dinosaur is located in the northwest corner of Colorado, right on the border with Utah. In fact, if you explore the National Monument, you will step foot in both Colorado and Utah within minutes of each other. Also, just to be a little more exact, this section of Dinosaur NM is host to the scenic Canyon Area, whereas the 2nd part to Dinosaur NM is situated 20 miles northwest of here in the town of Jensen, Utah. And, over in Jensen, Utah, it features the Fossil Bone Quarry area of Dinosaur, NM. Overall, I much more appreciated being in this part of Dinosaur NM, while Jensen was a touristy and populated town. Here in this Colorado part, it was so remote, primitive and off the beaten path, I was in awe of the seclusion. It's my ideal setting. Let me get to the details about this, Town of Dinosaur! First off....the surroundings. It's very desert-like and barren here. There's nothing but flat land, kind of a mix of discolored shrubbery and wilted grass. I think that's what gives this place its personality. It's not exactly the "old west" like you'd find maybe deep in the heart of Texas, but, you have to respect the environment and embrace the simplicity for the way of life. Now...it is just 2.5 miles distance between town and the entrance to Dinosaur NM. The town consists of a 4-corner intersection. That's it! In one direction you have Highway 40 traveling east and west. Or...there's Stegosaurus Freeway 64 taking you south down to Rangely, Colorado. What a great name, Stegosaurus! There's a Colorado Welcome Center here, along with a Post Office and 2 primary gas stations...a Loaf 'N Jug (where I grabbed my meals from) and a Conoco. Interestingly, and I guess because it's legal here in Colorado, there's a Rocky Mountain Cannabis Dispensary as well. I pulled up the app - Campendium - on my phone and found a terrific campsite for spending 2 evenings. It's called Long's Hideout RV Park and Services, located 7/10th's of a mile from the Intersection. You just show up and check-in with the owner. He's friendly and they have full AMP power hookups including restrooms and showers. They are open year round. It's only $28 per night or they offer a week stay at $165. Almost forgot...there is fine cell phone reception, so you can have access to the outside world, lol. Getting back to the heart of downtown Dinosaur, there could have been a restaurant to eat at, but I simply went into the Loaf N Jug Gas Station every day and purchased my meals. I don't need anything fancy, just the basic necessities, lol. In the mornings I bought a breakfast sandwich, hot chocolate and some snacks and drinks for my explorations inside Dinosaur NM. When I returned at the end of the day, they had slices of pizza and chicken tenders in the warmer. Or, they had pre-made cold-cut sandwiches and grocery items. You could purchase hamburgers and hotdogs for grilling. I just repeated my routine at Loaf 'N Jug for 2 consecutive days. Lastly, I'd like to mention the sunsets. They were memorable. With the sun going down around 6pm each evening, and without disruptions...the sky colorfully opened up and made for quality moments to appreciate being in the great outdoors. The Town of Dinosaur, Colorado brings you back to the olden days. There's nothing fancy whatsoever about it. Best of all, it helps you realize that getting off the grid (which is hard to do these days) can turn into a rewarding experience.

We are currently living here and we love the views for sure and the weather is nice!!read more

I absolutely love this national monument! The scenery is gorgeous! It has a road that you can…read morefollow to look at different formations in the land. I would have loved to take a tour, but it was closed because of the government shutdown. I will be back, so I can get the full experience!!

I am a dinosaur fanatic. This place was awesome. I was able to actually touch the fossils. Being…read moreable to be that close really lets you see just how big these creatures were. It's truly amazing. I would highly recommend this establishment to anyone, especially fellow Dino Geeks!!!

The northern part of highway 139 has a wealth of petroglyphs that are only a short walk from your…read morecar yet are largely devoid of tourists. Every site is clearly marked with BLM signs and interpretive plaques. Waving hands is one of the first you will encounter on the south side of the route, we stopped at every site as they are all very different, some are right by the parking lot, while others allow you to take a short hike. Be sure to stop at the Kokopelli and Lookout sites, the later has a stone calendar and some nice, short walks.

Interesting BLM historic site with rock-art exhibits from prehistoric human occupation in the area…read more There's an orientation site on the south end of Highway 139, south of Rangely, Colorado that provides some information on the cultures that lived here, mostly the Fremont people but apparently it goes back as far as the Clovis people just after the last ice age. Seven rock-art sites are scattered along the highway north of the orientation site - most are just pull over brief stops but a couple are more than that. We didn't stop at all of them. Restrooms at the south orientation site.

PACKED with information, this awesome little Museum is bigger than it seems when driving up to the…read morefront. Displays about all of the oil, gas, and coal mining that have went on in this isolated small Town are very interesting.... I really liked the old all iron jail. Walk from building to building and take in life from fiftyto eighty years ago!

From the owner: The Rangely Outdoor Museum preserves in historical buildings and exhibits the unique history of the…read moreRangely area. There are three distinct categories: Pre-history & Native People, Pioneer & Ranching, and Energy Development.

Time for me to be the villain! Not often I give 1 star reviews but I was quite disappointed with my…read morevisit to this Rangely Public Library. If anyone has ever been to Rangely, it's a real small town in northwestern Colorado. I just happened to be passing through it on my way towards exploring Dinosaur National Monument. As I was driving through downtown Rangely...I noticed this library and figured I could stop inside, do some research about Dinosaur NM, charge my cell phone and portable generator, maybe catch up on some social media stuff, lol, and just take a mental break since I had been traveling through remote sections of Colorado during the past week. I walked in and happily said hello to the librarians...etc. I mentioned I was just going to sit down at one of the tables inside. No problem. Pretty standard. Here's where I was let down.... - First off, they purposely covered all the electronic sockets and outlets! What? Well that's not going to work for me. How can I charge anything? My instincts told me they really didn't want anyone inside. But why? I wore a mask. I had my vaccine card! Boooo! So...no charging anything. Worst of all, during my recent 5 month summer road trip, in all other libraries I visited throughout the United States...they were more than accommodative to the public. I never had an issue like this. Had this library heard the USA is reopening! No more staying at home. Time to move past the pandemic. -Next. There was no WiFi! What??? I had never heard of no WiFi in a library??? How could this be? This was the first library in all of America that didn't offer free WiFI. And typical...I got zero cell reception inside as well. Even outside among Rangely, the cell phone range was barely existent. It was just a waste of time to be here. This Rangely Public Library was useless. And worst of all, I got the impression they turned off the WiFi on purpose to discourage visitors from coming inside. But why? Looking up on Google...there's only 2400 people even living in Rangely, Colorado! Whatever. I stayed for maybe 5 minutes before understanding that I wasn't welcomed here. What a frustrating experience I could have really used a "maintenance day" to catch my breathe so to speak. So...I departed and drove 18 miles northwest on Highway 64 and got an early start on my explorations around Dinosaur National Monument. I really hope in the future this Rangely Public Library can unlock their electrical outlets inside for the sake of the public and maybe allow for some WiFi as well. Otherwise...who even goes inside a library anymore to read a book???

This library is so clean and the people are so helpful. It has computers to use and I don't think…read moreenough people come here to check out books. The books look brand new! Def a quiet place to wander and look the books.