Steamboat Rock — Attraction in Vernal

Be ready for an adventurous road! It’s quite the jaunt to get to Dinosaur National Monument in far northwest Colorado. Once you are headed into the heart of the park you climb the uplift high over the canyon of the Green and Yampa rivers. About halfway to the high point you turn east and dive down the dugway to the benches of the Yampa River. Look up dugway and decide if you are stouthearted enough to drive this steep, switchback, two way, dirt road. Check the weather! Impassable when wet is no joke. Once down you meander through spectacular canyon geology that was carved by the Yampa River as the land rose around it. At the end of the road is Steamboat Rock. It marks the confluence of the Yampa and the Green. More of a mountainside, really. Hike just a little ways to the confluence. We were there in the fall and the cottonwoods just added to the beauty. We would have stayed in the beautiful but primitive campground but, rain was coming so we climbed back out and headed for Utah. Totally worth the trip. I have a thing for headwaters and confluences and this is one...

It is a long drive to access this point on dirt roads (best to visit in dry conditions). The amazing view of Steamboat Rock and the Yampa River is a short walk from the parking area. Echo Park is not dog friendly. This is a part of Dinosaur National Monument, so there is a fee to visit. Floating the river over here requires a permit. There is camping by reservation at Echo Park. Not as busy as other parts of the Monument. Also, a ton of over looks and cool spots to stop...

John Wesley Powell made an adventurous ascent to it's summit, on his famous canyon explorations. His companion's "drawers" came in handy for John. He named...