Beyond the Monument: Rock Art, Trackways, and Small-Town Treasures Around Vernal, UT

When you plan a trip to Dinosaur National Monument, it’s easy to focus entirely on what’s inside the official park boundary lines. But using Vernal, Utah as our home base taught us that some of the best discoveries are tucked away in the surrounding state parks, roadside museums, and private ranches just a few miles down the road. And there is plenty to do around Vernal, UT for a few days.

Between our big drives into and around the monument, we spent our afternoons and transition days exploring the lesser-known corners of the Uintah Basin. From 200-million-year-old dinosaur footprints in a sandstone lakebed to world-class petroglyphs hidden on a family ranch, there are certainly adventures around Vernal to be had.

Stepping Into Pioneer and Prehistoric History in Town

We rolled into Vernal on Saturday around 1:00 PM after a six-hour drive from Denver, eager to stretch our legs. Before diving into the national monument the next morning, we decided to get our bearings by exploring the local history right in town.

Our first stop was the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum ($10 per person). It was the perfect warm-up: bright, full of life-sized dinosaur reconstructions, and filled with clean, interactive fossil displays that give you a solid foundation in the region’s intense geological history.

After grabbing a quick lunch and a local brew at Vernal Brewing Co., we walked over to the Museum of Uintah County. Free to enter, this quiet local museum offered a completely different vibe—showcasing pioneer artifacts, early farming tools, and the human history of the basin. Together, the two spots gave us a great appreciation for how deeply paleontology and pioneer spirit are woven into everyday life in Vernal.

The Hunt for Trackways at Red Fleet State Park

On Sunday afternoon, after finishing our morning exploring the Utah side of the monument, we still had half a day ahead of us. We decided to drive about 30 minutes north to Red Fleet State Park to hunt for the fossilized dinosaur tracks we’d read about.

The drive north along the highway was a fun lesson in earth science itself, with roadside signs labeling the passing rock layers, their ages, and their significance. When we arrived at the trailhead, the sky was overcast and cool—ideal conditions for a desert hike.

The trail out to the trackway is an approximately 1.8-mile out-and-back trek winding through red sand, rolling dips, and scattered juniper trees. It’s a gorgeous hike, but it definitely takes some footwork over the uneven, sandy terrain.

We finally reached the reservoir where the 200-million-year-old Dilophosaurus tracks are embedded.

As we were leaving the ledge of the reseriour, the clouds started to part, and the blazing afternoon sun was beaming right at us. What began as a cool walk turned into a hot, dusty scavenger hunt on a steep rock face. While over 200 tracks are said to be scattered across the rock, we only managed to locate four or five distinct prints.

By the time we turned back, sharing our remaining 32 oz of water, the trail felt twice as long under the relentless heat. We both agreed that while the scenery was lovely, the trackway itself felt a bit over-hyped compared to the effortless, mind-blowing fossil wall inside the national monument. It was one of those rare stops where, looking back, we felt we could have skipped it in favor of a little rest or for another activity—but that’s all part of the road trip learning curve!

A Dusty Trek to Moonshine Arch

On Monday afternoon, after completing our massive 5-hour driving loop out to the Gates of Lodore, we were exhausted—but we couldn’t resist squeezing in one more trail before heading back into town. We had passed a sign for Moonshine Arch near Red Fleet earlier in the weekend, so around 3:30 PM, we pulled into the large dirt parking lot to check it out.

The trail to Moonshine Arch is almost entirely soft, deep sand. Walking through soft sand after a long day of driving takes a real toll on your lungs and calves!

The trek up to the sandstone arch structure felt like a true workout, but standing beneath the towering natural arch framed against the clear Utah sky made the effort worthwhile.

Walking back down the sandy slope was infinitely easier than the climb up, and we wrapped up the hike around 4:20 PM, feeling accomplished and very ready for a cold drink.

Finding Ancient Art at McConkie Ranch

If there was one stop outside the monument, and well perhaps the entire weekend, that completely stole the show, it was McConkie Ranch.

Located on private land in Dry Fork Canyon, about 10 miles north of Vernal, this site holds some of the most impressive Fremont culture rock art in the entire American Southwest. The landowners generously allow visitors to explore the cliffs via a simple donation box or QR code at the parking area.

Exhausted from our long day, we opted to hike just one of the two main trails: the Three Kings Trail. The path starts with a peaceful, flat walk through tall grass and past wooden ranch gates.

But as soon as you reach the base of the towering sandstone cliffs and climb the short rocky approach, you are met with panel after panel of astonishingly preserved petroglyphs.

The artwork here is unbelievable. Giant, broad-shouldered human figures with elaborate headpieces, intricate geometric patterns, and detailed animals are carved high onto the rock faces. Compared to the darker, etched petroglyphs inside Dinosaur National Monument, the art at McConkie Ranch felt larger, more detailed, and far more dramatic.

After the ledge walk, we turned left and continued on the path around a few bends until another gate which leads to the end of the trail – at petroglyhs you can only view from the ground. These are higher up on the cliff face, and their is a sign telling you where to look. You are able to see with your eyes, but we also used the binoculars for a closer up look.

Standing beneath those sheer cliffs, you can’t help but wonder about the artists who stood there a thousand years ago. How did they reach some of those impossibly high cliff ledges? Was there a ledge that eroded away, or did they build wooden ladders? Were they leaving messages for neighboring bands, marking seasonal alignments, or simply creating art to pass the time? Answers to those questions might be lost to history, but standing there in the quiet afternoon shade, we were just grateful that these ancient stories remain etched in stone for us to admire today.

It was a long day, but we both were so glad we added this onto the day, and didn’t skip it because we were tired.

After leaving McConkie Ranch covered in desert dust, we headed straight to Dinosaur Brew House in Vernal for a well-deserved cold craft beer and a plate of crispy fried pickles, followed by a pizza dinner down the street at Anica Forma.

The Vernal Area

Exploring the areas around Vernal UT proved that sometimes the most memorable moments on a road trip happen outside the main park gates. Whether it’s marveling at ancient cliff art on a local ranch or laughing through a hot, sandy trek to a hidden arch, taking the time to wander off the main itinerary is usually worth it.

What We Missed Around Vernal, UT (And What We’d Do Next Time)

No matter how well you plan a long weekend, you simply can’t do it all—especially in a region packed with so much geology, history, and outdoor recreation. Between choosing different experiences over repeating things we’d done recently and just running out of daylight (and energy!), there were several spots we had to leave for a future visit.

If you are planning your own trip to Vernal or building a longer itinerary, here are a few extra things worth adding to your list:

Stargazing in an International Dark Sky Park: Dinosaur National Monument is a designated Dark Sky Park, and seeing the Milky Way blazing over the desert canyons was high on our original wish list. However, our only clear night happened to be our very first night in Vernal. After six hours of driving from Denver and an afternoon of exploring town, exhaustion won out, and we were fast asleep long before dark. If you have the energy, set a late-night alarm and drive out to a designated overlook for incredible stargazing (you don’t even need to drive into the park)!
Jones Hole National Fish Hatchery & Petroglyphs: Located about 40 minutes northeast of Vernal at the end of a scenic drive, this national fish hatchery is a popular stop that also features a trail leading to local petroglyphs and Jones Hole Creek. It was closed during our visit, but having checked out fish hatcheries on past trips (most recently up in Anchorage, Alaska), we knew what to expect and were okay not seeing it.
Jensen Hills: Just outside Vernal in Jensen, we noticed off-roaders having a blast riding bikes and UTVs across the open sand dunes. Since we had just done a guided off-road UTV tour up Mosquito Pass in Leadville a few weeks prior—and had previously driven sand dunes in Australia—we opted to prioritize new types of terrain and experiences on this trip instead. But if you love off-roading, this area is a huge local playground. There are more areas than this little one.
Fantasy Canyon: Located about an hour south of Vernal, Fantasy Canyon features incredibly fragile, bizarre rock formations carved into 38-to-50-million-year-old sandstone. We’ve explored some incredible geological formations across New Mexico and Arizona over the years, so we definitely appreciate unique rocks! But with a limited afternoon window, Red Fleet State Park won out for our schedule.
Golfing Around Vernal: We almost packed our golf clubs for this road trip, but ultimately decided we wouldn’t have enough downtime to squeeze in a round without sacrificing hiking time. Looking back at our timing, we definitely could have fit in 9 or 18 holes if we had skipped our afternoon trip to Red Fleet!
White-Water Rafting the Green River from Gates of Lodore: Standing at the Gates of Lodore overlook and watching the Green River disappear between those colossal red canyon walls made one thing crystal clear: floating through Lodore Canyon on a multi-day rafting trip would be an absolute bucket-list adventure.
Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry (Jurrasic National Monument): There is another famous fossil site located roughly three hours south of Vernal near Elmo, Utah—the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, which boasts the densest concentration of Jurassic dinosaur bones ever discovered (predominantly Allosaurus). The main quarry viewing building was closed while we were in the area, otherwise we absolutely, well probably, would have taken the detour to check it out!
Endless Outdoor Recreation: Beyond the headline sights, the Uintah Basin is a total outdoor playground. Whether you’re into fly fishing on the Green River, mountain biking the local trail networks, hiking, rafting, or trail riding, you could easily spend a full week here without running out of things to do!

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