Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area

This recreation area is very large and covers parts of two states. It is probably fair to divide it into a northern and southern half, because availability of points of interest, nearest city and even topography depend very much on where you decide to set up your base of operations.

Here are a few of the things you can see:

Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area

Administered by the U.S. Forest Service, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area includes parts of the Ashley National Forest surrounding the Flaming Gorge Dam. The area offers opportunities for a range of activities which include hiking, boating and fishing.

Flaming Gorge-Uintas National Scenic Byway

     Stretching from Vernal to Manila, this 82-mile section of US Highway 191 and Utah Highway 44 runs through the Uintas Mountains near Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. Travelers of this byway will be connected with multiple trailheads and one of the regions richest sources of wildlife and fossil beds.

Fossil Butte National Monument

Fossil Butte National Monument preserves a large deposit of Eocene Era fossils (34 to 56 million years old) from a period when this part of Wyoming was an ancient lakebed. It may be the best collection of fresh-water plant and animal fossils from this period in the world. 

Dinosaur National Monument

On the border of Utah and Colorado, Dinosaur National Monument contains more than 800 paleontological sites with examples of a wide range of dinosaurs. The monument also contains a multitude of archeological sites along with ruins left by early settlers. Moreover, the mountains, rivers and canyons make the monument a place to explore for its scenery and wildlife.

The monument can be divided into two distinct parts. The Utah entrance grants access to the fossil exhibit and petroglyphs. The Colorado entrance leads to the canyon overlooks.