Utah has more ways to see dinosaurs than almost any state, but the good stops are scattered across four corners of the map: a wall of bones near the Colorado line, a working quarry on a gravel road south of Price, footprints on slickrock north of Moab and a trackway museum in St. George. This guide strings them into one route from Provo, with drive times, a two- or three-day loop, add-ons, and the winter catches that matter right now. The biggest one: Jurassic National Monument closed for the season on November 1, 2026, according to the Bureau of Land Management, so a November trip is built around the sites that stay open.
For the closest options, see our guide to dinosaur museums in Utah Valley. For the Vernal stop in depth, see Vernal and Dinosaur National Monument from Provo, and for a scenic way to drive there, our Uinta Basin loop. This page is the statewide map that ties them together.
The sites at a glance
Drive figures are OSRM routing estimates from downtown Provo (OpenStreetMap data, no traffic or stops). Status and prices are from each site's official page, checked Nov. 11, 2026.
| Site | From Provo | November 2026 status |
|---|---|---|
| BYU Museum of Paleontology, Provo | About 2 miles | Check the official page for hours |
| Museum of Ancient Life, Lehi | 20 miles, about 25 min | Open Mon-Sat, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; adults $27 ($24 online) |
| Natural History Museum of Utah, Salt Lake City | 50 miles, about 1 hr | Open daily 10-5, Wed to 9; adults $24.95 |
| Prehistoric Museum (USU Eastern), Price | 76 miles, about 1 hr 40 min | Open daily; adults $7 |
| Jurassic National Monument, south of Price | About 104 miles, last 11 on gravel | Closed for the season since Nov. 1 |
| Mill Canyon and Copper Ridge tracks, north of Moab | About 176 miles, about 4 hr | Free, open year-round |
| Utah Field House, Vernal | 154 miles, about 3 hr | Open Mon-Sat, 9-5; adults $10 |
| Quarry Exhibit Hall, Dinosaur National Monument | 173 miles, about 3 hr 30 min | Open year-round; $25 per vehicle |
| Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm, St. George | 257 miles, about 4 hr 20 min | Open daily 10-5; adults $10 |
How the route fits together
Think of the state as three dinosaur zones, plus one outlier.
The Wasatch Front (Provo, Lehi, Salt Lake City) holds the big indoor museums: mounted skeletons, hands-on labs, no long drive. These are the year-round, any-weather options.
Castle Country and the Moab corridor (Price, the San Rafael Swell edge, US-191 north of Moab) is where you see the Jurassic in context: a museum in Price, the Cleveland-Lloyd bone bed when it is open, and two free BLM trackway sites.
The Uinta Basin (Vernal and Jensen) has the single best stop in the state for most families, the Quarry Exhibit Hall, plus the Field House museum in Vernal and a trackway at Red Fleet State Park.
St. George is the outlier, about four hours south on I-15, with a museum built over a field of Early Jurassic footprints. It pairs better with a southern Utah trip than with the eastern loop.
Those eastern zones connect neatly. Price sits on US-6 an hour and 40 minutes from Provo. From Price, US-191 runs south to Moab (OSRM puts Price to Mill Canyon at about 101 miles and 2 hours 20 minutes) and north over Indian Canyon toward Duchesne and Vernal. That makes Price the hinge of the whole trip.
Leg 1: Price and the Prehistoric Museum
The Prehistoric Museum at Utah State University Eastern, 155 East Main in Price, is the easiest dinosaur stop beyond the Wasatch Front, about 76 miles and 1 hour 40 minutes from Provo through Spanish Fork Canyon on US-6. Our Nine Mile Canyon, Helper and Price guide covers the town and the rock art country nearby.
Hours (USU Eastern admission page): Sunday through Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. That means it is one of the few stops on this route open on a Sunday.
Closed: Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, Nov. 26), Dec. 24, 25 and 31, and Jan. 1.
Admission: adults 13 to 64, $7; children 2 to 12, $3; under 2 free; a family rate of $20 covers two adults and up to six dependents. Seniors 65 and up, military and college students pay $5.
Free admission: every Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m., plus select holidays. The museum's list includes Veterans Day (today, Wednesday, Nov. 11) and the day after Thanksgiving (Friday, Nov. 27), along with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Pioneer Day, Labor Day and Columbus Day. Museum members, Native Americans, EBT/SNAP/WIC holders, local junior high and high school students and Price City employees (each with ID) are also free.
If you are planning around Thanksgiving weekend, that free Friday is the best deal on the route.
Leg 2: Jurassic National Monument (spring to fall only)
The Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, now managed by the BLM as Jurassic National Monument, is about 30 miles south of Price. The BLM says the last 11 miles of the road are graded gravel (17 miles if you come from Wellington). OSRM puts it at about 104 miles from Provo; its time estimate runs close to three hours because of the gravel, so plan accordingly.
Status today: the BLM's page says the monument closed for the season on November 1, 2026, and "spring reopening details will be provided here once confirmed." When open, it lists hours of Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Construction: the BLM also says the Cleveland-Lloyd quarry dig site is temporarily closed for construction, with a bypass trail to the Jurassic Journey and Cretaceous Climb trails, and the visitor center and picnic areas open during the season. It expects construction to finish by late summer or fall.
Fees: the BLM page does not list an entrance fee amount. It says the monument honors and issues all America the Beautiful passes. Check the official page before you go.
For now, the practical advice is simple: leave it off a November or winter itinerary and watch the BLM page for the spring 2027 notice. Our Jurassic National Monument and Mill Canyon guide has the details for when it reopens.
Leg 3: The trackways north of Moab
Bones show you what the animals were. Tracks show you where they went. Two BLM sites on US-191 north of Moab do this better than anything else on the route, and both are free and open year-round, which makes them the backbone of a winter trip.
Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite and Bone Trail
The BLM says the tracksite has over 200 Early Cretaceous dinosaur footprints, reached by a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk. A 2022 BLM news release dated the tracks at about 112 million years old and said they represent at least 10 kinds of animals.
Directions (BLM): from Moab, drive north on US-191 about 15 miles. Turn left on Mill Canyon Road just north of mile marker 141, cross the railroad tracks and drive 0.6 miles to the tracksite. The Bone Trail, with fossil bone still embedded in rock, is about a mile farther; bear right at the Y. The BLM says the Bone Trail has unpaved boardwalk sections and uneven ground and is generally not wheelchair accessible.
Bring: water and a bathroom plan. The BLM lists no toilets on site. It asks visitors to stay on the boardwalk and trails and leave fossils where they are.
From Provo, OSRM puts Mill Canyon at about 176 miles and just under four hours via US-6 and US-191.
Copper Ridge Dinosaur Tracks
About 23 miles north of Moab on US-191, turn east on BLM Road 143 and follow it about two miles to the trailhead. The BLM describes large, round sauropod prints (likely Camarasaurus, Apatosaurus or Diplodocus) and three-toed theropod prints, possibly from Allosaurus. Its highlights are a sauropod trackway that makes a sharp right turn and a theropod trackway that may show a limping animal.
The walk: about 0.3 miles round trip with 65 to 100 feet of gain, rocky and uphill, generally not wheelchair accessible.
The road: a small gravel lot that most passenger vehicles can reach. The BLM says four-wheel drive is recommended only in wet or muddy conditions.
On site: a vault toilet, no drinking water, limited cell service. Day use only. The BLM says you may look at and gently touch the fossils, but not walk on, scrape or mark them.
Doing both sites takes a morning. If you stay the night, our Moab from Provo guide covers Arches and the rest of the area.
Leg 4: Vernal and the Utah Field House
The Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum, 496 E. Main St. in Vernal, is about 154 miles and three hours from Provo on US-40 by OSRM.
Hours (Utah State Parks): Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The page lists no Sunday hours, so do not plan a Sunday visit without calling first.
Fees (Utah State Parks): adults $10, seniors $8, children 6 to 12 $5, children 5 and under free.
Coming up: the park lists "Vernal's Holly Days" on Friday, Nov. 27, 9 to 11 a.m.
The Field House is the place to see what the quarry bones looked like as whole animals, so it makes sense the afternoon before the quarry. The Vernal guide explains why in more detail.
Red Fleet State Park, north of Vernal at 8750 US Hwy 191, has a dinosaur trackway on sandstone by the reservoir. Utah State Parks calls the trail to it a strenuous three-mile round trip with many ups and downs (its history section says 1.5 miles; confirm with the park at 435-789-4432). You can also paddle across the reservoir to reach the tracks. The park says the tracks are easiest to see in early morning or late afternoon, not with the sun overhead. Its alerts on Nov. 11 listed campground water off and winterized until spring and the reservoir at 47 percent.
Leg 5: The Quarry Exhibit Hall at Dinosaur National Monument
This is the stop that justifies the drive. The National Park Service describes a wall of more than 1,500 fossil dinosaur bones from the Late Jurassic, about 150 million years old, with eight species still in the rock, including Stegosaurus and Allosaurus. Most of the bones are loose and jumbled; a few show signs of scavenging. The hall also has exhibits on the small mammals, amphibians, reptiles and plants of the Morrison Formation.
Getting there: from US-40 in Jensen, take Utah Highway 149 north. The NPS gives the Quarry Visitor Center address as 11625 E 1500 S, Jensen, UT 84035 and warns that typing "Dinosaur National Monument" into a navigation app may send you to the Colorado headquarters or somewhere remote. Use the address. There are no dinosaur fossil sites on the Colorado side.
Winter access: the NPS says the visitor center and Exhibit Hall are open year-round, and "between October and April, visitors drive their own vehicles to the Quarry." In summer a free shuttle runs from the visitor center because the hall's lot is small. Rangers staff the hall year-round "as long as road access to the Quarry remains clear." When conditions allow, you can also hike between the two on the Fossil Discovery Trail, 1.2 miles one way.
Hours: the park's Operating Hours & Seasons page did not display hours when checked today. Check the official page or call 435-781-7700 before you leave Provo.
Fees (NPS):
- Private vehicle: $25, valid seven days
- Motorcycle: $20
- Individual on foot or bike: $15 (youth 15 and under free)
- Dinosaur annual park pass: $45
Current conditions (NPS page updated Oct. 29, 2026): Cub Creek Road is open, paved for the first 8 miles. The Fossil Discovery Trail is open with loose rocks from storm damage. Green River Campground is closed for the season. Storm damage has closed Rainbow Park Road and campground, likely through spring 2027, and Echo Park Road on the Colorado side is closed to vehicles.
From the Field House in Vernal it is about 19 miles and 25 minutes to the Quarry Visitor Center. From the quarry home to Provo, OSRM figures 173 miles and about 3 hours 30 minutes on US-40 and US-189 through Heber and Provo Canyon.
A suggested loop: three days, spring to fall
This version works when Jurassic National Monument is open (Thursday through Sunday, per the BLM). Start on a Thursday or Friday.
Day 1 (Thursday or Friday): Provo to Price to Jurassic National Monument. Leave Provo by 8 a.m. Prehistoric Museum when it opens at 9, about 90 minutes inside. South to the quarry for the afternoon. Sleep in Price, or push on toward Green River or Moab if everyone is still awake.
Day 2: The trackways, then north to Vernal. Mill Canyon and Copper Ridge in the morning, before the slickrock heats up. Then the long leg north: OSRM puts Mill Canyon to Vernal at about 214 miles and 4 hours 45 minutes, back through Price and over Indian Canyon. Field House before 5 p.m. if you make good time (not Sunday). Sleep in Vernal.
Day 3: Quarry Exhibit Hall and home. Arrive early. Exhibit Hall, then Cub Creek Road if time allows. Home by evening on US-40.
Total driving: roughly 600 miles. It is a lot of car for young children; the two-day versions below are kinder.
The November and winter version: two days
With Jurassic National Monument closed and Indian Canyon and Daniels Summit both high passes, split the eastern route into two simpler trips.
Option A, the Moab trackways weekend. Saturday: Provo to Price, Prehistoric Museum, then south on US-191 to Mill Canyon and Copper Ridge in the afternoon light (both free). Sleep in Moab or Green River. Sunday: Arches or another stop, then home (OSRM: about 176 miles, under four hours from Mill Canyon). The Prehistoric Museum is open Sundays, so you can also flip the order.
Option B, the Vernal out-and-back. Friday or Saturday: Provo to Vernal on US-40, about three hours. Field House in the afternoon (Monday through Saturday only). Sleep in Vernal. Next morning: Quarry Exhibit Hall, driving your own car up to the hall in winter. Home by mid-afternoon.
Our Uinta Basin loop calls it a May-to-October trip for most families because of the two passes, and suggests Vernal as an out-and-back on US-40 from November through April. That holds for the dinosaur route too.
Before any winter drive: check UDOT's traffic site (udottraffic.utah.gov), which shows road weather, mountain pass conditions, plow locations and cameras. Our Utah winter driving guide explains the traction law. Fill up in Price, Duchesne or Roosevelt; services thin out.
Add-ons
The Wasatch Front day (no overnight). Good for a stormy weekend or a first taste:
- BYU Museum of Paleontology, on campus in Provo. Its official page could not be loaded today, so check the official page for hours and admission. Our Utah Valley dinosaur museums guide describes the collection and the fossil-lab window.
- Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point, 2929 N. Thanksgiving Way, Lehi. Thanksgiving Point lists Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; closed Sundays, Thanksgiving and Christmas; closing at 4 p.m. on Dec. 24 and 31. Tickets: adults $27 in person or $24 online, youth 13 to 17 $22/$19, children 3 to 12 $20/$17, seniors 65+ $24/$21, 2 and under free. Admission is timed with limited availability, so buy ahead. Our Thanksgiving Point tickets guide covers the passes.
- Natural History Museum of Utah, 301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City. NHMU lists 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, until 9 p.m. Wednesdays, with tickets not honored after 4:30 (8:30 Wednesdays). It is closed Thanksgiving and Christmas and closes at 3 p.m. the day before each. Adults $24.95, seniors and young adults 13 to 24 $22.95, children 3 to 12 $20.95, 2 and under free. See our NHMU guide.
Doing all three in one day is a lot. Two is comfortable.
St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm. About 257 miles and 4 hours 20 minutes from Provo by OSRM, at 2180 E. Riverside Drive. The museum says it is open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., last entry 4:30; its visit page does not list holiday closures, so check the official page around holidays. Admission: adults 18 to 59 $10, seniors 60+ $9, youth 5 to 17 $5, children 0 to 4 free. It sits on what the museum describes as a 200-million-year-old Early Jurassic lake ecosystem, with Eubrontes tracks (attributed to dinosaurs similar to Dilophosaurus), smaller Grallator tracks, and 17 types of trace fossils. Pair it with our Zion and St. George guide or a winter trip to Snow Canyon.
Flaming Gorge. If you are already in Vernal, see our Flaming Gorge guide for a third day.
Fossil Butte, Wyoming. For fish fossils rather than dinosaurs, our Kemmerer and Fossil Butte guide is a different direction from Provo.
Fees and passes: what covers what
Three separate systems run these sites, and a pass from one does not help at another.
Federal (America the Beautiful). Covers Dinosaur National Monument entrance and, per the BLM, is honored and issued at Jurassic National Monument. The NPS lists the resident annual pass at $80, the non-resident annual at $250, the senior annual at $20 and senior lifetime at $80 (62 and older), with military, Access, fourth-grade and volunteer passes free for those who qualify. Holders must show photo ID. If you also plan to visit any of the parks in our Utah national parks ranking this year, the annual pass adds up fast.
Utah State Parks. The Utah Field House and Red Fleet are state parks. Utah State Parks lists a 2026 Annual Day-Use Pass at $125 (senior 65+ $65) for Utah residents, covering the cardholder and up to seven guests in one vehicle. The pass page does not say whether it covers the Field House museum's per-person admission, so check with ParksPass (801-538-7220) before counting on it. Our state parks pass guide has more.
Everything else. The Prehistoric Museum (USU), Thanksgiving Point, NHMU (University of Utah) and the St. George site each charge their own admission.
The BLM trackways at Mill Canyon and Copper Ridge are free.
A rough family budget for the two-day Vernal out-and-back, two adults and two children 6 to 12, at today's listed prices: $30 at the Field House and $25 per vehicle at the quarry (or $0 with an annual federal pass), plus fuel, food and a night of lodging.
What kids like
- Bones still in the rock. The quarry wall is the rare place where children see fossils exactly where they were buried. Ask a ranger about the hall's Junior Ranger booklets and talks.
- Tracks they can follow. Copper Ridge's limping theropod and turning sauropod tell a story children can trace with a finger in the air, and the BLM allows gentle touching there.
- Short, easy walks. Mill Canyon's boardwalk and the 0.3-mile Copper Ridge trail fit small legs. Red Fleet's three-mile round trip does not.
- Hands-on labs. Thanksgiving Point lists a Quarry Dig, an Erosion Table, Dino Quest fossil hunts ($8; Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 12:30) and Paleo Studio ($10) where kids prepare a real fossil to keep. St. George has a track-making activity for elementary ages and a fossil lab tour for grades 5 and up.
- Big skeletons. Thanksgiving Point says its hall has 60 complete mounted skeletons. For a child who wants "a T. rex," the Wasatch Front museums deliver more than the field sites.
Who should skip this trip
- Families with toddlers and only one day. The quarry is about seven hours of round-trip driving from Provo. The Wasatch Front museums give a three-year-old the same thrill for far less time in a car seat.
- Anyone set on seeing the Cleveland-Lloyd bone bed this winter. It is closed for the season and its dig site is under construction. Wait for the BLM's spring notice.
- Drivers uneasy on winter mountain roads. The Vernal route crosses Daniels Summit and the Moab-to-Vernal leg crosses Indian Canyon. Stick to I-15 (St. George) or US-6 (Price) in a storm, and check UDOT first.
- Visitors who want fossils to hunt and keep. These are protected sites. The BLM asks visitors to leave fossils in place at Mill Canyon, and the paid fossil-prep programs at Thanksgiving Point and the field tour in St. George are the ways to take something home legally.
What to check before you go
- Dinosaur National Monument: operating hours and current conditions on nps.gov/dino, or 435-781-7700.
- Jurassic National Monument: the BLM page for the spring 2027 reopening and quarry construction status.
- Utah Field House and Red Fleet: stateparks.utah.gov for hours and alerts; remember no listed Sunday hours at the Field House.
- Roads: udottraffic.utah.gov the morning you leave.
- Holidays: Thanksgiving Day closes the Prehistoric Museum, NHMU and the Museum of Ancient Life; the Prehistoric Museum is free the next day.
- Supplies: water, snacks and offline maps. Several of these sites have no water and spotty cell service.
For more trips sorted by distance, see our day trips from Provo guide.
Sources: National Park Service (Dinosaur National Monument fees, Quarry Exhibit Hall, directions, basic information and current conditions pages); Bureau of Land Management (Jurassic National Monument, Mill Canyon Dinosaur Bone and Track Interpretive Sites, Copper Ridge Dinosaur Tracks Interpretive Site, and a June 24, 2022 Mill Canyon news release); Utah State Parks (Utah Field House, Field House fees, Red Fleet State Park, park passes); USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum admission page; Thanksgiving Point Museum of Ancient Life; Natural History Museum of Utah hours and directions; St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm; UDOT Traffic. All checked Nov. 11, 2026. Drive times are OSRM routing estimates without traffic.
Related Guides
- Dinosaur Museums in Utah Valley - the Lehi and Provo museums in depth
- Vernal and Dinosaur National Monument from Provo - the Wall of Bones, Vernal and Red Fleet
- The Uinta Basin Loop from Provo - Price to Vernal by Indian Canyon
- Cleveland-Lloyd Quarry and the Mill Canyon Tracks from Provo - the Allosaurus weekend
- Utah's National Parks from Provo, Ranked - drive times and seasons for the Mighty 5
- Nine Mile Canyon, Helper and Price From Provo - the towns around the Prehistoric Museum
- Natural History Museum of Utah Guide - exhibits and tickets
- Moab from Provo - where to base a trackways weekend
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best dinosaur road trip from Provo?
Is Jurassic National Monument open in November 2026?
Is the Dinosaur National Monument Quarry Exhibit Hall open in winter?
How much does Dinosaur National Monument cost?
Does the America the Beautiful pass work at the dinosaur museums?
Which Utah dinosaur sites are free?
How far is the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site from Provo?
Can you do a dinosaur trip from Provo without an overnight?
Sources
The facts in this guide were checked against these sources. Hours, fees and rules change, so confirm anything time-sensitive with the source before you go. How we make Provo.com.
- Fees and Passes, Dinosaur National Monument, National Park Service. Checked November 11, 2026.
- Current Conditions, Dinosaur National Monument, National Park Service. Checked November 11, 2026.
- Quarry Exhibit Hall, National Park Service. Checked November 11, 2026.
- Directions, Dinosaur National Monument, National Park Service. Checked November 11, 2026.
- Basic Information, Dinosaur National Monument, National Park Service. Checked November 11, 2026.
- Jurassic National Monument, Bureau of Land Management. Checked November 11, 2026.
- Mill Canyon Dinosaur Bone and Track Interpretive Sites, Bureau of Land Management. Checked November 11, 2026.
- Copper Ridge Dinosaur Tracks Interpretive Site, Bureau of Land Management. Checked November 11, 2026.
- BLM seeks public input on Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite walkway replacement, Bureau of Land Management. Checked November 11, 2026.
- Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum, Utah State Parks. Checked November 11, 2026.
- Utah Field House Park Fees, Utah State Parks. Checked November 11, 2026.
- Red Fleet State Park, Utah State Parks. Checked November 11, 2026.
- Utah State Parks: Park Passes, Utah State Parks. Checked November 11, 2026.
- Utah Department of Transportation: UDOT Traffic, Utah Department of Transportation. Checked November 11, 2026.
- Prehistoric Museum Admission, Utah State University Eastern. Checked November 11, 2026.
- Hours, Admissions and Directions, Natural History Museum of Utah. Checked November 11, 2026.
- Museum of Ancient Life, Thanksgiving Point. Checked November 11, 2026.
- Visit the Museum, St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm. Checked November 11, 2026.
