Dinosaur Diamond
Length: 134 miles (486 miles total CO/UT)
Driving time: two to three days
Some of the world's most significant dinosaur fossil quarries and museums are clustered along this route, in the midst of a forbidding but stunningly beautiful landscape. The earth, fractured and stained, coughs up a rare collection of treasures. Ancient stone rises to the surface after eons underground; skeletons buried 100 million years ago now bleach in the desert sun. The byway traverses high mountains and barren plateaus, with stops at two national parks, two national monuments, and two great rivers of the West(the Colorado and Green). This dramatic maze of rocks and bones defies the imagination.
Dinosaur Diamond was designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation as a National Scenic Byway in 2002. It is one of 13 America's Byways® designated in Colorado.
Features
- Colorado National Monument
- Dinosaur Diamond Colorado/Utah Prehistoric Byway
- Dinosaur National Monument
- Dinosaur Journey Museum
- Dinosaur Diamond Scenic Byway, Utah
- Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area
- James M. Robb Colorado River State Park
- Highline Lake State Park
- McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area
- Canyon Pintado National Historic District
Local Chamber(s) of Commerce
Byways Corridor Management Plan
- Dinosaur Diamond National Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan
- Dinosaur Diamond National Designation
- The Dinosaur Diamond Framework for Wayshowing
- Dinosaur Diamond Historic Highway Corridor Management Plan 2016
Special Considerations
- Limited services on some stretches
