This
town at the northeastern corner of Utah sits on the high
desert just south of the eastern slopes of the Uinta
Mountains, North America's only east-west range. It's a
staging point for day and overnight trips to Flaming
Gorge (to the north) and the Dinosaur National Monument,
just east of town. Vernal is a half-day drive from Salt
Lake City and a little more than a half day's drive from
Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Vernal
has a fine little Dinosaur Museum of Natural History, at
235 East Main, concentrating on the dinosaur finds in the
area with displays of plant and animal life. The Dinosaur
Garden features 14 life size replicas of prehistoric
creatures. The town information center is in the museum
building. The Daughters of Utah Pioneer's Museum features
displays of pioneer artifacts and the history of
settlement in the area. It's open summers only from 1 PM
to 7 PM, at 5th Street West (at 2nd St. South).
What
to See & Do
The
major attractions in the area are Flaming
Gorge,
and the national recreation area of the same name, and
Dinosaur
National Monument.
Check our Destinations pages for details.
Red
Cloud Loop Tour
The
nearby mountains provide scenes for a fascinating day
trip. The High Uintas northwest of town provide great
opportunities for mountain recreation. A day trip through
the Uinta region nearest Vernal will take you to the old
Dry Fork Settlement which, in the early days of eastern
Utah, was a thriving town in the Ashley Valley. The tour
begins by taking Highway 44/191 (the route to Flaming
Gorge), north from downtown Vernal. As the road climbs to
Windy Point, there are good views of the Ashley
Valley and the red rock formations which are called
the "Red Fleet".
The
highway runs above the line of juniper trees and moves
into sage country. Just past the rim of Hole in the-Wall
Canyon, we turn left for the Red Cloud route. This is the
Ashley National Forest which contains hiking
trails, campsites and other sites. We keep left on the
gravel road, passing a road to East Park Reservoir
and pass the Iron Springs Campground. There is a good
hiking trail to Brush Creek Cave (1/2 mile off the road).
After passing Kaler Hollow Campground, there is a
junction. We continue on a straight line to Kaler Hollow,
Government Creek and a park. Oaks Park Reservoir
(via a hackroad) is a good fishing lake with camping and
a picnic area.
There
is a forest ranger station at Trout Creek (a trout
stream), and the loop route turns left passing the north
fork of Ashley Creek with fishing, picnicking and
camping. Leidy Peak (12,020 feet) is in view at
this point. At the 43.7 mile mark, we continue straight
with Lookout Point, a viewpoint overlooking
Brownie Canyon. The road descends into the canyon and
then follows Dry Fork Canyon with more camping and
picnic sites along the road. Past the site of the Dry
Fork Settlement, the drive continues to the left with a
turnoff to Sadie McConkie Ranch, where there are Indian
petroglyphs on the sandstone cliffs. There is a small
admission fee. After leaving the ranch, the road enters
the Ashley Valley again, passes Uintah County Park
(with picnicking) and returns to Vernal via the Maeser
Highway.
Camping
Campground
Dina
930 N. Vernal Ave., (435) 789-2148)
This campground has full hookups and a large number of
tent sites, with laundry, and dump station.
Fossil
Valley RV
(435 ) 789-6450
45 full hookups on West Highway 40, laundry, and dump
station.
