The Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway forms a diamond-shaped loop with vertices at Moab, Helper, Vernal, and Grand Junction. There are 2 main sections as shown below and passes through several notable sites.

• The 328-mile Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway in Carbon, Duchesne, Emery, and Grand counties, Utah; and
• The 134-mile Dinosaur Diamond National Scenic Byway in Garfield, Mesa, Moffat, and Rio Blanco counties, Colorado.

Length	486 Miles
Number of States	2 – Colorado and Utah
Astronomy Sites	8

Astronomy Sites

There are a plethora of sites in this area and in the surrounding areas. The following are a selection of the astronomy sites in the Prehistoric Highway.

Dinosaur National Monument

Dinosaur National Monument is one of the darkest places remaining in the United States. Because there is little light pollution here, you can see the stars of our Milky Way galaxy with startling clarity. Much of Dinosaur National Monument provides prime places to view the night sky with either the naked eye or through the use of telescopes and binoculars. The monument has a designated spot where we hold our night sky programs near the Split Mountain Campground.

Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands National Park has 337,598 acres of amazing outdoor activities! The site is a great place for astronomy as it is far away from city lights.

Arches National Park

With more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches across the 76,680 acres of high desert located on the Colorado Plateau, Arches National Park is a place that has a plethora of outdoor activities during the days and nights. Approved recreational activities include auto touring, hiking, bicycling, camping at the Devils Garden campground, backpacking, canyoneering, and rock climbing, with permits required for the last three activities. Because of its distance from cities and light pollution, plus dark skies, astronomy is a popular activity.

Colorado National Monument

Sheer-walled canyons cut deep into sandstone and granite–gneiss–schist rock formations. This is an area of desert land high on the Colorado Plateau, with pinyon and juniper forests on the plateau. The park has a plethora of wildlife for visitors to view, including red-tailed hawks, golden eagles, ravens, jays, desert bighorn sheep, and coyotes. Fun outdoor activities include hiking, horseback riding, road bicycling, and scenic drives; a visitor center on the west side contains a natural history museum and gift shop. The size is 20,533 acres in size, which provides a lot of opportunities for astronomy as well with the areas being away from the light pollution.

Ashley National Forest

The Ashley National Forest encompasses about 1.4 million acres in northeastern Utah and southwestern Wyoming. With so many areas and opportunities for outdoor actives, the forest is a great place for you to find your astronomy paradise away from people and lights.

Natural Bridges National Monument

Due to its remote location, Natural Bridges preserves a primordial dark sky largely unaltered by modernity. The National Park Service wants to keep it that way. To that end, here at the monument, we only use artificial lighting necessary for safety. Motion detectors limit the light needed within restrooms and other areas in the park. All outdoor lighting devices use low-energy, low-impact bulbs with shields that direct light to the ground where it is needed. On March 6, 2007, the International Dark-Sky Association certified Natural Bridges National Monument as the first International Dark Sky Park. Natural Bridges trails are open day and night. Stargazing and exploring the night sky is allowed virtually anywhere in the park. No bridges or ruins will be visible from the campground or parking lots. Rangers present stargazing programs in spring and summer.

McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area

Located in the high desert canyon country of western Colorado and eastern Utah, McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area consists of approximately 123,739 acres of BLM-administered land near Grand Junction, Colorado. Originally known as Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area, the NCA was established by Public Law 106–353 on October 24, 2000, and was renamed in honor of Representative Scott McInnis by Public Law 108–400 on January 1, 2005. Although originally designed for grazing, which is still ongoing, there are a plethora of outdoor activities for visitors. At night, this area is a wonderful place for stargazing as a result of its distance from light pollution, there are a plethora of stargazing opportunities to be found and discovered here.

Steinaker State Park

Located at an elevation of 5,500 feet in northeastern Utah, south of the Uinta Mountains the climate is arid with hot summers and cold winters. Steinaker is popular for swimming, fishing, boating, and waterskiing. The state park received its International Dark Sky Association Dark Sky Park designation in 2018 and is an absolutely fabulous place to do astronomy.

Close Areas

Some areas that are close include the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area (40 or so miles off the highway in each direction) , Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area, and 100 miles from Arches –Goblin Valley State Park. There are a plethora of opportunities in the surrounding ares as well.

Camping/Lodging

Although there are places to stay in the cities that the highway passes through such as Price, we will focus here on a few of the camping options on location provided above.

Dinosaur National Monument

With six different campgrounds located around the monument and over 120 sites to choose from, options are plentiful. Three campgrounds are located on the Utah side of the monument (Green River is the shortest distance from the Dinosaur Quarry) and the other three are on the Colorado side. Prices for each campground vary with the seasons and availability of water. Check postings at each campground or contact the visitor center for more information.

Canyonlands National Park

Developed campgrounds at Island in the Sky and The Needles are open year-round. Sites at Island in the Sky are first-come, first-served. Some sites at The Needles are available for reservation. During spring and fall, the campgrounds usually fill early.

Arches National Park

Devils Garden Campground is the only campground at Arches National Park. You can reserve campsites for nights between March 1 and October 31. During this busy season, the campground is usually full every night. If you’re arriving at Arches without a reservation, you’ll probably have to look for a campsite outside the park. Between November and February, campsites are first-come, first-served.

Colorado National Monument

Saddlehorn Campground is located near the Saddlehorn Visitor Center, four miles from the west entrance, and is the only established campground within the Monument. Free backcountry camping permits are available for people planning overnight backcountry trips. Please note that overnighting in overlooks, picnic areas and other pull-offs is not permitted.

Ashley National Forest

The Ashley National Forest provides many opportunities for developed campgrounds and dispersed camping. This includes campground spots, cabins, dispersed, and group camping. For more information, please see their website, but there are a plethora of opportunities for what you want.

Natural Bridges National Monument

Camp in solitude among the juniper trees at Natural Bridges campground. The campground is conveniently located next to the visitor center off the main park road. Campsites are first-come, first-served and open year-round. Each site has a fire grill, picnic table, and tent pad, but no running water, electricity, or hookups.

McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area

There are two developed campgrounds within the NCA as well as opportunities for dispersed camping. The front country and Mack ridge zones are managed as day use only areas.

Steinaker State Park

The park has a total of 31 sites available for reservation, which includes many opportunities for RV and Tent campers.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and make sure to view our other unique astronomy roadtrips such as this one for more places to view astronomy when on a roadtrip.