Cleveland – Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry | Friday, May 3, 2024
This weekend Diane and I headed up to Salt Lake City so we could attend a pair of concerts put on by Imminence & The Amity Affliction, which are a couple of our favorite bands that we’ve been looking forward to seeing. Of course, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get in a little hiking along the way to break up the drive to the big city, so we took a detour off the highway to spend a couple hours visiting the Cleveland – Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry at Jurassic National Monument, which is well known for containing the densest concentration of Jurassic dinosaur fossils ever found. Jurassic National Monument is a relatively new designation as it officially came into existence back in 2019 with the signing of the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, which also created a number of Wilderness Areas around the San Rafael Swell. I’ve been meaning to make my way over to this area for a long time, so I was glad to have finally made it!
Welcome to Jurassic Park…I mean Jurassic National Monument.
We arrived just as the park opened for the day and made our way over to the Quarry and hiking trails.
The Dinosaur Quarry Buildings
Inside the Quarry
After checking out the quarry we hiked the Rock Walk loop trail.
Jurassic National Monument Views
After completing the Rock Walk Trail we hiked up to Raptor Point.
Diane at Raptor Point
After enjoying the views from Raptor Point, Diane headed back down the trail while I quickly hiked out and back along the Rim Walk Trail so I could complete hiking all of the trails in the park today. There was a strong cold wind blowing the entire way and it was pretty chilly out when the sun was hidden behind the clouds, which it was for most of the hike.
It looked like it was snowing or raining over Huntington Canyon and the Wasatch Plateau to the west.
Views over the badlands of Jurassic National Monument from the Rim Walk.
Rim Walk Trail
Headed back down to the quarry.
I stopped to check out a few of the sights along the path on the way back to the Visitor Center.
After meeting back up with Diane we went for a walk through the Visitor Center, which contains a skeleton reconstruction of an adult Allosaurus, and then continued our drive to Salt Lake City.
This spot has been on my radar for decades but I haven’t been yet. Thanks for sharing!