Dispersed Camping Near Dinosaur National Monument

Blue Mountain Road is a long road full of great options for dispersed camping near Dinosaur National Monument. Blue Mountain Road can be accessed from the 40 in Utah or from Harpers Canyon Road in the Colorado side of the monument.

While we were in the area, we experienced the top and bottom (or north and south, high and low) options for dispersed camping on Blue Mountain Road. They were very different experiences. So we’ll provide detailed information for both of these options.

free camping near dinosaur national monument

Upper Blue Mountain Road Option

Cost: Free

Ownership: BLM; 14 day limit

Directions: From Dinosaur, Colorado, follow Highway 40 east and turn left onto Harpers Corner Road. This is where you’ll find the Dinosaur National Monument Canyon Visitor Center. Continue on Harpers Corner Road for about 14.2 miles and turn left onto Blue Mountain Road. There is a dispersed camp spot there as well as others if you continue along Blue Mountain Road.

Solar: Great

Water: None

Miles From Town: About 13 miles from Dinosaur, Colorado and 47 miles from Vernal, Utah

Cell Service: Yes

Road Conditions: The road to Blue Mountain Road is paved but the dirt road do access the dispersed camp spots is in good condition. Be cautious though especially after a rain.

Camping near Dinosaur National Monument video

Our Experience: Upper Option – Camping On Blue Mountain Road

We began looking for dispersed camping near Dinosaur National Monument on the Colorado side. We drove to the monument entrance near Dinosaur, Colorado and followed the main road in. The road remained paved as it climbed. After about 3 miles, there is an area on the right where dispersed camping is allowed. We found the open spots to be too small for our 19 foot travel trailer so we continued climbing up further into the monument.

Before we reached Blue Mountain Road, there are numerous gates. It was difficult for us to tell if these were private or BLM but we now know several of these spots would have worked for dispersed camping near Dinosaur National Monument.

Eventually, we reached Blue Mountain Road on the left and turned on to the dirt road. Once we were over the cattle guard, a fellow camper stopped us and let us know that the majority of the reasonably close spots were all occupied. Grateful for the heads up, we took the first large turn out just over the cattle guard.

camping on blue mountain road in colorado

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This spot was pretty level with a fantastic view. And though it was close to the intersection of Blue Mountain Road and Harpers Corner Road, there was limited traffic and it was still peaceful. We had great service here and we were able to spot deer and pronghorn everyday!

looking for pronghorn while camping near dinosaur national park

When we were exploring the area, we found that there were some really great camp spots further down
Blue Mountain Road. These spots were further from the main road, had great views, and were among beautiful scenery. But they did seem to fill up quick and some did not have cell service if that’s important to you.

sunset camping by dinosaur national monument

Then the weather changed. We got rain, wind, snow, sleet and it seemed as though the cloud just hovered above us on the hilltop. Down below we could see the valley lit up by the sun and that’s when we decided we had had enough winter and headed back down to lower elevation. One other draw back of this spot was the distance from the sights and attractions we drove to this area to see. So down we went.

Lower Blue Mountain Road Option

Cost: Free

Ownership: BLM; 14 day limit

Directions: From Dinosaur, follow the 40 W for about 8 miles then turn right onto the well defined dirt road. There will be a sign for Blue Mountain Road but it’s also called Miner’s Draw Road. We took the first right turn onto another dirt road and found a great little spot. There are several spots to choose from.

Solar: Great

Water: None

Miles From Town: About 9 miles from Dinosaur and 26 miles from Vernal

Cell Service: Yes

Road Conditions: Blue Mountain Road/Miners Draw Road is a well maintained dirt road. The spur road that we turned onto had some big ruts and by the time we left there was a bit of mud as well. Scout ahead.

Our Experience: Lower Option – Camping On Blue Mountain Road

Back down to lower elevation, the weather was much warmer and the sun was shining. We noticed that once we crossed into Utah on the 40 W the opportunities for camping near Dinosaur National Monument were plentiful! There are numerous dirt roads branching off the highway to choose from.

After passing several, we finally turned right onto a dirt road and that’s when we noticed the sign for Blue Mountain Road. And we realized that we just turned onto the lower access point of the same road that we were camping on previously.

After turning onto Blue Mountain Road, we took the first right and followed the dirt road until we found a few dispersed camp spots back by a spine of rocks. We chose a cute little spot just before the ruts in the road got rougher.

This spot ended up being just what we were looking for. We had a vast view of the pretty landscape, cool rocks to play on, great weather, good cell service, more privacy and the location was more convenient for us. If it were later in the season, this camp spot would probably be unbearably hot though.

climbing the rocks by our camp spot near vernal

While we were in this spot, we were able to see prong horn, prairie dogs, lots of birds and some roaming
cows. There was also a small creek nearby.

rock scrambling while camping near dinosaur national park

Thanks for Reading About Camping near Dinosaur National Monument!

We hope this information about dispersed camping near Dinosaur National Monument was helpful. Sometimes it can be hard going to a new area and not knowing where to find dispersed camping. If you’re interested in reading about some other dispersed camp spots check out the links below:

And if you’re looking for some information about things to do in the area, check out these articles:

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