Northeast Utah is an area of the state that I haven't spent much time exploring. The red rock canyons of southern Utah have been my preferred destination for weekend adventures, but I've always heard great things about Vernal, Utah and the surrounding Dinosaur and Flaming Gorge recreation areas. Roger and I were looking for a quick weekend adventure and decided to check out the Dry Fork Canyon near Vernal for some mountain biking and camping.
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| Dry Fork Canyon |
We arrived in beautiful Dry Fork Canyon after a three hour drive from Salt Lake City. We found numerous free camp sites in the lower half of the canyon and grabbed a spot before getting on our bikes and checking out the Flume Trail. The lower few miles of the Flume Trail were fantastic, and aside from a few obstacles at the lower end, the trail was in excellent condition for easy riding. Farther up the canyon the trial became sandy and very rocky in a few places. We decided to ride up the dirt road for a bit and ended up spotting a much more appealing camp spot in the upper region of the canyon. We descended back down the canyon and moved to the camp spot we saw on our ride.
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| Flume Trail - Dry Fork Canyon |
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| Flume Trail - Dry Fork Canyon |
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| Biking cooling off in Dry Fork |
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| Flume Trail - Dry Fork Canyon |
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| Dry Fork Canyon |
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| Flume Trail - Dry Fork Canyon |
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Flume Trail - Dry Fork Canyon
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I loved the camp site that we moved to for the evening. There were lots of green trees for shade and the flowing river next to the tent was relaxing to listen to while falling asleep. Good food, cool temperatures, and a nice campfire made for perfect car camping
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| Camping in Dry Fork Canyon |
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| Camping in Dry Fork Canyon |
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Camping in Dry Fork Canyon
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On Sunday we broke camp and made a quick visit to the Dry Fork Cemetery. It was interesting to see how unique each grave site was and think about the early settlement history of the area. On our way out of Dry Fork, we stopped at McConkie Ranch to see the famous petroglyph panels carved by the Fremont people between 1 and 1200 A.D. The site was very impressive and despite the fact that the panels are located on private property, the family at the McConkie Ranch has generously made this area open for everyone to view.
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| McConkie Ranch Petroglyphs |
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| McConkie Ranch Petroglyphs |
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| McConkie Ranch Petroglyphs |
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| McConkie Ranch Petroglyphs |
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| McConkie Ranch Petroglyphs |
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| Notes from visitors at the McConkie Ranch Petroglyphs |
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| McConkie Ranch Petroglyphs |
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McConkie Ranch Petroglyphs - The Three Kings
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Downtown Vernal was quite impressive for a small town in eastern Utah and definitely worth a future visit. There was a natural history museum that looked particular interesting on the main street. Before heading home, we stopped at McCoy Flats Mountain Bike Trail System to ride a few of the trails in the open desert. The trail system is excellent and I hope to return in cooler weather to ride some of the more challenging routes. The trailhead had a large covered picnic area and the trails we rode we smooth and easy to follow. One could easily spend an entire day riding all of the trails in the network, but the open desert environment makes for a hot riding in the summer.
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| Vernal, Utah |
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| Vernal, Utah |
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| McCoy Flats Mountain Bike Trail System |
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| McCoy Flats Mountain Bike Trail System |
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| Roger gets ready to ride at McCoy Flats Mountain Bike Trail System |
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| McCoy Flats Mountain Bike Complex |
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| McCoy Flats Mountain Bike Trail System |
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| McCoy Flats Mountain Bike Trail System |
