Written by Dr. Julia McHugh
Hiking is second nature to folks out here in western Colorado! From Grand Mesa to Devil’s Canyon, hitting the trails is always a fan favorite. Did you know that in addition to canyons and monuments, there are also trails for prehistoric wonders? The Museums of Western Colorado works to help interpret and maintain several Dinosaur Trails in the Grand Junction and Fruita areas. Some of these trails take hikers to historic dinosaur quarries, and some take you to where bone is still waiting to be discovered in the rocks.
Riggs Hill
The 1-mile Riggs Hill loop trail takes hikers on a walk back in time to the turn of the 20th century. Here, in 1900, the largest dinosaur then known to science was discovered by paleontologist Elmer Riggs and his field crew. Careful excavation in the hot summer sun revealed ribs 9 feet long, vertebrae the size of bowling balls, and arms longer than a man. This was the site where Brachiosaurus altithorax was first uncovered. Today, hikers can walk the trail to the quarry site and see replicas of the vertebrae mounted into the rocks where Riggs and his team excavated them for the Columbia Field Museum in Chicago.
Dinosaur Hill
The work of Elmer Riggs and his team from Chicago continued beyond Riggs Hill. In 1901, they returned to the Grand Valley to excavate a huge Apatosaurus excelsus skeleton from the southern flank of Dinosaur Hill. Today, hikers can enjoy the 1-mile loop interpretive trail that leads visitors to the historic 1901 quarry site, and to the top of the hill, giving 360-degree views of the valley. Shade shelters, picnic tables, a bathroom, and trail side interpretive signs guide the way on this prehistoric journey.
Fruita Paleo Area
Just west of Dinosaur Hill is another fantastic fossil trail – the Fruita Paleo Area. In the heart of the Fruita Front Country inside McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area, this 0.5-mile loop trail guides visitors through the grey badlands of the Jurassic. Here, fossils of dinosaurs, crocodiles, mammals, and other reptiles, some smaller than guinea pig were discovered by paleontologists Lance Eriksen (Museums of Western Colorado) and George Callison (California State University, Long Beach). This half square acre of rocky outcrop revealed whole a host of small animals living alongside the huge dinosaurs of the Jurassic, fossil species that have never been seen before and many named for the nearby City of Fruita, including Fruitadens haagarorum, Ceratosaurus magnicornis, Fruitafossor windscheffeli, Fruitachampsa callisoni, Diablophis gilmorei, and more. In 1977, this area was protected especially for its amazing fossils so that research and education could continue for generations to come.
Trail Through Time
If you’re looking to get a little further out of town, the Trail through Time in Rabbit Valley is a hike worth the trip. Turn north off Interstate 70 at Exit 2 to find the trailhead. This 1.5-mile loop through the painted badlands of the American West not only takes visitors passed an active dinosaur excavation site – the Mygatt-Moore Quarry – but also lets hikers get up close with real fossil skeletons of Camarasaurus and Diplodocus, which mark stops along the trail.
No matter which hike you pick, be sure to take plenty of water, sunscreen, and a hat as the desert can get hot in summer, and shade is hard to find. Before you go, or after you’re done, stop into the Dinosaur Journey Museum in Fruita, CO to learn more about the amazing dinosaurs and discoveries from right here on the Western Slope!