Skip to main content

2016 Summer Mountain Trip Part 18; Harper's Corner Drive to Dinosaur National Monument

By
Upon returning to Colorado via US Route 40 I continued eastward through Moffat County towards Dinosaur National Monument.  Access to the Colorado section of Dinosaur National Monument from US 40 is east of the town of Dinosaur via Harper's Corner Drive.


This blog serves as Part 18 of the 2016 Summer Mountain Trip, Part 17 can be found here:

2016 Summer Mountain Trip Part 17; US Route Route 191 over Flaming Gorge Dam

Harper's Corner Drive is a multi-state 32 mile long scenic Park Service roadway through Dinosaur National Monument connecting US 40 in Colorado to the Harper's Corner Trail above the Green River and Whirlpool Canyon.  Harper's Corner Drive begins at US 40 near Dinosaur in Moffat County at an approximate elevation of 6,000 feet above sea level.  I'm uncertain of the vintage of Harper's Corner Drive but it appears to have been built in the last quarter of the 20th Century.

Dinosaur National Monument is a National Park located in Uinta Mountains of Northwest Colorado and Northeast Utah.  A large swath of Dinosaur National Monument protects the canyon lands around the Green River and Yampa River confluence.  Dinosaur National Monument is mostly known for it's over 800 paleontological sites which includes notable dinosaurs fossils such as the Allosaurus.  Dinosaur National Monument was declared as 80 acre National Park in 1915 but was expanded to much of the current boundary by 1938. 

Harper's Corner Drive begins with a quick northward ascent to approximately 7,000 feet above sea level to an overlook of Plug Hat Butte.


Harper's Corner Drive swings westward at approximately 7,800 feet above sea level.  At the beginning of the westward swing there is an overlook of Sand Canyon and the confluence of the Green River and Yampa River.


West of the Canyon Overlook the route of Harper's Canyon Drive enters Uintah County, Utah.  As Harper's Canyon Drive takes a northward turn the roadway has an overlook the Yampa Plateu.


As Harper's Corner Drive begins an eastward swing back towards the Colorado State Line it has an overlook of Whirlpool Canyon and the Green River at approximately 7,560 feet above sea level.


Nearing the Colorado State Line Harper's Corner Drive has an view point called the Iron Springs Bench Overlook.   The Iron Springs Bench Overlook views an plateau area just south of the Yampa River.


Upon entering Colorado the eastward route of Harper's Corner Road overlooks Echo Park which is located at the confluence of the Green River and Yampa River.


Harper's Corner Drive dead-ends at the namesake bend in the Green River which is about 7,510 feet above sea level.


From the end of Harper's Corner Road I turned around and headed back towards US 40.  My overnight stay was over the Book Cliffs via CO 139 in Grand Junction.  

Part 19 of the 2016 Summer Mountain Trip Series can be found here:

2016 Summer Mountain Trip Series Part 19; CO 139 over Douglas Pass and the Book Cliffs
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

By
In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...
4 comments
Read more

Massena Center Suspension Bridge

By
The Massena Center Bridge, also known as the Holton D. Robinson Bridge, has had quite the tumultuous history. Situated on the Grasse River just east of Massena, New York in the hamlet of Massena Center, the Massena Center Bridge is a reminder of the efforts the community has made in order to connect over the river. The first and only other known bridge to be built at Massena Center was built in 1832, but that bridge was never long for this world. During the spring of 1833, the Grasse River dammed itself due to an ice dam, flooded and lifted the bridge off its foundation, destroying the bridge in the process.  The floods were frequent in the river during the spring, often backing up the river from Hogansburg and past Massena Center, but not to nearby Massena. After the first bridge disappeared, local residents had to resort to traveling seven miles west to Massena to cross the next closest bridge, and that was no easy task for a horse and buggy. However, it was many decades befo...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Dead Man's Curve of Interstate 90 and Innerbelt Freeway in Cleveland

By
"Dead Man's Curve" refers to the transition ramp Interstate 90 takes between Cleveland Memorial Shoreway onto the Innerbelt Freeway in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.  Said curve includes a sharp transition between the two freeways which is known for a high rate of accidents.  Currently the curve (not officially named) has a 35 MPH advisory speed and numerous safety features intended to mitigate crashes.  When the Interstate System was first conceived during 1956, Interstate 90 was intended to use the entirety Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and connect to the Northwest Freeway through Lakewood.  The Innerbelt Freeway was initially planned as the northernmost segment of Interstate 71.  The extension of Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of Edgewater Park was never constructed which led to Interstate 90 being routed through the Innerbelt Freeway.   Part 1; the history of Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway and Deadman's Curve The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signe...
Post a Comment
Read more