The Yampa Bench Road offers amazing panoramic views in a beautiful and remote part of Colorado. The switchbacks and smooth red dirt straight-aways lead you to significant historical sites and stunning seclusion on the floor of the canyon at the confluence of the Green River and the Yampa River in Echo Park. Steamboat Rock, visible from the Echo Park Campground is the centerpiece of Dinosaur National Monument. Pictured left is the view from the Harding Hole Overlook (waypoint 11) a popular stop along the Yampa Bench Road. As you stand on the point of Harding Hole Overlook, you contemplate the time it took for the Yampa River to carve the landscape laid out before you. Listen as the canyon's resident swallows and swifts dive through the air overhead and the only other sounds you hear are the rapids, the breeze and a distant 'moooooo'.
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East Entrance: From the Town of Maybell, CO drive west for 23 miles on US HWY 40 and depart the highway to the right at the turn off for Elk Springs. Elk Springs is NOT a town and there are no services here. Your last chance to fill tank is in Maybell. Turn right on Moffat County Road 14 (CR 14, Bear Valley Road., and Deer Valley Road. are all one in the same - don't let the names confuse you).
West Entrance: From the Town of Dinosaur, CO drive east for 2.6 miles on US HWY 40 and turn left onto Harper's Corner Road. You'll see Dinosaur National Monument Canyon Visitor Center on your right as you turn onto Harper's Corner Road. Take Harper's Corner Road. north for 25 miles until you see a sign and information booth for the Echo Park Road. (Moffat County Road. 14N after you cross back in to Colorado). Take the Echo Park Road. for 7.5 miles and then turn right on to the Yampa Bench Road.
Drove this from West to East. The road was dry and dusty. No major issues to report along the route. Oh and the Mormon crickets are still out in force at this time.
Had to look this one up after we did it today. Came in from the nat'l monument, headed for Echo Park, and then on the way back said, "Well, it's a county road... let's see where it goes!" and turned left. Aside from having to watch our entry at the bottom of a few washes, the road was in great shape. The weather was perfect, but the hordes -- HORDES!! -- of Mormon crickets crawling everywhere and staining the pavement brown were a little unnerving. Driving the Forester with all-seasons on, no problems at all.
Crickets and mosquitoes! Drove the trail and took the southern exit through dinosaur . Really cool place to visit. One area (just after WP12) with serious mud, but it has since dried up. Could prove difficult if a lot of water comes down. The mosquitoes are terrible right now. Not sure I would camp at Echo Park, it’s pretty miserable. We ate lunch at the cave which seemed to be the only area safe.
I’ve been doing this trail yearly for 5 years and it definitely used to be easy. Right now it is so rutted up. You’ll be fine with a standard 4wd with good tires but it used to be so easy one year I saw a fwd Focus hatch out there. Just be warned if it has rained recently (like it’s been for months this year) the trail will be very muddy and rutted. I’d say it’s around a 3 now. There is one huge mud hole right before the touristy highway entrance avoiding most the trail that someone could easily be stuck in without cell service in a fairly remote area. Be prepared.
The road for the most part was in good shape. Expect a solid 3 hrs to complete it with no stops. Airing down is a good thing on this road. There are quite a few rocky and fairly deep in sandy areas. Most of the very steep sections are rocky and rutted a bit. There are some blind curves in very precarious places some be extra careful. We didn’t see any other vehicles. The reward at the end is worth it! Along the route, if you keep your eyes open you will find some nice dispersed camping spots before you get down into Echo Park.
Trail was in pretty good shape, there was some rutting due to rain that made a few parts a bit rough to travel down. Was near the cave and campground at dusk time and quite a few bats around. They like to sit on the trail, so watch out for them. Only saw 1 other vehicle on this trail from start to finish.
Fun road with lots of scenic views. It’s a bumpy road but there’s only a few rocky spots where you need to place your tires. We did find very deep “moon dust” for about a mile before Echo Park Road (about miles 39-41). A recent rain would make this very difficult going. When it’s dry it’s perfectly suitable for a stock suv or a Subaru.
We camped at Echo Park, very pretty at night.
Enjoyed the trail this weekend for a nice camping weekend at Echo Park Campground. Trail is easy but scenic if you take the time to enjoy the ride. Very few other travelers out there so the trail was mostly to ourselves. Definitely took the time at the overlooks and other scenic spots along the way. The campground was pretty busy with campers but we found a nice spot and enjoyed the evening cool temperatures. Taking the Harpers Point road out back to Hwy 40 is a nice drive and drop you out on to US 40 at the visitor's center. Worth the trip.
Traveled the road from the eastern entrance at Elk Springs to Echo Park. There are road signs now and then, but just be aware that the road changes names multiple times, although it's not difficult to keep on the main road. Check ahead of time to find out if there has been rain in the area as there are sections that would almost impassible if muddy. We drove our Subaru outback that day and had zero issues.
Great overlooks of the Yampa river and very little traffic. We probably saw less than half a dozen vehicles all day.
My son and I did from Harpers Corner Road down to Echo Park on July 17th. The trail has some quite steep and thrilling switchbacks coming off Harpers Corner Road! We absolutely loved this trail from top to bottom! The road drops a full 2500' down to the Yampa River. We met up with your trail at waypoint 13.
We had a great, yet hot, camping experience at Echo Park Campground. Only 2 other groups were camping that night. Thunder echoed off the cliffs for a couple hours in the early evening. The mosquitos were the worst there of our entire 3 weeks in Colorado.
We had no trouble in our stock Subaru Outback, however, I would not want to be on the lower portion of this road during a heavy rain! The road is right in the middle (sort of) a slot canyon. There are several creek crossings that could become treacherous.
The video below is a bit long, but we were very excited!
Did a complete loop around Dinosaur, starting at Rainbow Park campsite, going up through Crouse Canyon via old jeep road to Brown's Park, then over to Gates of Lodore before dropping into the east entrance to Yampa Road, and ending up at Echo Park.
While Yampa is easy and scenic, it is also long and bumpy. The highlights for me are Crouse Canyon and Gates of Lodore.
As others have mentioned, BUG SPRAY extremely important!!
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Todd is an avid wheeler who loves to explore new trails whenever and wherever possible. They say necessity is the mother of all invention, which is true for Todd. His want and desire to find passable trails and new nooks and crannies of the Great American west to explore were his reasons behind starting Trails Offroad. On any given day, you can find Todd on an obscure 4x4 trail, curating Trails Offroad guides, or using his legs to hike to an alpine lake.
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