activities
learn
Looking to learn about the region, its history, prehistory and people? The museums peppered in and around the Swell give you the chance to learn about the last 100 million years and more!
To learn more about the prehistory of the region, head out to the Cleveland-Lloyd dinosaur quarry. At the visitor’s center you will learn about the world’s largest concentration of Jurassic-aged dinosaur bones. Learn about how the 12,000 bones here helped paleontologists learn more about the world in which these impressive creatures lived.
museums
John Wesley Powell RIver History Museum
This museum, located on the Eastern bank of the wold Green River, pays special tribute to Major John Wesley Powell. Inside you will find exhibits about other early explorers, mountain men, river runners, and much, much more. Art buffs will enjoy visiting the large art…
Museum of the San Rafael
A visit to the Museum of the San Rafael is a journey through the past: learn about dinosaur fossils and see Native American artifacts discovered in the region, and learn about local settlers and industry in the area. Located in Castle Dale, this museum tells the story of the County and features visitor information
Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry
Visit the site of the densest concentration of Jurassic-aged dinosaur bones ever found. More than 12,000 bones from at least 74 individual prehistoric animals have been excavated here. See replicas of a dinosaur skeleton and dinosaur skulls, explore hands-on exhibits, and visit an excavation pit.
O’ville Pioneer Village
O’ville is a collection of eight pioneer cabins that have been rescued and preserved to help tell the history of the region. The cabins, which were brought to the village from surrounding towns and cities, tell the stories of the pioneers who worked the land and built the communities that make up the county. Protection…
Site with Interpretive panels
Huntington Canyon
Huntington Canyon is a heavily wooded canyon in the Manti-La Sal National Forest. A pleasant 30-mile drive up the canyon via Utah State Route 31 is part of the state designated Huntington-Eccles Scenic Byway, also known as the Energy Loop Scenic Byway. Featuring sheer pock-marked canyon walls, the forest offers campgrounds, hiking, biking, horseback riding…
Rochester Panel
1/2 Mile // About 1 hour
The Rochester Rock Art Panel dates back to at least 1300 AD and is one of the best examples of rock art from the Fremont Culture, a culture that included a wide range of ancient hunter-gatherer groups. The panel is at the end of a well marked, easy hike along a branch of Muddy Creek.…
Sego Canyon
Sego Canyon, named after a lily native to the region, contains rock art from three different Native American cultures and a well-preserved ghost town. Visitors can get a rare view of both petroglyphs and pictographs created by peoples of the Barrier Canyon, Fremont, and Ute Indian Cultures, spanning some 10,000 years of history. In the…
Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands National Park is a dramatic wilderness of canyons and buttes carved over millennia by the Colorado River. The colorful sandstone spires that form The Needles are among the park’s most famous landmarks. Canyonlands may be explored on foot, horseback, mountain bike, or four-wheel drive.
Swasey’s Cabin
Swasey’s Cabin is a landmark built by some of the first settlers to the area and is listed on the National Historic Register. The Swasey family arrived in the Swell and raised livestock and wrangled horses here in the late 1800s. Before they built this cabin in 1921, the Swasey brothers slept out in the…
Arches National Park
Arches National Park features over 2,000 natural sandstone arches that more than 1 million visitors come from far and wide to see each year. Vibrant colors make these fragile geological formations a sight to see in the desert. Within the park’s more than 75,000 acres, you will find a myriad of other strange…