Journey through Time
The Harpers Corner Scenic Drive is a 31-mile (one-way) auto tour route from the Canyon Area Visitor Center to Harpers Corner. Guidebooks are available for a small fee at either visitor center, or at a self-service post just past the Canyon Area Visitor Center parking lot.
Dinosaur fossils are not located in this section of the park.
The route goes by colorful Plug Hat Butte, which contains a wheelchair-accessible trail and a picnic area. As the road continues to gain elevation, the scenery reflects the changing ecosystems. The last 12 miles include several striking viewpoints and overlooks, some as high as 2500 feet above the Green and Yampa rivers. Steamboat Rock hides the confluence of the two rivers from view at the Echo Park overlook. A one-mile (one-way) trail at the end of the route leads to a vista with nearly 300 degree views into Whirlpool, Lodore, and Yampa canyons.
Fuel, food, and other services are not available along this route. The nearest services are in Dinosaur, Colorado, two miles west of the Canyon Area Visitor Center on Highway 40. Harpers Corner Drive is closed at Plug Hat Butte on January 1 of each year, or when heavy snow falls. The road reopens in the spring when conditions allow.