Last updated: May 29, 2022
Place
Harpers Corner Trail Stop 5
NPS Photo/Conrad Provan
Quick Facts
Amenities
1 listed
Scenic View/Photo Spot
Echo Park, at the junction of the Green and Yampa Rivers, is not only the geographic heart of Dinosaur National Monument, but a key location in the area’s history. The ruggedness of the land limited exploration by routes other than by water. William H. Ashley, a trapper looking for beaver pelts, conducted the first recorded expedition down the Green River in 1825. In the weeks that it took his party to pass through these canyons, the rapids nearly wiped out his small, hide covered bullboats. Having survived the ordeal, Ashley and his men went on to explore other areas of the American West.
Nearly half a century passed before the Green River was seriously challenged again, this time by John Wesley Powell in 1869. Powell’s group lost a wooden boat in a rapid upstream from here, which they appropriately named Disaster Falls. Echo Park, where they listened to their voices bouncing off Steamboat Rock, was a welcome rest after days of battling white water. The party followed the Green to its junction with the Colorado River and continued on through the Grand Canyon. Echo Park, where Powell camped, remains a peaceful retreat.
Nearly half a century passed before the Green River was seriously challenged again, this time by John Wesley Powell in 1869. Powell’s group lost a wooden boat in a rapid upstream from here, which they appropriately named Disaster Falls. Echo Park, where they listened to their voices bouncing off Steamboat Rock, was a welcome rest after days of battling white water. The party followed the Green to its junction with the Colorado River and continued on through the Grand Canyon. Echo Park, where Powell camped, remains a peaceful retreat.