A quarry was built on the site and it was designated a national monument in 1915. A year-round visitor center has been built over the quarry to protect the fossilized dinosaur bones and skeletons. Over 2,000 dinosaur bones are exposed in the sandstone wall. Many complete skeletons have also been recovered and are exhibited in museums throughout the nation. Visitors can watch paleontologists chip away the sandstone to expose the fossilized dinosaur bones.
Visitors can also see the preparation laboratory where dinosaur fossils are cleaned and preserved.
This is the most productive Jurassic Period dinosaur quarry in the world, providing more complete skeletons, skulls, and bones of dinosaurs than any other quarry. Dinosaur National Monument stretches east into Colorado. In both the Utah and Colorado portions there are mapped hikes through mountains, plateaus and deserts. Most of the established hiking trails in the monument are fairly short. Favorites include the Harpers Corner Trail, the Gates of Lodore Trail and the Red Rock Trail.