The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Price Field Office announces the 2016 season opening of the Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry on March 24. The Quarry will be open this spring season Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is a $5 per adult fee for admission to the site to help cover a portion of the operating costs. The restrooms, buildings, and path to the covered quarry are wheelchair-accessible.
The Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry contains the greatest accumulation of Jurassic dinosaur bones in the world. Since the 1920s, paleontologists have collected and studied more than 12,000 fossil bones at the quarry to untangle the jumble of skeletons and discover the story of the 70 or more dinosaurs that lived and died here 145 million years ago. An Allosaurus skeleton watches over the visitor center and educational displays. Visitors can also view a protected part of the quarry, hike self-guided trails, picnic, and enjoy the towering rock outcrops and vast open landscapes. The Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry opened in 1966 as BLM’s first Visitor Center. Renovations completed in 2006 include solar panels, use of local materials, and high efficiency lighting and cooling, using principles of green design and sustainable building practices.
To get to the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry from Price, drive south about 12 miles on State Highway 10. Turn left onto State Highway 155, and follow the signs to Elmo for 5–6 miles. Just east of Elmo, turn right onto a graded dirt road and follow the signs 12 miles through the Desert Lake Waterfowl Reserve and on to the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry. Maps are available at the BLM office in Price. The road to the quarry is well marked, but there are a number of turns on the dirt road leading to the visitor center.
For a fun, but safe adventure, it’s always a good idea to make sure you have maps, water, food, proper clothing and let someone know where you are going when visiting the deserts of southern Utah.
This season we have a couple of new faces, recently degreed paleontologists from across the country who will be on site to greet you, answer questions, and show you around. Stop in and say “hello.”
For additional information about the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, please contact the BLM Price Field Office (435) 636-3600. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question for the above office. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.