Dinosaur National Monument: Jones Hole

The Jones Hole trail is an absolutely incredible trail that follows the spring fed Jones Creek down at the bottom of a deep red rock canyon. It is fairly flat so it is pretty easy to do. You have several options to do as little or as much as you like. You can do an 8 ish mile round trip all the way down to Jones Hole where Jones Creek meets the Green River, 3 out and back miles to some incredible pictographs, or about 5.4 miles out and back to Ely Creek Falls. We did the last 2 options.

It technically starts outside the borders of Dinosaur National Monument, but the trail does cross into it. However, I don’t think you need to purchase the area use fee to use this trail. From Vernal, it take about an hour to get here, so plan accordingly.

Jones Creek

Deluge Shelter Pictographs

Ely Creek Falls

Quick Details:

Length: 4 – 9 Miles out and back depending on what you want to do.
Difficulty: DR3 very gradual, and minimal elevation loss.
Elevation Gain: 200 Ft on the return trip.
Restroom: Currently there are 2 porta-pottys at the fish hatchery just before the trailhead.
Dogs? No. They are not allowed on this trail
Other Info: Remember you are in the desert. Bring plenty of water and dress appropriately.

To Get Here:

From Vernal Head north on S Vernal Ave toward W Main St, Turn right onto 500 N St for about 3.0 mi then Continue straight onto Diamond Mountain Rd for 5.8 mi Continue onto Brush Creek Rd 1.1 mi Continue onto Diamond Mountain Rd 12.5 mi Continue onto Jones Hole Rd 16.9 mi.

The road is completely paved and not too bad most of the way, but the last 7-10 miles have a steep 10% grade and is a little eep worthy. We’ve done worse, but wow. It’s also the prettiest segment, so just go slow and enjoy the ride and you’ll be fine.

Diamond Mountain Road (DBP) it’s kind of.. bleh.

On top of the plateau (DBP). Some parts of the road could use a little repair work. Also, hoping we don’t get rained on too much. Weather said cloudy, not rainy but…

Starting to hit some red rocks (DBP).

And nearing the canyon. This last bit is a bit of a doozy (DBP).

However it is starting to get very pretty (DBP).

Another good reason to take it easy on this road is there are a lot of deer (DBP).

Pretty canyon (DBP).

And we’re here! (DBP).

The Trail:

You want to stay on the north side of the fish hatchery and head down towards the canyon. They were doing some construction so it wasn’t immediately obvious which way we should go. Luckily the workers saw our apparent confusion, stopped their machinery and pointed us right through their dig site. Thanks guys!

The fish hatchery. The trail skirts around it at the beginning.

The cliffs above.

Reaching the actual trailhead. I think it was about a 2/10’s of a mile or so to get here.

Jones Creek. Starting off absolutely beautiful, that is always a good sign. Little speckles of fall color too.

Loving this trail.

Cliffs above.

Or.. is this the trailhead? Now I am not sure where the mileage begins on this trail, but this was another 2/10’s of a mile or so. Actually, now that I think about it, this must be where the trail crosses into Dinosaur National Monument.

I didn’t get a picture of the more informative sign, but this trail is prone to rock falls. It mentioned if you hear loud cracking to evacuate the area immediately.

The cliffs again. It is incredible down here.

Signs of a recent rock fall.

And you can even see where it fell from. Yikes!

Random little rock stairway.

Wow! Just incredible!

The creek below the cliffs.

Short muddy, marshy section.

The weird juxtaposition of a lush green valley beneath towering sandstone cliffs is just amazing.

I love these purple flowers.

The cliff walls.

Getting into the tighter canyon.

I love the cliffs above.

Neither of us can recall ever hiking through a juniper forest before now.

Itty bitty window next to that pinnacle.

Sharp turn in the deep canyon.

Panoramic.

Dry waterfall.

Jones Creek again.

Little cascade.

So pretty.

And curving around the other way.

Looking back at the previous curve.

The creek again.

With the high canyon walls.

Deep canyon.

The bridge over the creek. The maps at the trailhead seemed to indicate the pictographs are not far beyond this.

The creek from the bridge.

And the other side.

The amazing cliffs again.

Looking back at the bridge.

This is one of the most amazing hikes we have ever done! It is just incredible down here.

Side trail up to the pictographs.

Yes! We have found the Deluge Shelter Pictographs. 1.5 miles already? That was easy.

The pretty purple flowers.

Kind of faint, but still neat.

Still really faint but another cool one.

Oh boy, here comes some more rain.

There are several panels to view, and the trail goes in and out. Be sure to return to the cliff anytime a trail presents itself.

Some squiggles.

The valley below. We almost missed this last trail back in, I am glad we didn’t.

Whoa! Now this is a cool panel.

This one is incredible. It would seem the big horn sheep have been seen here for a very, very long time.

Another good one.

The full panel. I read somewhere that one of the theories is this might represent casting a net over the river, which seems pretty logical.

Some faint animals.

A couple petroglyphs here as well. In case you are not aware, pictographs are painted on, petroglyphs are carved in. Native American rock art covers both formats.

More.

It’s weird, but I swear the images just get better and better as we progress down the trail.

It’s a little damaged, but I like this one. This one looks more like 3 kings than The 3 Kings Trail panel. However, I mean they are not far apart so they could be related?

And zooming out, it appears there is a basket in the creek?

Informative sign.They think the Freemont Indians used this area as a shelter 800 - 1400 years ago. The pictographs are so well preserved due to the rock overhangs that limit rain and sunlight deteriorating them.

Also a quick reminder to not touch them in anyway. The oils on our skin can damage them. Do not trace or rub them, as the sandstone is very fragile. Do your part to preserve this history. Look, take pictures, but do not touch.

This might be an area that they took shelter in.

I am starting to think the zigzags represent water.

This is an incredible site. So many pictographs to observe and try to understand, and learn from.

Where the side trail comes out, in case you decide to visit from the other direction.

Back on the main trail. The rain seems to have let up for a minute. That was good timing, we had the protection of the cliffs above Deluge Shelter and didn’t get too wet while we were observing the pictographs.

I am just absolutely in love with this trail.

Starting to open up a bit.

Beautiful meadow.

Not much further and we reached the trail split for Ely Creek Falls. Since that was our intended destination we went that way.

This trail is a little thinner, and sandier.

Pretty side canyon.

Cool giant monolith.

The trail has been worn deep into the sand at some spots.

Pretty canyon walls.

More stone steps.

Looking back out of the canyon.

Cool little sandstone alcove.

Before long we reached the waterfall. It’s not particularly big, but it is pretty.

From the bottom.

The other side.

Looking downstream.

With a little bit of the creek.

Some of the water appears to be coming out from below the rock.

We decided to climb up above. There are almost perfect steps that made it not such a challenge.

Another shot.

Oh wow, the creek has dug a little channel into the stone. Kind of reminds me of a spot on the Little Cottonwood Canyon Trail.

Now one of the reviews I read makes a lot more sense. They referred to this waterfall as “Butt-Dam Falls” basically, one person waits below, while another dams the creek with their butt, and then gets up to give the person below a good shower. Probably awesome on a hot day.

The waterfall from above.

Tiny waterfall above.

Pretty view above.

Weird pocked rock.

Flowers.

Looking down canyon again. I found a couple caves across the way.

The waterfall again.

Flowers next to the waterfall.

And some more.

Pretty flowers.

Well, we had our fun but decided to head on back.

Square alcove.

Log looks like a happy dinosaur.

The little cave again.

Another ephemeral waterfall.

More flowers.

Getting down to the main canyon.

Lovely view here.

The cave again.

Ely Creek again.

Jones Creek and the cave.

Pretty flowers.

Back to the trail split. I am absolutely kicking myself for not taking the trail the last 2 miles down to the Green River. I think we would have enjoyed it more than what we ended up doing. But after getting rained on, and with it looking like more coming we decided to head back. But, maybe next time.

It is so pretty down here.

Little side canyon.

Sage brush.

I swear I identified these weird plants at some point but can’t remember what it is. I do remember it is after the flower has bloomed.

The cliffs again.

I am not 100% sure, but pretty confidant these are fossils here. Side note: Remember it is illegal to try to collect any fossils within the park.

This cliff is a good example of the different layers of history.

Looks like more rain coming.

Back to the bridge.

View from the bridge.

Bridge over the creek.

Green and red.

The creek again.

With the high cliff walls.

So pretty.

Panoramic of the cliffs.

The creek again.

Another example of a rock fall.

The cliffs again.

Back to the juniper forest.

Another example of a rock fall.

Pretty cliffs.

Looking back at the curve.

You can see the recent rock fall from here.

A little better.

I am pretty sure this boulder came down from up there.

The creek again.

Super pretty.

I like this one.

Aww, that is super sweet.

Back to the fish hatchery.

Overflow?

One last view of the cliffs.

Now we just have to climb back out of this canyon (DBP).

More deer (DBP).

Eeep! (DBP).

Low clouds (DBP).

After climbing back up the canyon the plateau is kind of a relief.

Cows (DBP).

Steinaker Reservoir and Red Fleet Reservoir (I think). (DBP).

The valley below.

The little eep moment going back down towards Vernal (DBP).

Steinaker and Red Fleet Reservoirs again (DBP).

Well, that was probably one of the most incredible trails we have done in Utah. It was absolutely phenomenal! I am really happy that we made our way out that way. We didn’t see any of the big horned sheep that frequent the area, which was a little disappointing, but it was really pretty and great. We only ran in to 1 other group on the way back which kind of crossed the threshold of having the trail to ourselves, vs. feeling absolutely isolated, but we were fine so not a big deal. I kind of want to give it 12 squirrels, but definitely a solid 10 out of 10 squirrels, and I absolutely foresee a return trip at some point.

As for difficulty, the trail is marked as moderate? And maybe on a hot day it would be, but I found this to be one of the easiest trails we have ever done at this length. Very little elevation gain, no tough parts. DR3.

Dogs are not allowed on this trail.