Castle Country

Castle Country covers the central-eastern stretch of Utah between the Wasatch Plateau and the Book Cliffs, the high desert and coal-country country running along Highway 6 between Salt Lake City and the canyon country to the southeast. The terrain is dominated by the dramatic Book Cliffs and the eroded sandstone formations that gave the region its name, with the Price River and the upper San Rafael Swell cutting through the south. Carbon and Emery counties cover the region. Carbon holds Price (the largest city, with the College of Eastern Utah’s Prehistoric Museum and an extensive coal-mining heritage), Helper, and Wellington; Emery holds Castle Dale (the county seat) and Green River. The San Rafael Swell, Goblin Valley State Park, the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry (one of the densest concentrations of Jurassic-era dinosaur fossils in the world), and the Wedge Overlook (Utah’s Little Grand Canyon) anchor the major attractions. Most trips here run dinosaur-and-back-road focused. The Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry and the Prehistoric Museum draw paleontology visitors; Goblin Valley pulls hikers and stargazers; the San Rafael Swell carries serious off-road and four-wheel-drive enthusiasts; Helper’s preserved 19th-century mining-town downtown anchors the cultural side.