Birthday Celebration: Flaming Gorge Dam


I had a monumental birthday on Sunday - the big 26! It was such a fun birthday to get to explore and play the entire weekend in Vernal. The best part of it was that my mom and twin sister drove out from Utah county to spend the weekend with me and Justin.

We did a lot of fun stuff: Beauty & the Beast movie night, hike to Moonshine Arch, dinner at 7-11 Ranch Restaurant, but one of the highlights was getting to see Flaming Gorge Dam while they had the spillway open!



Tours of the dam are totally free and last about an hour. A guide walks the group through the dam, giving you some good knowledge about the construction and purpose of the dam along with an amazing view!



The tour is easy (even for a pregnant lady) and pretty interesting. After looking down at the dam from the top, the guide leads the group to the bottom of the dam near the spillway. If you're lucky, the spillway might be open and you'll get to see water flowing out of the dam at 75 mph. The river is also full of trout and, if interested, you can purchase handfuls of food to throw to the fish. Even with the force of water spilling out of the dam, the trout were still very active when we went. 

After touring the dam, we continued on through the canyon, making a stop at Red Canyon for the amazing overlooks they have of Flaming Gorge and the Green River. 




If you ever find yourself near Vernal, a stop in Flaming Gorge is definitely a must! Justin and I will absolutely be coming back to Red Canyon and Skull Creek to camp once our little one arrives. For now it's just too hot and too rocky for camping. 

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