The Town of Rangely is located in northwest Colorado in western Rio Blanco County. The quality of living is high and the crime is low in this town of 2,500 people.
Colorado State Highway 64 runs through Rangely making easy access for travelers. In addition, state Highway 139 (south to the Grand Junction area) intersects with State Highway 64 one mile east of Rangely. In Rangely, 88 percent of workers commute, and Rangely features shorter commuting times than most similar places.
Rangely is located on a high-desert plateau at an elevation of 5,200 feet, and the White River provides fishing and canoeing opportunities and runs through the Town of Rangely in an east-to-west direction.
In 2000, the median family income was $48,438, and the community boasts a large number of college graduates in town.
About 68 percent of the homes in Rangely are occupied by their owners, and property taxes are low by Colorado standards.
Rangely is located 54 miles from Vernal, Utah; 90 miles north of Grand Junction, Colo.; 240 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah; 280 miles from Denver, Colo., and Las Vegas, Nev., is 600 miles away.
Rangely is on the Dinosaur Diamond National Scenic Byway. The 512-mile “diamond in the rough” loop encompasses parts of western Colorado and eastern Utah. Views of prehistoric plateaus, dinosaur quarries, petroglyphs and pictographs can be found in several places along the byway in western Colorado and eastern Utah.
Travelers may access both the canyon areas of Dinosaur National Monument near Dinosaur, Colo., and the Quarry area near Jensen, Utah as well as the Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. The Dinosaur Diamond National Scenic Byway actually goes through the Colorado National Monument near Fruita, Colo.
For more information, visit the Dinosaur Welcome Center in Dinosaur, Colo., or go to www.dinosaurdiamond.org for more things to see and do.
Rangely is only 20 miles from the canyon area visitor center of Dinosaur National Monument, famous for its dramatic canyon scenery and one of the world’s largest discoveries of Jurassic-age dinosaur fossils which the Monument was created to preserve.
The Dinosaur Quarry visitor center, which includes a 160 foot long wall displaying more than 1,600 dinosaur bones, has been closed indefinitely but a few fossils can still be seen by taking short hikes. World-class geology, white water rafting and hiking are a few of the many opportunities available in Dinosaur National Monument.
For more information, visit the Town of Rangely site.