Our world-famous sites boasts more than 300 amazing dinosaur tracks, leading it to be ranked the #1 tracksite in the nation by paleontologists. It is also the location of the world’s first Stegosaurus discovery! Nearly a quarter of a million people visited us in 2018, helping us fulfill our mission goal of education and contribute to preservation of these unique sites.
The Dinosaur Ridge Trail is a paved section of West Alameda Parkway, which is open to pedestrians, bicyclists, and hikers, and closed to through traffic. The site is world-famous for our dinosaur tracks and bones and unique geologic features. The Trail has more than 15 fossil and geologic sites, each marked by interpretive signage, and can be accessed by foot, bike, or guided bus tour. To hike the Ridge Trail will take between one and two hours and is just over two miles round-trip on the paved road.
Construction of West Alameda Parkway was finished in 1937. The road cut into the Dakota Hogback uncovered new layers filled with fossils. Designated by the National Park Service as a National Natural Landmark and named by the State of Colorado as a Colorado Natural Area, Dinosaur Ridge welcomes approximately 200,000 people per year.
Key Sites
Our World-Famous Dinosaur Track Site
This site is world-famous for the number of clear tracks discovered (more than 300), the number of individual animals that left behind unique tracks (three distinct dinosaurs and one crocodilian), and the fact that we are less than a 30-minute drive from downtown Denver.
Crocodile Creek
The Crocodile Creek site is a unique frozen snapshot of a tidal channel habitat from 100 million years ago. The sloping edges of the channel can be seen from the trail, and in the main channel areas, there are many sandstone layers with the scratch impressions of crocodile swim tracks and several duck-billed dinosaur traces (ornithopod tracks).
Ripple Marks
Hundreds of ripple marks made by wave currents can be seen along the east side of Dinosaur Ridge. 100 million years ago this area was a coastal beach, and these ripples are great evidence of the vastly different climate in this part of Colorado.
Bones Bed
Dozens of Jurassic-aged dinosaur bones can be seen as dark, rusty-brown shapes in the tan sandstone layers. This site is famous as the location of the first Stegosaurus discovery, and Dinosaur Ridge itself is known for revealing some of Colorado’s first dinosaurs, including Apatosaurus and Allosaurus.
Brontosaur Bulges
Several strange downward-facing tracks can be seen uphill from the Bones Bed. Due to the tilted angle of the rock, visitors view these long-necked dinosaur tracks from the bottom and side of the impression rather than the top – something like a worm’s-eye view.
Mileage/Distances at Dinosaur Ridge
All mileage/distances are measured from our Main Visitor Gift Shop on the east side of Dinosaur Ridge. Please reverse these numbers if you are walking from our Discovery Center or the west gate.
| WALKING DISTANCES AT DINOSUAR RIDGE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance from Main Visitor Center Gift Shop (rounded to nearest .1 mile) | Distance from Main Visitor Center Gift Shop (rounded to nearest 0.1 km) | Distance from East Gate [Entrance to closed section of Alameda Pkwy] (rounded to nearest .1 mile) | Distance from East Gate [Entrance to closed section of Alameda Pkwy] (rounded to nearest 0.1 km) | |
| VC Gift Shop Building | 0 | 0 | -0.03 | -0.4 |
| Exit to Alameda | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 | -0.1 |
| East Gate | 0.3 | 0.4 | N/A | N/A |
| Track Site | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| East Overlook | 1 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
| West Overlook | 1.1 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 1.3 |
| Brontosaur Bulges | 1.2 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 1.5 |
| Bones Bed | 1.3 | 2 | 1 | 1.6 |
| West Gate | 1.4 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 1.8 |
| DC Gift Shop Building | 1.5 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 2 |
