Dinosaur Valley State Park

It’s been 20 years since I last visited Dinosaur Valley State Park. I always visited during the summer to swim in the river and had never hiked any of the trails.

So, I grabbed my son and husband on a brisk 35 degree January morning and off we hiked.

My husband wanted to see the dinosaur tracks so he complained (jokingly) the entire time until the end when I took him to a set of tracks.

The video of our Dinosaur Valley State Park hike is posted below. I definitely suggest water shoes if you will be hiking in winter months (for crossing the river).

Once across the river we took Denio Trail to the Black-capped Vireo Trail, then split off on the Overlook Trail and took that to the Limestone Ledge Trail back to where it connects to the Black-capped Vireo Trail to make a loop.

If you take the Overlook Trail, it leads toan amazing view of the river below!

After our hike, we decided to go check out the dinosaur tracks at the Main Track Site. This is where Roland T. Bird made the world’s first discovery of a sauropod trackway. You will need to cross yet another river to get to them but you should do a better job of keeping your feet dry during this crossing, unless of course the river level is high. In that case, not only will you get your feet wet, but the tracks may be hard to see.

After exploring that area and getting some pictures we headed back to the car and made a pit stop at the Blue Hole before heading onto the Dinosaur Valley State Park Store.

Funny story, while checking out the park store I ran into my cousin who apparently works there! I had no idea!

Located near the park store are replicas of dinosaurs where most people stop to take pictures.

Video of our Hike at Dinosaur Valley State Park

More Information

If you are planning on visiting Dinosaur Valley State Park, make sure to get there early! The park closes at 5pm, but you can reserve a camping spot if you plan on staying longer (they usually fill up well in advance, so make sure to reserve your campsite well in advance before heading out.

Have you visited Dinosaur Valley State Park? Leave a comment below and let me know what you thought!