Dinosaur Ridge
Dinosaur Ridge is a fun and fascinating outdoor place for kids of all ages to explore 20-minutes west of Denver near Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre
Walking/bicycling is free and available from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset every day.
How to Experience the Park
Self-guided Walk Self-guided walks are a great way to experience both Dinosaur Ridge and Triceratops Trail on your own schedule. Trails are open daily from sunrise to sunset. Free parking is available at the Main Visitor Center at 16831 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison, CO 80465
The Dinosaur Ridge Trail features over 15 interpretive stops highlighting fossils, geologic formations, and dinosaur tracks.
Triceratops Trail in Golden offers six unique interpretive sites to explore in a shorter, urban setting.
Guided Bus Tours Our 45-minute guided tour aboard a 12–14 passenger bus is the most popular way to experience Dinosaur Ridge. You’ll enjoy a personalized experience, including access to our Exhibit Hall, as our knowledgeable guides interpret the area’s dinosaur tracks, bone fossils, geology, and local history. They’re happy to answer questions and tailor the tour to your group’s interests. Learn more >
Walk With a Geologist A 2.5-hour (1.5 mile) guided walk across Dinosaur Ridge led by a professional or highly knowledgeable amateur geologist. In addition to the interpretation of the dinosaur track and fossil sites, the tour includes an in-depth discussion of the geology and changes to the Denver area through time. Designed for participants ages 16 and older. Learn more >
Walking Tour of Dinosaur Ridge A guided tour across Dinosaur Ridge with a highly trained guide. You’ll explore the dinosaur tracks and bone fossils, local history, and geology of Dino Ridge during this 1.5-mile walk on a paved trail. A shuttle bus takes your small group from the Visitor Center to the starting point and you walk back with many stops along the way. Designed for ages 10 and older. Learn more >
Paleo Climate Walking Tour Colorado’s paleo past was vastly different than what you see before you today. Today it is dominated by mountains and foothills, but its past had varying shades of climate and environmental change. From semi-arid deserts to swampy rivers and palm forests, white-capped sand dunes to wave rippled beaches. Now you can dive deep into this ancient world with our exciting 2-hour Dinosaur Ridge paleoenvironment and paleoclimatology walking tour. Learn more >
Audio Tours Experience Dinosaur Ridge and Triceratops Trail from your mobile device with versions for teens and adults and for younger families, in English and Spanish. Learn more >
Programs and Events Dinosaur Ridge offers on-site and vurtual programs and events for all ages and abilities. Learn more >
Hours of Operation
Winter Hours | November 1 – March 14 Main Visitor Center - Daily 9am-4pm
Exhibit Hall - Daily 9am-4pm
Martin G. Lockley Discovery Center - Temporarily Closed for Remodel
Guided Bus Tours - Daily 9:30am-3pm
Walking Tours - Saturday & Sunday - By Reservation
Spring – Fall | March 15 – October 31 Main Visitor Center - Daily 9am-5pm
Exhibit Hall - Daily 9am-5pm
Martin G. Lockley Discovery Center - Temporarily Closed for Remodel
Guided Bus Tours - Daily 9:30am-4pm
Walking Tours - Saturday & Sunday - By Reservation
When You Arrive
- Parking at the Main Visitor Center is free (additional free parking located at the east and west gates of Dinosaur Ridge)
- Buy tickets inside the Gift Shop (EBT/SNAP/WIC) Cardholders receive discount tour pricing)
- Shaded Picnic tables are available first-come-first-served
- Restrooms are located in the Visitor Center parking lot
Check out this 360º Virtual Tour of Dinosaur Ridge
History of the Site
For centuries, Indigenous peoples lived and traveled across what is now Colorado’s Front Range, including the long hogback we call Dinosaur Ridge. Members of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe hunted and gathered in this area, and likely encountered fossils of ancient plants and animals long before scientists recognized them.
In 1876, Arthur Lakes, a professor at Jarvis Hall and eventually at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, discovered many fossils on the west side of the Ridge. He sent them to paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh at Yale, who named several famous dinosaurs from these remains, including Apatosaurus, Stegosaurus (Colorado’s State Fossil), Diplosaurus (a small crocodilian), and Atlantosaurus. These animals lived about 150 million years ago during the Late Jurassic, also known as the “Age of Giants.”
Later, in 1937, road construction exposed the first dinosaur tracks on the east side of Dinosaur Ridge in 100-million-year-old rocks of the Dakota Group. Ongoing research shows that our Main Tracksite is only a small part of a much larger network of track-bearing rock layers of this time stretching from Boulder to northern New Mexico. Because these rocks formed along an ancient shoreline crowded with dinosaurs and crocodiles, scientists call this the “Dinosaur Freeway.”