Dinosaur State Park

Dinosaur State Park is a museum in Rocky Hill, CT, part of the Mystic & the Connecticut Shore guide. Cost: under $25. Track casting area open May 1 through October 31.

400 West St · Rocky Hill, CT

Why you should go…

Dinosaur State Park protects early Jurassic dinosaur footprints that a bulldozer operator uncovered in 1966 while digging for a state laboratory. Inside the geodesic dome of the Exhibit Center you look down on some 500 tracks, alongside exhibits on dinosaurs, fossils, Connecticut geology and live animals. Outside, more than two miles of trails wind through swamp, forest and meadow, and an arboretum holds more than 250 species of Mesozoic-era plants. Bring your own plaster and you can cast a real footprint.

#dinosaur tracks
#state park
#fossils
#nature trails
#kids activities

What's around here?

The closest stops to Dinosaur State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

Theatre & Events
History Buff
Goodspeed Opera House
$50+
See a musical in an 1876 Victorian-style opera house on the bank of the Connecticut River in East Haddam.
17 mi awaySwitch it up: Theatre & Events
Sightseeing
History Buff
Gillette Castle State Park
Free
Tour actor William Gillette's fieldstone castle above the Connecticut River and hike the path of his miniature railroad.
20 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
Sport & Outdoor
Outdoor Adventure
The Adventure Park at Storrs
$50+
Treetop zipline and aerial ropes course with nine trails through the forest canopy near UConn.
24 mi awaySwitch it up: Sport & Outdoor
Museums
History Buff
Connecticut River Museum
Under $25
A maritime history museum on the Essex, CT waterfront with a working replica of the first combat submarine.
25 mi awayMore like this
Museums
Family Favorite
Yale Peabody Museum
Free
See a mounted Brontosaurus, the 110-foot Age of Reptiles mural and galleries on ancient civilizations at Yale's natural history museum.
27 mi awayMore like this
Museums
Free
Yale University Art Gallery
Free
See van Gogh's The Night Cafe and art from ancient to modern in a free university museum on Chapel Street.
28 mi awayMore like this