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SALT LAKE CITY — Dinosaurs went extinct long ago, but it is still possible to feel like you’re walking in their footsteps.
Utah is famous for its dinosaurs, meaning it is the ideal place to learn about the ancient reptiles. Outside of museums, there are many sites where dinosaur tracks can still be seen right where the dinosaurs themselves walked. We’ve compiled a list of places where people can stop off the side of the road or take a hike to see a wide variety of tracks close to their original locations.
The Bureau of Land Management, which maintains the sites, notes that visitors are prohibited from making molds of the tracks or applying anything to fossils and trackways. Visitors also shouldn’t walk, sit or drive on fossils. However, they can admire them as much as they want.
Warner Valley Dinosaur Track Site =================================
During the 2010 re-mapping of the Warner Valley Dinosaur Track Site, researchers found about 400 tracks in the area. Now, anyone can stop by to see footprints left behind by dinosaurs from the eubrontes and grallator groups in the Early Jurassic period.
The site is located in St. George’s Warner Valley area. Click here for more detailed directions to the site.
Courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management
Copper Ridge Dinosaur Trackways ===============================
This well-preserved site is home to a variety of dinosaur tracks from the Jurassic period, including a brontosaurus and allosaurus. As a bonus, there are also tracks from ancient small mammals.
The site is located 23 miles north of Moab, off of Highway 191 on a dirt road. The road is safe for passenger cars, but should be avoided when wet, according to the BLM. Click here for more detailed directions to the site.
Courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management
Willow Springs Dinosaur Trackways =================================
Three-toed theropods and ornithopods, plus long-necked sauropods, left their mark at the Willow Springs site. The tracks, which are beginning to erode, were made by dinosaurs walking in the tide-lands of an inland sea about 165 million years ago, according to the BLM.
The site is located 12 miles north of Moab, off of Highway 191 on a dirt road. The road is safe for passenger cars, but should be avoided when wet, according to the BLM. Click here for more detailed directions to the site.
Courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management
Poison Spider Dinosaur Trackway ===============================
Footprints from about 10 different meat-eating dinosaurs can easily be viewed during a quick stop at the the Poison Spider Dinosaur Trackway site. The tracks are found on two rock slabs which fell from overlying Sandstone cliffs, according to the BLM.
The site is located about 6 miles north of Moab, on the side of Highway 279. Click here for more detailed directions to the site.
Courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management
Dinosaur Stomping Ground Tracks ===============================
Seeing these tracks requires a 3 mile roundtrip hike, but the payout is the opportunity to feel like you are walking along with dinosaurs. It is in the same area as the Copper Ridge Dinosaur Trackways.
The site is located about 23 miles north of Moab, off of Highway 191. Click here for more detailed directions to the site.
Courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management
Mocassin Mountain Trackways ===========================
Among the hundreds of 185 million-year-old tracks found at this Colorado Plateau site are those belonging to prosauropod and carnivorous dinosaurs. Additionally, there are tracks from a 6-foot-long land dwelling crocodile, the BLM reported.
The site is located about 3 miles southwest of Kanab’s Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. Visitors needs a vehicle with four-wheel drive because there is deep sand on the dirt road, according to the BLM. Click here for more detailed directions to the site.
Courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management
Red Cliffs Tracks =================
For those who want to camp close to dinosaur tracks, this might be the best choice. Various dinosaur tracks, plus other hikes and paleontological sites, are found just off the freeway in the Red Cliffs Recreation area.
The site is located just north of St. George. Click here for more detailed directions to the site.
Courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management
Parowan Gap Dinosaur Footprints ===============================
The natural casts of footprints made by ornithopods, ceratopsians and theropods can be found at this site in large, fallen boulders and sandstone. There is also a significant display of petroglyphs in the area.
The site is located about 14 miles northeast of Cedar City. Click here for more detailed directions to the site.
Courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management
Twentymile Wash Dinosaur Megatrackway =====================================
This megatrackway is like a dinosaur footprint goldmine. Researchers have mapped more than 1,000 tracks belonging to dinosaurs of the megalosauripus and brontopodus varieties on the slickrock, according to the BLM.
The site is located in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, about 20 miles southeast of Escalante. Visitors should have a high-clearance vehicle and check with the BLM for cuurent conditions. Click here for more detailed directions to the site.
Courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management
Buckhorn Wash Dinosaur Footprint ================================
A “very distinct” dinosaur track with three toes can be seen during a short walk in this wash. Visitors to the area can also see pictographs and petroglyphs.
The site is located in the San Rafael Swell’s Buckhorn Wash. Click here for more detailed directions to the site.
Courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management
Moore Cutoff Road Dinosaur Footprints =====================================
This evenly spaced dinosaur trackway can be found on a boulder. Nearby, visitors can also see two petroglyphs of snakes.
The site is located about 12 miles from Ferron. Click here for more detailed directions to the site.
Courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management
Know of any more dinosaur tracks? Tell us in the comments.
