Dinosaur Ridge: See Dino Tracks Up Close!

One of the best places to see dinosaur tracks up close in the Denver area is at Dinosaur Ridge. You don’t have to drive far, it’s super accessible with kids, and everyone will have a fun day out. Plan to see the exhibits, and then take the guided bus ride or walk up the ridge yourselves. Here are our tips for a dinotastic day!

DISCLAIMER: This post may contain links to affiliate websites. When you click on and/or make a purchase through an affiliate link placed on our website, we may receive a small commission or other form of compensation at no additional cost to you. Please read our disclaimer for more info.

Location

Dinosaur Ridge is on the west side of the Denver metro area in Morrison, CO. It’s easily reached off of CO-470 and has convenient parking immediately on site.

Start at the Visitor Center

The visitor center and exhibit halls are the place to start, to get your tickets and learn about the prehistoric environments and dinosaur fossils. There are multiple interactive and hands on exhibits. Visiting the exhibit hall is included with tour tickets, but you can pay $4 to visit it on its own as well.

For kids there are also a couple of fossil dig site play areas. This area alone could keep your kids engaged and entertained for quite some time.

Available Tours

Dinosaur Ridge has several guided and unguided tour options available.

Guided Bus Tour

We’ve done the guided bus tour and that was very interesting. It will last 45 minutes and include several stops along the way with brief information about each site. The bonus here is that you don’t have to do the steep walk to the fossil sites yourself.

The cost is $20 per adult, $14 per child, and 2 and under are free. When we did this bus tour it was only $5 per person so I think that shows how the popularity of this place has grown over the years!

Reservations aren’t necessarily required but if you’re not flexible with your visit you may want to grab one to make sure the tours haven’t filled up.

Guided Walking Tour

If you want a more in-depth tour and don’t mind the walking, take the guided walking tour. A shuttle will actually take you from the visitor center to the start of the walk, so you do get to skip some of the walk.

You’ll walk about 1.5 miles over 1.5 to 2 hours with a highly trained guide that can answer all your questions. The cost is $24 per person and it’s designed for ages 10 and up.

Walk With a Geologist

Now if you want questions answered that you didn’t even know you had, taking a walk with a geologist is the option for you.

You’ll have a longer tour to learn even more, taking 2.5 hours for the 1.5 mile walk. The cost is $28 per person and this walk is meant for those 16 years of age and older.

Self-Walking Tour

You can also walk Dinosaur Ridge on your own and read the signs along the way which is free to do.

You can also use the $8 audio guide to enhance your walk. There’s even a family version of the audio guide which I think is fantastic to help families with younger kids get the most out of their visit.

Grab a map at the visitor center as well before you go or pay $5-$10 for a field guide. The preferred walking route starts at the visitor center on the east side of the ridge, but an alternate route is to begin on the west side and walk the route in reverse.

The west side location is inside the US-93 Red Rocks Entrance #1. It is also the location of the Martin G. Lockley Discovery Center but it’s currently closed for remodeling.

What You’ll See

On the east side of the ridge you are in the Cretaceous Period and there are an abundance of dinosaur tracks (char-coaled in to make them more distinct) as well as crocodile claw marks (made while swimming).

Since the ridge used to be flat land there is evidence of the shallow inland see, river beds, and sandy beaches that were here in the past.

When you make the turn around the ridge, deeper layers are visible on the surface from the Jurassic Period. Here we saw various fossils of bones such as leg bones and vertebrae from Stegosaurus and Apatosaurus.

Here you can also see dinosaur footprints from the side, showing the depth of the footprints where the dinosaur sunk into the muck.

What To Bring

If you’re doing the self-walking tour and don’t have kiddos that can do the entire walk on their own, bring a good carrier or stroller.

Make sure to walk to the side and watch kids as there are bikes that ride up and down Dinosaur Ridge also.

Dress appropriately either for the heat or the cold depending on time of year. Wear sunscreen and bring a hat, as the sun can be intense. I’d recommend this even if you’re just getting on and off the shuttle.

Use the bathroom before you head up. There aren’t any facilities on Dinosaur Ridge. Bring water to stay hydrated and also a picnic to enjoy back at the visitor center as well.

What Else To Know

Sometimes Dinosaur Ridge advertises free days, where you can visit the Exhibit Hall for free and get discounted tour tickets. Keep an eye out for these to save some money!

Want to See More Dinosaurs?

Another local place, the Triceratops Trail, features Triceratops footprints as well as other dinosaur footprints and fossils.

The Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Sciences has lots of rocks, minerals, and fossils on display and is way cooler than you’d expect.

Nearby is the Morrison Natural History Museum a small but excellent paleontology museum with individualized tours. They even have the Triceratops Gulch Project (TGP) where you can learn how to excavate fossil sites.

Boulder, Colorado has the CU Museum of Natural History with a full-size cast of a Triceratops skeleton! And if you visit the Denver Museum of Nature & Science you’ll find even more in-depth dinosaur exhibits.

If you’re willing to drive further, Dinosaur National Monument is fantastic. It’s located on the border of Colorado and Utah.