Dinosaur Valley State Park is a park right along the Paluxy River in Glen Rose, Texas. Ever since we moved to the Mansfield-Burleson area, we have wanted to take the kids to visit, especially since it is only about an hour's drive.
My son's birthday was this last weekend, and because he has been obsessed with dinosaurs since before he could talk, we decided to take a day trip and check it out. I'll share some of the highlights of our trip, along with some tips to make sure that you have a great trip to Dinosaur Valley State Park as well!
Shortly after driving in, there are a couple of huge dinosaur replicas, so we had to stop and take some pictures. There are also some other fun photo ops, like this larger than life butterfly cutout. (If you take pictures, you can post them on social media with the hashtag #dinovalleysp)
There are also quite a few hikes, but as soon as the kids saw the river, that was where we ended up for the rest of the day. Plus, it was a typically hot Texas summer day, so the river water felt good!
If you walk up the riverbed, you can see some fossilized dino footprints! The kids all thought they were super cool, although I didn't get any pictures because I left my phone back onshore. I did get a picture of my youngest with my hubby, though!
Here are some pro tips to make your trip to Dinosaur Valley State Park fun for the whole family:
- Get there early! If you are only staying for the day, you'll want to get there as early as possible to make the most of your trip. The park is only open from 8 am to 5 pm for day passes, and then they lock the gate!
- Water shoes! We didn't realize how much actual river walking we would be doing in order to see the dino footprints, so we weren't very prepared in the shoe department. Learn from my mistakes and be sure to have some river/water shoes with you. The rocks also tend to be very slippery in spots, so the right footwear will help out a lot with that as well.
- SUNSCREEN! Even though we had brought our pop-up tent to relax under on the shore, we all still got pretty sunkissed. There isn't a whole lot of shady shore spots and not a lot of shade when you are actually in the river.
- If you are planning to eat down by the river, bring an insulated backpack to carry your food down. If eating riverside isn't too important, there is a large picnic area right by one of the parking lots with lots of tables and even charcoal grills.
- Bring floaties or life jackets for the little ones. Although the river is very shallow in lots of spots, there are also some deeper areas that sneak up quickly, and combined with the slippery rocks means that it is easy to lose your balance and go under. Better safe than sorry! There is also a pretty nice swimming hole that gets deep quick, but it is awesome to take a dip in!
And, here are some COVID-19 specific tips:
- If you want to go into the gift shops, bring masks. Masks are not required for outside areas, but they won't let you into the gift shop without wearing one.
- Get your tickets online ahead of time here. Due to social distancing requirements, they are only letting a certain amount of people in each day and the passes sell out fast. (The good news is, that means fewer people at the river! And tickets are only $7 per adult, and kids under 13 are free.)
I hope you have a great time!
