Is Dinosaur Valley State Park Worth Visiting? (My Review Of The Park)
Visiting The Dallas-Fort Worth Area In North Texas And Wondering If Dinosaur Valley State Park Is Worth Checking Out?
During my 3+ years living in the Dallas area, I explored a lot around this North Texas and Southern Oklahoma region, including visiting the Dinosaur Valley State Park just a little over an hour away from the city. To help you decide if the park is worth the drive over, below I’ve listed out the pros and cons of visiting this state park as well as my own personal experience.
✅ Why Dinosaur Valley State Park Is Worth Visiting
The picture with dinosaur tracks above is the main reason why Dinosaur Valley State Park is worth visiting.
The real life, prehistoric footprints left behind by the dinosaurs over 100 million years ago at Dinosaur Valley State Park are the main attraction to this natural area, but there’s also more to this park.
✅ A Few Other Pros:
- North Texas doesn’t have much hiking since the landscape is pretty flat, but there’s a decent uphill hike at the park, plus a few other easy to moderate trails
- during the warmer months, this is a great place to cool off and swim, which also helps you find footprints easier
- the park is popular for camping
- there are even guided equestrian tours with EERCC
- museums in the nearby Glen Rose town
- nearby Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
🎥 Here’s a short video I made to get another look at the park
❌ Why Dinosaur Valley State Park Might Not Be Worth Visiting
While I felt that the drive over to Dinosaur Valley State Park from the Dallas area was definitely worth it to see the dino tracks and spend a little time in nature, some might find the park not worth it for a few reasons:
- if you’re visiting the Dallas or Fort Worth areas without a car, finding an Uber ride there and back might be difficult and renting a car just for this day trip might not seem worth it
- not every track/footprint is well defined and easy to see (like the one pictured above)
- the hiking trails aren’t very difficult or overly exciting
- there is an $8 fee per person to get into the park
- fossils are protected in most Texas parks/natural areas so you can’t dig for them and keep them
- cell service doesn’t work great over in this area
🦕 My Review Of The Park
My mom and I went to the park together in February so it was a little cooler and not the best for getting in the water, but we had a great time and really enjoyed seeing the dinosaur tracks.
Here was our experience/itinerary:
- we went on a Friday in late February so the park wouldn’t be too crowded; it was a little cooler outside, but luckily the sun was out
- the drive from where we lived in Plano (just north of Dallas) to Dinosaur Valley State Park took about an hour and a half at around 10:00 in the morning, to avoid traffic but still get there early in the day
- immediately upon arriving, we talked with a park ranger to find out where the best spots were to find tracks and what trail was the best for hiking
- we headed to their first suggestion of the Blue Hole and were able to find a few tracks in the shallow part of the water along the shore, but we had to climb and scramble over some rocks to get further down the shoreline to find them (there were only three or four other people in this area)
- next we moved a little further away from the Blue Hole to try and find the Ballroom Site, but we didn’t really have any luck seeing these tracks
- after climbing the stairs back to our car at the Blue Hole Site, we moved on to the Dinosaur Black-Capped Vireo Limestone Ledge Trailhead where we saw the most tracks
- we had to change into our water shoes to cross the river here, but on the other side we found the area with the most and best defined tracks (pictured above)
- we walked up and down this shoreline searching for more tracks and were even able to find some not-so well defined tracks on dry land
- there were more people in this area, but no more than 10 when we were here
- after, we continued on this trail that took us up to a nice viewpoint before heading back down and back across the river
📍 How Far Is Dinosaur Valley State Park From Dallas
Depending on where you’re staying in the Dallas or Fort Worth areas, the drive over to Dinosaur Valley State Park takes anywhere from an hour to an hour and 45 minutes.
Traffic can be pretty bad in the city at certain times of day, plus drivers and road conditions can make driving here a bit dangerous so be extra careful and aware on the roads here.
🦖 What To Bring To Dinosaur Valley State Park
When planning a day trip over to Dinosaur Valley State Park, you should bring all the normal hiking/nature gear like plenty of water, snacks, good shoes, and so on, but also be sure to bring plenty of water-friendly items to this park like water shoes, a waterproof camera, and a swimsuit for the warmer months.
🏨 Hotels Near Dinosaur Valley State Park
If you don’t want to do the park as a day trip from the Dallas area, there are other options for staying out here:
- the park itself has campsites
- the town of Glen Rose has some hotel options
- this area has some nice resort-like properties out away from towns or cities
🔁 Sum Up: Is Dinosaur Valley State Park Worth Visiting?
I’m a big fan of both nature and history, so I think the Dinosaur Valley State Park is 100% worth visiting when you’re in the North Texas area, but if seeing some old dino footprints underwater doesn’t sound too interesting to you, then the hour+ drive from the Dallas area probably won’t seem worth it. If you do go, I suggest going in the warmer months of the year to take advantage of the swimming opportunities and bring plenty of water-friendly gear (shoes, camera, swimsuits, etc.).
