Dinosaur State Park

Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill, about ten minutes south of downtown Hartford, protects one of the largest dinosaur track sites in North America. In 1966 a bulldozer working on a state building site uncovered a slab of sandstone dotted with footprints, and the state quickly stepped in to preserve the find. More than five hundred tracks from the early Jurassic period, roughly two hundred million years ago, were exposed, and a geodesic dome now covers the best of them. Inside, visitors walk along a boardwalk above the original trackway, where three-toed prints made by a meat-eating dinosaur known from the tracks as Eubrontes are pressed into the stone as clearly as if they had been made last week. Around the boardwalk, exhibits, murals and a life-sized diorama explain the climate and landscape of the Connecticut valley in the age of dinosaurs, when this region was a rift valley of lakes, mud flats and ferns. It is among the most direct encounters with deep time in New England, and children and adults tend to stand in the same silent way at the edge of the tracks.

Beyond the dome the park offers a pleasant outdoor side. Short nature trails wind through woodland and an arboretum, planted with species whose ancestors lived in the age of the dinosaurs, such as ferns, cycads and ginkgo. Interpretive signs along the paths explain how the plants relate to the Triassic and Jurassic landscape. In warm months, usually in late spring through autumn, a seasonal activity lets visitors make a plaster cast of a track using supplies provided by the park, which is a favorite with school groups and families.

Check the park's schedule before you go, because the cast-making program runs on set days and requires you to bring materials in some seasons.

The visit takes one to two hours, and the dome area is climate controlled, which makes it a reliable choice on cold or rainy days. Strollers and wheelchairs can use the main boardwalk, although the outdoor trails are more rugged. The park often hosts special events, including fossil talks, hands-on science days and holiday programs, and the staff are knowledgeable and friendly.

Because the park is a state facility, hours, admission and parking fees vary by season and by residency, and the dome may close for maintenance from time to time, so confirm the details on the state website before you leave.

Dinosaur State Park combines well with other family activities in the Hartford area. The Connecticut Science Center downtown is a natural pairing for a two-day family plan, and the Connecticut Trolley Museum in East Windsor offers a different kind of vintage adventure. For visitors with a car, Rocky Hill is also close to the Connecticut River and its small riverside parks, and the nearby town center has places for lunch.

Plan the trip with young children in mind: bring a camera, make a plan for which questions to ask the staff, and look closely at the tracks, because the real surprise is how many different prints there are, overlapping where several animals crossed the same muddy shoreline.

Wear sturdy shoes for the outdoor trails and bring a water bottle in summer. Staff are happy to answer questions about the age of the rocks and how the tracks were found.