5 Awesome Dinosaur Vacations

1. Wyoming Dinosaur Center

The largest dinosaur museum in the country has a very cool walk-through exhibit that takes guests from the dawn of the dinosaurs to their decline. They have more than 30 actual dinosaur skeletons on display, including the only Archaeopteryx in North America. Their dinosaur skeletons aren’t just from North America, they come from all over the world!

Along with the walk through time exhibit, the museum hosts actual dinosaur dig sites, and a dinosaur laboratory. Kids can even participate in a dinosaur dig on the premises! High school students can spend the summer digging for dinosaurs for college credit as part of Wyoming’s Dinosaur Academy.

This would be a really cool dinosaur vacation for kids of all ages!

2. Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado

Hosting their 100th anniversary this year, this national park has a rich history. Dinosaur lovers can see more than 1,500 dinosaur skeletons forever memorialized in rock as they hike through the park’s Carnegie Quarry. For even more excitement, the park also offers river rafting and camping.

Visiting this national treasure is a great way to do more than just visit skeletons in a museum. You can make a week of it by camping and enjoying nature with the whole family.

3. Dinosaur Valley State Park in Texas

This is another great national park for dinosaur lovers. In Dinosaur Valley, you can walk in the footprints of actual dinosaurs! We’re not talking about the one molded from concrete for photo ops at the museums, these are real footprints pressed into the floor of an ancient ocean for all eternity. The ocean is gone, but the footprints remain.

I can already see my son’s reaction to walking in giant dinosaur footprints. The park also offers camping, hiking, and horseback riding. Not interested in camping? The park is just a short drive from Fort Worth, where there’s plenty to do and see.

4. Connecticut Dino Trail

Technically, this counts as four separate attractions in one. The trail starts at the Connecticut Science Center where dinosaur lovers can engage in hands on activities and enjoy life size animatronic dinosaur exhibits.

The second stop is the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. The museum is home to dinosaur skeletons that are 150 million years old!

The third attraction is Connecticut’s Dinosaur State Park. At the park you can see early Jurassic fossils from the area and walk in the footsteps of the prehistoric giants.

Finally, end your vacation with a fun stop at The Dinosaur Place. It’s a unique dinosaur themed park where kids can dig for dinosaur bones, play on a dinosaur playground, and splash at the dinosaur water park.

5. Chicago’s Field Museum

The best thing about the Field Museum is Sue. Sue is the world’s largest and best preserved Tyrannosaurs Rex. If your little dinosaur explorers are anything like mine, nothing is cooler than a T-Rex!

The museum has dozens of dinosaur exhibits, 3D movies, and interactive attractions. There’s also a pretty cool dinosaur explorers camp for preschoolers this summer. Besides, if you run out of things to do at the Field Museum, there’s no shortage of fun to be had in Chicago.

I’m pretty excited about taking my little dinosaur explorer to see some of these awesome attractions in the coming years. I hope I gave you some ideas for your next vacation too!