This is a really cool place. 🙂

Back in 1966, a construction crew was clearing ground near New Haven CT for a new state building when they uncovered something unusual—a line of big three-toed tracks preserved in a layer of rock. Work was immediately stopped, a team of paleontologists was brought in, and it was quickly determined that they were dinosaur footprints, dating to about 200 million years ago during the Triassic period, when the dinosaurs were just beginning to rise to prominence. Further digging also revealed that there were more tracks—LOTS more, some 2000 in total. It is one of the largest finds of dino tracks in the world.

The site was declared a “natural landmark” and a state park, and plans were made to place the tracks on exhibit. A geodesic dome building was placed over about 500 of the tracks, and opened to the public. The rest of the footprints were reburied to protect them—there are future plans for another larger building to place those back on display as well.

The three-toed tracks belong to a species of mid-sized predatory dinosaur, which has been given the name Eubrontes. In size and stride, it was roughly similar to Dilophosaurus (the real one, not the fake Hollywood version found in “Jurassic Park”). In a few instances, the footprints consist only of toe tips, which has been interpreted as a dinosaur swimming in water that was shallow enough for the toes to occasionally strike the bottom mud.

The site is now run by the state of Connecticut. In addition to the display of tracks, there is an “Arboretum of Evolution” which displays some families of plants and trees that existed back in the Mesozoic. There is also an area where visitors can make plaster casts of replica prints as souvenirs, and a network of walking paths and nature trails.

Some photos from a day at the park.

​ The exhibit building

​ Museum displays

​ Cast of an Otozoum footprint from Connecticut. So well-preserved that there are traces of skin impressions.

​ Coelophysis skeleton

​ Walkway extends out over the footprint slab.

​ The dim sidelighting makes the footprints more visible

​ A view of the footprint slab

​ One of the three-toed tracks

​ Toe prints from a “swimming” track

​ Part of the “Arboretum of Evolution”

​ Making a plaster cast

​ Nature trail

​ Looking for aquatic critters in some pond water