One of the reasons I am grateful that I work at an educational institution is the relative flexibility I have when it comes to taking time off, especially when you work with students. Both my sister and I now have schedules that align, which means we can take some vacation time together! This is a pretty big deal because 1. I love my sister, and 2. I love my sister’s babies! Don’t get me wrong, my brother-in-law is pretty great, too, but those babies light up my life. My partner and I decided to drive up to Dallas to visit them and used the opportunity to also visit Dinosaur Valley State Park.
Compared to other road trips, the drive to Glen Rose, Texas, where the park is located, isn’t particularly scenic. Granted, we did drive from the Dallas area to Glen Rose, rather than driving from Austin to Glen Rose, but I’m pretty sure the drive is comparable. After about an hour and a half of driving, we finally arrived at the park and were ready to stretch our legs. One of the things I really appreciated about this park was the number of trails they had, many of which were little-kid-friendly and marked as either “Easy” or “Moderate.” My two nephews and niece are between 1.5-4 years old and the trail lengths were ideal for children their age.
It rained the week before we went to the park, which meant some of the trail areas were muddy, but none of the trails we took were washed out. My sister had hoped that the “Easy” trails would be paved, but that wasn’t entirely the case – only one trail was fully paved (the shortest trail) and the other “Easy” trail was very partially paved. We took a small wagon to cart the kiddos and their belongings around, but ended up mainly carting belongings around since the trails were too bumpy for the wagon ride to be a smooth / enjoyable one.
Despite the shortness of the trails, there was still plenty to stop and observe along the way. We took short stops to go down to the Paluxy River, which winds through a portion of the park. We also stopped by the dinosaur models so that we could pose for pictures with the dinos. At Blue Hole, we looked at the theropod tracks on the limestone ledge from a distance and were also treated to a beautiful view of the river from the ledge.
There’s a lot more to this park that we didn’t get a chance to explore, which means we will be returning here in the future! Dinosaur Valley State Park has an “old-time swimming hole,” which means a spring or summer return. We enjoyed our time here and the kiddos were happy and tired by the time we left: a sign of a full day’s worth of fun. I hope that by introducing the kiddos to parks and spending time outside at an early age, they’ll develop a lifelong love and connection with Mother Earth and our non-human animal relatives.
1629 Park Rd 59, Glen Rose, TX 76043
Adult entrance fee: $7 daily // Kids 12 and under: free
