Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite

The Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite is one of the Moab area's most underrated family experiences — a completely free, outdoor site where actual Jurassic-era dinosaur footprints are preserved in the sandstone, visible, touchable (carefully), and interpretively labeled. For any child who has ever loved dinosaurs, this is close to a religious experience.

The tracks were made approximately 150 million years ago by large sauropods and theropods crossing mudflats that have since hardened into the layered rock of the Colorado Plateau. Standing next to a footprint larger than a dinner plate and realizing that a living animal the size of a city bus made it is a brain-expanding moment for kids and adults alike.

The Bureau of Land Management maintains interpretive signs at the site that explain what types of dinosaurs made the various tracks, how the preservation process worked, and what the ecosystem looked like in the Jurassic period. It transforms what could be a confusing collection of lumpy rocks into a genuine educational experience.

Nearby, the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Bone Trail (also free and also worth visiting) exposes actual dinosaur bones eroding out of the canyon walls. Together, these two sites make for a remarkable paleontology morning that costs absolutely nothing and delivers a level of authentic scientific wonder that commercial dinosaur museums can't match — because these are real fossils in the field, not reproductions in a display case.

Access requires driving a dirt road off Highway 191 north of Moab. Check road conditions before heading out — the road can become impassable after rain. Spring and fall visits are far more comfortable than summer heat.