Free Information on Canon City Dinosaur Prints

Skyline Drive Trackway

• Along the western edge of Canon City, this narrow road, called the "dinosaur trackway," provides an informative and self-paced approach to see dinosaur footprints deposited during the early Cretaceous Period (63 to 135 million years ago).

Dakota Formation

• The Dakota Sandstone Hogback shows the fossilized footprints of the Anklosaurus dinosaur. An Anklosaurus ("stiff lizard") was a massive dinosaur with oval armored plates, two rows of spikes on its back and a tail club.

Western Interior Seaway

• The fossilized dinosaur footprints follow the ancient coastline of a huge inland sea, called the Western Interior Seaway, which split the North American continent into two halves during most of the Cretaceous Period.

Operation

• Although open year-round (weather permitting), excluding Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years day, the Dinosaur Depot Museum no longer offers guided tours of the Skyline Drive Trackway or Garden Park Fossil Area; contact the museum for information on self-guided tours.

Warning

• The narrow road of Skyline Drive becomes muddy and slippery when wet. Use caution when hiking; old mining shafts should not be entered.