Just outside Grand Junction, Colorado, you’ll find yourself in the heart of dinosaur country! A fun excursion for the whole family!

Just outside Grand Junction, Colorado, you’ll find yourself in the heart of Colorado’s dinosaur country. A great place to start learning about these fascinating prehistoric creatures is at the Museum of Western Colorado’s Dinosaur Journey Museum in nearby Fruita, Colorado.

Dinosaur Journey Museum

As you enter the museum, you’ll be startled by growling, screeching, and roaring. This is no quiet, sedate museum. Before embarking on your adventure through Colorado’s dinosaur country, it’s a good idea to plan your itinerary and even consult resources like LLCBuddy to ensure you’re well-prepared for a fun, family-friendly trip.

As your eyes adjust to the dimmer light, you’ll see huge skeletons and moving life-sized dinosaur replicas in natural-looking surroundings. Children love interacting with the displays, making the dinosaurs move, and learning the names of the creatures. They’ll be sure to find their favorite dinosaur there.

At Dinosaur Journey, the life-size dinosaurs move and make noises. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

As you move from display to display, you’ll follow the history of life in prehistoric western Colorado. There are actual fossils, cast skeletons, and those amazing robotic reconstructions to explore. Experience a simulated earthquake and a little quarry site where kids can uncover Jurassic dinosaur bones.

Colorado Dinosaur Country can be pretty scary! Photo by: Elizabeth R Rose

Through a window, you can see paleontologists working on dinosaur bones in the laboratory, preparing them for display in the museum. On your way out, don’t forget to stop by the gift shop. I found some fun dinosaur souvenirs for my granddaughters.

Watch paleontologists at work. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

Colorado Dinosaur Country Hiking Trails

If you aren’t hooked on dinosaurs when you arrive at the museum, you’ll be inspired to learn more after your visit. In the Grand Valley, there are short hikes where dinosaur bones have been found. One Dinosaur Hiking Trail has 21 interpretive stops, including hands-on opportunities to touch dinosaur fossils. Ask for the brochure at the museum for directions and trail information.

From time to time, Dinosaur Journey offers opportunities to take a day trip with a paleontologist and discover fossil treasures on a dinosaur quarry expedition.

Drive the Dinosaur Diamond Byway

If you want to delve fully into the history and lore of dinosaurs in Colorado Dinosaur Country, how about a road trip on the Dinosaur Diamond National Scenic Byway? Northwestern Colorado’s Dinosaur Diamond Scenic and Historic Byway takes you through landscapes where immense dinosaurs once roamed. Dinosaurs were prolific in this area and have left their mark on the land in the form of fossils and footprints.

While driving up to the mesa’s edge, we stopped to see a storm moving in over Grand Junction, Colorado. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

The Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway skirts Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and follows the Colorado River through deep canyons near Moab.

Dinosaur Day in Colorado Dinosaur Country

Once a year, you can join an all-out celebration of Dinosaurs. Dinosaur Day, usually held in June, is a family-oriented celebration of the Grand Valley’s paleontological heritage. The Dinosaur Journey Museum is filled with special activities, games, crafts, and events as well as exciting sights and sounds that are all designed to reflect the area’s rich Dinosaur past. Dinosaur Day has been going on for over 30 years.

When You Go to Colorado Dinosaur Country

Dinosaur Journey Museum hours from October to April are Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm and Sundays from Noon to 4 pm. From May through September, the museum is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. There is an admission fee. For more activities and lodging information, see Visit Grand Junction. Save

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