PARK HOURS are 5am to 10pm
To log this cache: simply include either a photo of you with your favorite dino in the background, or as an alternative, a photo of something showing your geocaching name and the date of your visit with favorite dino in the background.
You can post as many pictures as you like. It seems many folks do not want to choose a single favorite.
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| After a major grounds improvement, the old stairs have been replaced, a wide access ramp has been added for wheelchairs and strollers. The ramp is also a nice walk. |
Dinosaur Park is a tourist attraction and city park in Rapid City, South Dakota, United States. Dedicated on May 22, 1936, it contains seven dinosaur sculptures on a hill overlooking the city, created to capitalize on the tourists coming to the Black Hills to see Mount Rushmore. Constructed by the City of Rapid City and the Works Progress Administration, WPA Project #960's dinosaurs were designed by Emmet Sullivan. Sullivan also designed the Apatosaurus at Wall Drug nearby in Wall, South Dakota. The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 21, 1990.
In 1935, the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce planned to build Dinosaur Park. As prehistoric fossils had long been found in the Black Hills, a dinosaur-themed attraction seemed a natural choice. The park was dedicated on May 22, 1936.
Barnum Brown was the paleontological consultant and provided the descriptions and measurements for each replicated fossil; and Emmet Sullivan, who had previously designed other dinosaur parks, was hired as the chief sculptor and designer. Aided by the Works Progress Administration, who supplemented the costs and helped with engineering, construction began shortly after. As many as 25 workers were constructing the park at any given time. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration sponsored the construction of Skyline Drive, which would provide access to the park. Construction was not finished until 1938. In total, the park cost $25,000 to complete. The site also included a log gazebo, which has since disappeared. Additionally, fossilized dinosaur footprints that had been found in the area were planned to be moved to the park, but this apparently was never completed.
Grants in the 1960s allowed the park to be updated. The city refurbished the sculptures, walkways, and landscaping, and added a larger parking lot. The current concession and gift shop was also built at this time. On June 21, 1990, the park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Only the original five sculptures were listed on the register. In 2023, a $3 million renovation project began to renovate the walkways and stairs, among other improvements, and is scheduled to be completed in mid-2024.
Dinosaurs represented in the park include Apatosaurus, Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and an Edmontosaurus annectens. A Protoceratops and a Dimetrodon were added later on and are located near the gift shop and parking lot. With the exception of the Protoceratops, the selected dinosaurs were based on fossils found in South Dakota and the Western United States.
The dinosaurs were constructed out of 2-inch-wide (5.1 cm) black iron pipe under a wire mesh frame and a concrete skin. Being constructed in the 1930s, the dinosaurs reflect the thinking of the times. This includes dragging tails; three fingers on the T. rex as opposed to two; the dimensions; and the naming of the E. annectens sculpture as the now-outdated classification Trachodon. The largest sculpture is the Apatosaurus, which stands at 28 feet (8.5 m) high and 80 feet (24 m) long; it is visible from much of Rapid City. Originally, the dinosaurs were gray in color, but by the 1950s the statues had been painted bright green with white undersides.
The T. rex's original finger claws, as well as its teeth, have been lost or damaged over the years. Vintage postcards of the T. rex do in fact show these were originally part of the sculpture. The Stegosaurus also had a shorter tail with 4 correct tail spikes, but the tail spikes were removed and the tail itself considerably lengthened.
To log this cache: simply include either a photo of you with your favorite dino in the background, or as an alternative, a photo of something showing your geocaching name and the date of your visit with favorite dino in the background.
I am amazed that I need add this. However, claiming a find before this cache was published 06/07/2024, will result in automatic deletion of that log. Unlike a physical cache, there is no way you could have found it ahead of time.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.