Dinosaur State Park
- Status
- Status not postedDaily 9 a.m. – 30 min before sunset
- Entrance fee
- See fee details
- Day-use reservations
- None mentioned
- Dogs
- Not stated — check with park
- Camping
- None listed
- Official site
- ctparks.com(860) 529-5816
Official page last checked Oct 29, 2026. Details last changed Oct 29, 2026. How we keep this current
Overview
Dinosaur State Park is a park in Capitol Planning Region County, about 7 miles east of New Britain.
Popular activities here are historic sites, hiking, and picnicking.
Hours
Park, gate, office and facility hours are listed separately because they often differ. Alerts above override normal hours.
| Facility | Days | Hours | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day use — Park Grounds and Picnic Area | Daily | 9 a.m. – 30 min before sunset | — |
| Trails | Daily | 9 a.m. – 30 min before sunset | — |
| Visitor center — Exhibit Center | Tue–Sun | 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. | — |
| Tue–Sun | 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. | — |
Official wording
Park Grounds and Picnic Area: Open Monday – Sunday (9:00 a.m. – 30 minutes prior to sundown)
Nature Trails & Arboretum: Open Monday - Sunday (9:00 a.m. - 30 minutes prior to sundown)
Exhibit Center: Open Tuesday - Sunday (9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.) Friends of Dinosaur Park & Arboretum Museum Shop Open Tuesday - Sunday (9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.)
Source: official park page, checked Oct 29, 2026. Times are local to the park (America/New York).
Fees and passes
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Parking | Free |
| Free – 5 and under | Free |
| $2 – Ages 6-12 | $2 · child |
| $6 – Ages 13+ | $6 |
Official wording
Parking Free Park Grounds, Arboretum & Trails Exhibit Center Admission Free – 5 and under $2 – Ages 6-12 $6 – Ages 13+
Connecticut park passes
- Passport to the Parks — free parking for CT-registered vehicles (funded by an $8/yr vehicle registration fee from July 1, 2025). Day-use parking at all CT State Parks and Forests Details
- Out-of-state vehicle season pass — $112. Season parking for out-of-state vehicles (as listed on park fee boxes) Details
From the Connecticut state guide. Confirm which passes this park accepts.
Reservations
- Day use
- No day-use reservation requirement mentioned
- Booking system
- ReserveAmerica (connecticutstateparks.reserveamerica.com)
- Phone
- 1-877-668-CAMP (2267)
We link to the official booking system rather than showing live availability, which changes minute to minute.
Things to do
HikingHistoric sites and toursPicnicking
Trails
The park’s more than two miles of nature and hiking trails wind through a rich diversity of habitats, including swamps, dense forest, meadows, and a traprock ridge composed of basalt rock, formerly hot lava.
Red Trail Loop
- 0.75-mile loop trail and boardwalk
- Level of difficulty: Easy to Moderate
- Starting from the amphitheater area, this trail connects the Red and Blue Trails. The circuit, a combination of packed dirt paths and boardwalk, winds through red maple and shrub swamps, native plants, a butterfly garden, and vernal pool.
Find interesting geologic features with EarthCache.
Please Note: No pets or bikes on the nature trails.
Know Before You Go
- Trail Map
Arboretum
The arboretum contains more than 250 species of Mesozoic Era plants, trees, and shrubs. The collection of plant families was curated to recreate an environment that closely reflects the one the dinosaurs roamed many centuries ago.
Read more from the park
Arboretum Map
Plants:
- Fir Collection - Douglas, Nikko, Nordmann, and Concolor firs
- Arborvitae Wall - Conifers, including Hiba Arborvitae (Thujopsis dolabrata ‘Variagata”)
- Cedar Collection - Lebanon, Deodar, and Blue Atlas Cedars and the California incense cedar
- Pine Grove- “White Mountain”, Blue Jay, Himalayan, Bosnian, ‘Pendula’ and ‘Waterii’ Scots pine
- East Side Conifers- Japanese cedar, ‘Oregon Blue” Lawson cypress, weeping Alaskan cedar, Hinoki false cypress, and “Chinese fir”
- Rock Garden - Junipers, false cypresses, small arborvitae, dwarf firs, and flowering plants such as lavender and thyme, amongst exposed rock ledges
- Plaza del Sol - Japanese umbrella pines
- Southeast Collection - Bald cypress, American sycamores, black gum, willow oak, pawpaws, sweetbay magnolia, Carolina allspice, Persimmon, Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), “Hazel Smith” cultivar, Dawn Redwoods, and golden larch
- Spruce Collection - Hondo spruce, Oriental spruce, Serbian spruce, and Black Hills spruce
- East Asian Garden - Chinese swamp cypress, weeping katsura tree, “kew” ginkgo, and yellow-groove bamboo
- London Plane Trees - Hybrid American and Eurasian sycamores
Amenities
Facilities
- Picnic areas
- Visitor center
- Nature center or museum
✓ listed by the park · ✕ the park says it is not available. Anything not shown here isn’t mentioned by the official source — that means unknown, not unavailable.
Accessibility
Exhibit Center
Parking
Picnic Tables
Restrooms
All-Terrain Wheelchairs (advance reservations required)
Official accessibility information
Conditions change. Contact the park to confirm specific accessible features before your visit.
Rules and permits
- If planning a bus trip to Dinosaur State Park, please contact the park directly
- Trail Map
- Arboretum Map
Getting there
- Address
- 400 West St.
Rocky Hill, CT 06067 - Nearest town
- New Britain — about 7 mi east (straight line)
- Coordinates
- 41.6519, -72.6569
- Phone
- (860) 529-5816
Nearby state parks
Sources and freshness
- Connecticut State Parks and Forests — park page — last checked Oct 29, 2026
- DEEP 'Find a Park or Forest by Name' list (portal.ct.gov) merged with the ctparks.com ParkFinder search service
“Last checked” is when our system last read the official source. “Last changed” (Oct 29, 2026) is when the information shown here last differed from the previous check. Hours, fees and rules can change without notice — confirm with the park before you go. Methodology