Skip to content
Byway
Park · Colorado

Dinosaur Ridge Visitor Center

Dinosaur Ridge Visitor Center from directly overhead

Dinosaur Ridge Visitor Center is a park in Colorado, at a modelled elevation of 1,819 m. Mount Pence stands 3,014 m to the west, 13 miles off. The nearest named place is Gift Shop, a attraction less than a tenth of a mile away. Lariat Loop Scenic and Historic Byway runs past it.

Visiting

What to expect

Operated by
Jefferson County Open Space

Official site

Getting there

How to reach it

Driving directionsPlan a drive around it
Coordinates39.68859, -105.19055

Overlooks nearby

Around it

Named places within 25 miles

Attractions
  • Gift Shop: 0.0 mi
  • Council Tree and Old Rooney Dance Hall: 0.2 mi
  • Dinosaur Tracksite: 0.5 mi
  • South Sponsor Village: 0.7 mi
  • Dinosaur Bone Bed: 0.7 mi
Museums
Historic sites
Parks
  • Iron Spring Park: 0.9 mi
  • Thunder Valley Park: 0.9 mi
  • Forsberg Park: 1.3 mi
  • William Frederick Hayden Park: 1.6 mi
  • Coyote Gulch Park: 1.9 mi
Peaks
Artworks
  • CCC Worker: 1.8 mi
  • Spirit: 1.8 mi
  • Mother Cabrini Vending Machine: 2.5 mi
  • The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ: 2.5 mi
  • Station 1: 2.5 mi
Gardens
Nature reserves
Picnic sites: 53
  • Food Court: 0.7 mi
  • Food Court: 0.7 mi
  • First Class Zone/Food Court: 0.9 mi
  • Food Court: 0.9 mi
  • Cottontail: 2.8 mi
Cliffs: 50
Ghost towns: 7
Waterfalls: 5
  • Lee Gulch: 12.6 mi
  • Maxwell Falls: 12.9 mi
  • Elk Falls: 17.4 mi
  • The Chutes: 21.3 mi
  • Boulder Falls: 24.7 mi
Beaches: 3
Natural arches: 1
  • Keyhole Rock: 2.7 mi
Springs: 1
  • Arapaho Spring: 16.4 mi
On the horizon

Summits around it

The highest named summits within 12.8 miles of Dinosaur Ridge Visitor Center. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.

SummitBearingElevationDistance
Mount PenceW 266°3,014 m12.6 mi
Mount TomNW 316°2,969 m12.3 mi
Bergen PeakW 262°2,957 m11.0 mi
Douglas MountainNW 305°2,927 m12.0 mi
Berrian MountainSSW 210°2,785 m10.7 mi
Legault MountainSSW 200°2,757 m11.4 mi
Doublehead MountainSSW 203°2,711 m9.5 mi
Grannys HeadNW 322°2,686 m12.0 mi
Conditions

When to go

Light through the year

DateSunriseGolden hourSunset
March equinox07:0518:3719:13
June solstice05:3419:5220:33
September equinox06:4918:2419:00
December solstice07:1915:5816:40

Local time (America/Denver).

Climate normals

Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Oct.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg °F333441475667737162504032
Precip in0.60.81.32.42.62.12.01.91.41.10.80.5

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Lakewood, 6 mi away.

Wildlife nearby
  • common starlily415 obs
  • Mountain Ball Cactus307 obs
  • Wholeleaf Paintbrush302 obs
  • Black-billed Magpie253 obs
  • Great Plains yucca215 obs
  • Mule Deer214 obs
  • Green-flower Hedgehog Cactus202 obs
  • creeping mahonia194 obs

Research-grade iNaturalist community observations within 3 km — what people have recorded, not a species inventory.

Sources

Where this comes from

Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMapWikidataOfficial site

OpenStreetMap element way/57759189

More parks in Colorado

Day trips start here

Drive to it

Byway plans a real route around stops like this one.

Plan a driveMore parks
Private beta · Free to join

Take the scenic way to Dinosaur Ridge Visitor Center.

Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.

Private beta · Free to join · No card · Invite when a spot opens