The Dinosaur Footprints is the home to one of the largest track collections that can be seen by the public in their original location. While you’re there, try and find as many tracks as you can. These are real live dinosaur footprints that were first made 200 million years ago!
While you’re there, try to notice and observe as much about the tracks as you can. How many toes does each track have? How far apart are they? How big do you think the dinosaur that made them was? These are all things you can find out just from looking at the footprints!
Location
1099 Route 5, Holyoke, Massachusetts
Directions
How to Get There
The Dinosaur Footprints are maintained by the Trustees, and you’ll see the sign for them off the side of the road on Route 5. Go ahead and park in the parking area. The tracks themselves are just a short hike down the trail from the parking area. You can learn more from visiting the Footprints website.
Marshall: Hello dino track explorers! I’m Marshall.
Lindsay: And I’m Lindsay. Thanks for joining us on this Dino Map Adventure through the Pioneer Valley.
M: We’re the hosts of Tumble Science Podcast for Kids and we’re on a mission to share the incredible dinosaur history right here in the Pioneer Valley. There is so much that scientists have discovered here — and so much left for YOU to discover along with us!
L: This stop will take you to world-famous dinosaur tracks, where you can find hundreds of tracks of different species.
M: If you haven’t already, pause this audio to listen to our how-to track at the beginning of our Dino Map before you arrive. It will help you be prepared for what you’re about to experience! All right Lindsay, are you ready to talk about where are we heading now?
L: Yes! We’re heading to the Dinosaur Footprints in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The site is very easy to access right off the highway, but keep in mind it’s closed for winter from Nov. 30, and open for spring on April 1!
M: Yeah if you’re listening to this in the wintertime, it would be disappointing to drive there and not see the tracks, but we can still talk about them now.
L: Yes, because we can all travel in our minds, back to the time when the dinosaur tracks were made:
Imagine you’re standing on the banks of a lake in the early Jurassic period. Fish are darting through the water. Down the banks, you hear a thunderous noise [dino herd sound with splashing]. A herd of dinosaurs is coming down the banks, squelching their feet down into the wet sand and mud.
Flashforward into the mid 1800s: The banks of the ancient lake is now a slab of hardened, sedimentary rock on the shores of the Connecticut River. Edward Hitchcock is standing there, examining the tracks. Hitchcock is the first person to scientifically describe dinosaur tracks, and he’s brought scientists and students to this impressive trackway with him. Some say that Emily Dickinson, the famous poet from Amherst, may have been among them.
Now, it’s 1970. A paleontologist from Yale named John Ostrom makes a study of the Holyoke tracks. He identifies three different types of dinosaur tracks, and studies them to figure out what directions the dinosaurs were moving in. Ostrom comes up with an idea: these dinosaurs may have been moving together in herds. Before Ostrom, people thought these dinosaurs were solitary creatures. But these tracks show something different: they were social animals.
M: Wow, a lot has happened in this little spot off of Route 5!
L: Yeah, you just pull over and you’re like, “Whoa this was a hot spot for dinosaurs.”
M: And oddly not a hot spot for soft serve!
L: (Laughs) That’s all that matters in this day and age to most people. But to our dino track explorers, a hot spot for dinosaurs is a hotspot to be.
It’s easy to find the trail to the tracks from the parking lot. When you’re at the site, start by identifying the dinosaur tracks. They can be tough to spot at first, but you’ll get an eye for them, then you’ll see them all over. Here are a few things to look for in the tracks:
- Count the number of tracks that you can find
- Look for differences between the tracks
- Are the tracks different sizes or do you think they’re different types of dinosaurs?
Ostrom identified three different species of dinosaurs from these tracks, but other scientists think it’s possible they might be from different sizes of the same dinosaur.
M: Oh like one’s a little baby dinosaur and the other is a grownup? And the other is like a really grownup.
L: Yeah, that happens a lot with naming dinosaurs from fossil bones too. Scientists have been finding that what they thought was a different species is actually different ages of the same species.
M: I guess it’s hard to tell! So there's still research to do here, dino track explorers. Share what you find, using the hashtag #tumbledinomap! And if you need directions and activities, check out nepm.org/dinomap.
L: We’ll meet you at your next stop, dino track explorers!
Download the Dino Map Adventure and the Dino Adventure Journal.