The rest of the Cogbill family joins us on our venture to see dinosaur tracks.
It was an early 6:30am wake up call in Flower Mound, TX. With an hour and a half drive down to Glen Rose, TX, there was no time to waste if we were going to beat the heat. Around 7:45, we had a loaded down car full of Cogbills and one Wyatt, myself, and we were off.
Let me start off by saying Dinosaur Valley isn’t for the faint of heart. The Paluxy River cuts the park in two with one side being more adventurous than the other. Navigating the limestone shelves along the riverbed can be tricky even for the most sure footed out there.
Exploring even a small portion of the park, you can understand why this is one of the most popular state parks in Texas. There is a good elevation difference from the river bottom to the top of the cliffs not too far off of the water. The Paluxy River offers more than just marked trails and relaxation within its waters, the area has been explored so much that the ground all along the riverbank consists of interpretive trails made by those who came before and their legacy carries on afterwards. Anywhere you go down the Paluxy you will find trails made by people trying to get to the same places you want to go.
This visit was exceptional in many ways from the landscape and terrain, to the river being smack dab in the middle of the park versus running as a park boundary, to it being a Cogbill family outing with me tagging along, and to (oh yes) the dinosaur tracks. Dinosaur Valley State Park gets its name from the inlaid fossils and footprints left by the dinosaurs over 70 million years ago. The only thing about when we went there had been recent rains, so the river was running high and the runoff from the hills above caused difficulties in finding clear dinosaur tracks. Though there are supposedly thousands within the park along the Paluxy River, we only for sure saw 3-4 tracks and had guesses at another 4-5.
We spent most of our time walking the river shoreline. Some areas proved more tricky than others having to go up big limestone boulders or around a high spot in the water. There was a time where we all slid down a shelf etched in the riverside to get back down to the water from the top of the shelf. Whatever the task was, we were up for it as we headed upstream (which is actually going south in the park). Of course we wanted to see more dinosaur tracks since that is what is so famous about this park, but we settled for the few that we got.
Every once in a while the question would surface on whether we should continue down the river (which is up the river) or should we turn back to get to the rest of the park since the vast majority of the park and hiking trails lie on the north side of the river. Kaylee’s little sister, Courtney, would opt for us to keep going upstream and no one argued. We finally came to a point where Kaylee and I notified them that we should probably start going back to the main area in the park. Okay I guess we didn’t really make it clear to the rest of her family that the main trails other than the Paluxy River Trail were in the opposite direction that we were going. After officially learning this, we began our trek back.
The next thing we wanted to see was a scenic overlook at the highest point in the park. The trail started by having us getting our feet wet, and by that I mean we literally crossed the river to get to the other side of the park. This is where the trails get more extensive and more intense. From the riverbank up to the top of the trail was a solid 200-220 foot elevation gain in less than ¾ of a mile of trails. On this side of the river (north side) the country gets more character. While the south side of the river is mainly flats and grass prairies, the north side has a kick to it with limestone ridges and rocky knolls that the trails wind through. Keep your balance, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
The quick elevation rise wasn’t the hardest part of traversing this wall of rock, it was the footing. The smooth rock of the area made for slick travels. It was pretty worth it once we made it to the top. Standing over 200 feet from where we once stood a short time ago made the hike seem even more finalizing. You could see the hills in the distance along with a good perspective of the river below. Small fields layered in with the crags in the foreground, an interesting contrast. This was a stopping point for pictures (yes, of course) and rest from a hike well done. Let me speak on pictures really quick. I left my Aggie Ring at the house. I should be ashamed of myself. Kaylee had hers and her mom was so kind as to volunteer hers for some pictures as well. Anyway, back to the overlook point, Kaylee took pictures of everyone from her sister to her mom and myself. Then she handed off the camera and Kaylee and I were able to get a few of us. I even stepped behind the lens to take a Cogbill family photo.
It was lunchtime, and we had prepared lunch to take with us. All we had to do was get down from the precipice and back to the car. Well some stuff happened, but I can assure you no one took a tumble down the trail…
We had a quick lunch once we made it back under the cedar trees. The plan was to go to another section of the park for more trails, but sadly the closest access point was closed off. The only way in was by a different trail which would’ve been biting off a little more than we were willing to chew. We called it a day and a good trip. Back to Flower Mound we went after stopping at the front to see the two big dinosaur statues stationed shortly after the park headquarters.
The early morning hit hard, but the park woke us up. It was a bright, sunshiny day in one of the most popular Texas State Parks. The hiking and self-led exploring of the river got our juices flowing for hopes of spotting imprints made by the creatures that roamed the Earth millions of years before. It was Kaylee and I’s first trip with more people other than ourselves. I’d say it was a success. We have a mental list of parks we would like to revisit at a later date, and we can safely say that Dinosaur Valley has found a place on that list. Maybe next time we will see more dinosaur tracks, who knows?
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