Although the Empire State may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of the Jurassic or Triassic periods, you may be surprised to learn that there were dinosaurs here – and not in the Museum of Natural History – and we have the tracks to prove it. That’s right, scientists discovered dinosaur tracks in New York, right along the Hudson River, and you can walk an easy hiking trail in the very place where the tracks were found.

Rockland County's Nyack Beach State Park is a bit of a hidden gem in the Empire State.
Mordechai P/TripAdvisor
Those who visit it are taken aback by how peaceful and, amazingly, uncrowded this park is.
Mordechai P/TripAdvisor
There are many trails in the park, most of them wooded and relatively flat, so you don't have to worry about elevation or obstacles when you hike here.
Visitors marvel at the stunning vistas across, as well as up and down, the Hudson River
DJtrinivibes/TripAdvisor
But there's something special about this part of the river's gorge.
sradmd/TripAdvisor

Related Stories

Sundown Wild Forest In Grahamsville, NY Is A Year-Round Nature Lover's Dream

Sundown Wild Forest In Grahamsville, NY Is A Year-Round Nature Lover's Dream

 Enjoy A Wooded Glamping Adventure Under The Trees In The Catskills

Enjoy A Wooded Glamping Adventure Under The Trees In The Catskills

 Few People Know There's A Beautiful State Park Hiding In This Tiny New York Town

Few People Know There's A Beautiful State Park Hiding In This Tiny New York Town
In the Palisades region, the river has carved its way deep into the bedrock, exposing hundreds of feet - and millions of years - of history.
penguinac/TripAdvisor
The cliffs and unusual rock formations in this area have yielded fossils and other clues to New York's natural history in a state that is not particularly known for having a rich fossil record.
Lfinlayk/TripAdvisor
It was among these unusual rocks in the early 1970s that two graduate students stumbled upon a momentous find.
lori749/TripAdvisor
Dinosaur tracks! They had been pressed into mud that, over eons, had hardened into stone. The slab containing the tracks is now housed at The New York State Museum in Albany, where you can visit it.
New York State Museum
But you can also walk along the Hudson at Nyack Beach State Park, knowing that you're walking in the footsteps of dinosaurs, as you look for your own clues to our state's ancient history.

Maybe you’ll stumble across a set of dinosaur tracks in New York! To learn more about The New York State Museum and its collection, visit the museum’s website. The Nyack Beach State Park website has downloadable maps and other information you may need before visiting.

Although New York, itself, does not have a robust fossil record, it happens to be home to the world’s largest collection of dinosaur fossils. You can find it in Manhattan at the American Museum of Natural History. If you want to feed your inner paleontologist, there’s also a fossil park near Buffalo where you can dig your own fossils.

Have you visited any of these sites or museums? Let us know in the comments!

 

OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Related Articles

Explore New York

Featured Addresses
Nyack Beach State Park, North Broadway, Nyack, NY, USA