Backyard Terrors Dinosaur Park

One of our favorite local places to have an adventure is Backyard Terrors Dinosaur Park. It is a hidden gem in the TriCities region.  It is such a fun way to spend the day exploring and learning with children.  I am also blown away by the dedication of the owner.  Chris Kastner said “The dinosaur park is a dream of mine that started out with me wanting a life size dinosaur. I couldn't afford one so through much trial and error I built myself one in 2007.”  From there, the park grew.  The website boasts 40 dinosaurs, but I swear there are new ones every time we go.  That number is likely higher now. He truly puts in a tremendous amount of effort for a park supported by donations.

The dinosaurs vary in size from tiny Pteranodons to a life size Apatosaurus. The detail and artistic skill he puts into his work is quite impressive.  I love how the replicas are tucked into the trees and nature.  I always think it gives it a more lifelike appeal. 

Last year they put in a playground.  My kids love to stop there in the middle.  It isn’t anything fancy, but was a nice addition to the park.  I do wish there was a trash can at the playground, but I also understand that someone would have to empty it everyday or it would be at risk to wildlife at night.  If I find trash, which isn’t a lot, I generally try to carry it back out to the picnic area.  In order to keep it donation based, I feel like we can all do our part to maintain park’s cleanliness.

Around the picnic area they have added some extra features recently.  There is a kid’s Jurassic Park jeep (stationary) and several Jurassic World murals.  There is a Flintstones ride on dinosaur.  One of those from outside the grocery store that usually costs 50 cents, but this one is free.

The dig site is another fun stop!  There are I think six different bins to uncover fossils.  The Jurassic Park safety helmets all have names on the back that are related either to the movies or paleontologists.  I got bored and looked them up one day when the boys were digging.

I think the boys favorite part is heading to the gift shop though.  The prices on the items are extremely reasonable in my opinion.  There are items from $0.25 to $20.00, most falling somewhere around $1.00-3.00.  My oldest bought a JW stegosaurus that was actually cheaper than it was listed at Target one time.  Typically, I give the park somewhere between $15-20 per visit depending on what we spend in the gift shop. 

We usually spend about 2.5 hours because we pack a lunch.  So we’ll walk through, stop at the playground, have snack, finish the loop, eat, go to the dig site, and then go to the gift shop.  I’d say for most people 1-1.5 hours is adequate.  You could go faster if you wanted though.

The park entrance fee is donation based and the gift shop is on the Honor System. They have lock boxes for cash or you can send PayPal.  The website states that it is open from 9 am to 9pm. The parking lot is adequate sized unless there is a school group. I’ve driven up when there was a bus and parking was a bit tricky. Thee is room enough for 6-8 vehicles and there is a church across the street that I’m sure you could park at if need be. They have some special events, like Dinos in the Dark, can schedule birthday parties, and operate a Haunted attraction during Halloween.  Now go check it out!