We recently heard about Durham’s hidden dinosaur landmark, so we set off on a dino hunt to find the mysterious brontosaurus! We were shocked at how easy he is to find, so we thought we’d share this strange landmark so you can make the trek yourself!

Why is there a dinosaur hidden in the woods?

Strange Carolina breaks down the complicated history of Durham’s Hidden Dinosaur. Basically, the Museum of Life and Science was previously located at Northgate park, a few miles down the road. Our hidden brontosaurus was originally part of the dinosaur trail located behind the museum, along with ten other dino friends. Hurricane Fran damaged most of the statues in 1996 and the dinosaur trail was closed. The museum moved over to Murray Avenue where they created their new dinosaur trail, but our brontosaurus friend wasn’t invited. 😞 He sat all alone until a homeless man took up residence in his stomach for a winter season. Then he was vandalized and beheaded, but the public outcry over the incident included restoring his head and making him whole again. Now he stands along the Ellerbe Creek Trail as a historical landmark to Durham residents.

How can I get to the Dinosaur?

There are a couple of ways to find Durham’s dilapidated dino. The easiest, by far, is to park at the Edison Johnson Aquatics Center within Rock Quarry Park. From there it would only be a .1 mile walk. The center is located right next door to the Museum of Life Science, so you could also park there and walk just a little bit further. From the museum it’s total of .4 miles to the dino. We chose this route, and planned a museum visit after our dino hunt.

If you start at the Museum of Life and Science you will need to cross over Murray Ave and take a right down to the Ellerbe Creek Trail. Take a left on the trail and the dinosaur is just a tenth of a mile down on your left. He’s set back from the trail a little bit, so if you’re in deep conversation with a friend you might miss him! Not that I did that or anything… 😂

In case you were wondering, the Ellerbe Creek Trail is completely paved and stroller friendly. Murray Avenue has a wide sidewalk and button crosswalk up by the museum, so it’s completely safe for your family walk.

For your convenience we have added the dinosaur to Google Maps so he should be extremely easy to find! If you want to make your dino hunt a longer trek, try parking at the Northgate Park dog park and walking from there. @PeterDoesParks has uploaded a video with instructions on how to get to the dino from that direction.

Happy Dino hunting!