{"id":7079522,"date":"2026-10-07T19:28:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T19:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079522"},"modified":"2026-10-07T19:28:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T19:28:26","slug":"stunning-arizona-dinosaur-tracks-hiding-in-plain-sight-traveling-with-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079522","title":{"rendered":"Stunning Arizona Dinosaur Tracks – Hiding in Plain Sight \u2022 Traveling with Purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Driving north on Arizona Highway 89 through the vast open spaces of the Navajo [Din\u00e9] Nation, I nearly missed the turnoff entirely \u2014 and almost drove past the Moenave Arizona Dinosaur Tracks \u2013 one of Northern Arizona\u2019s most remarkable hidden gems. But once I turned off the highway and stepped out of the car, I walked just a few feet, and dozens of tracks were impossible to miss.<\/p>\n

The ancient dinosaur footprints pressed deep into the sandstone, left behind by prehistoric creatures that roamed this desert landscape more than 200 million years ago, long before the Grand Canyon<\/a><\/strong> was carved or Monument Valley\u2019s mesas rose from the desert floor. Finding the Moenave, Arizona Dinosaur Tracks, just off Highway 160 near Tuba City, takes a keen eye on the road, but the reward is absolutely worth the effort. <\/p>\n

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Unlike the well-known attractions along the Northern Arizona road trip circuit, this free or pay-what-you-can, open-air site is refreshingly unadorned and uncrowded \u2014 and once you arrive, the tracks can be seen in stunning detail. You can crouch down, reach out, and touch a moment frozen in time since the Early Jurassic period. Navajo guides are also available to point out details you\u2019d never notice on your own. See more about that and everything you need to know about this off-the-beaten-path gem in this post below.<\/p>\n

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What Are the Moenave Dinosaur Tracks?<\/h2>\n

This Arizona dinosaur track site contains hundreds of well-preserved prints in a wide variety of sizes, from four inches to two feet across. When you\u2019re standing in the middle of this vast Navajo Nation high desert, looking down at a footprint left by a creature that walked this same ground millions of years ago, it\u2019s every bit as mind-bending as it sounds.<\/p>\n

About 200 million years ago, this now-dusty stretch of desert was actually a marshy riverbed. Hundreds of dinosaur footprints were preserved in what was once a wet, sandy floodplain or lake. Some unknown natural event quickly buried the area and locked those prints in place, frozen in time. Wind, water, and erosion have slowly been uncovering them ever since.<\/p>\n

Paleontologists from Northern Arizona University have verified the tracks, and Dilophosaurus dinosaur bones were removed from this site in the 1940s<\/a><\/strong>, which made standing there feel even more surreal. <\/p>\n

Just a heads up that these tracks are sometimes mistakenly called Moenkopi Dinosaur Tracks. I won\u2019t get into the details on the confusion, but suffice it to say that the Moenkopi Formation and Moenave Formation represent distinct geological periods and depositional environments during the Triassic and early Jurassic periods in the southwestern United States. [Moenkopi was 235-247 million years ago, Moenave was 200-203 million years ago]<\/p>\n

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I\u2019ve traveled extensively around the Western U.S. and will be adding much more information about interesting sites in the area and beyond, plus itineraries and road trip tips. If you sign up for my occasional newsletter below or follow me on socials, you\u2019ll be the first to know when new content is published.<\/p>\n

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How to Find the Northern Arizona Dinosaur Tracks Near Tuba City<\/h2>\n

The Navajo Moenave Arizona Dinosaur Tracks Site is on the north side of US-160 at milepost 316, five miles east of US-89. Turn north onto the dirt driveway, then drive about a quarter-mile. You\u2019ll see hand-painted signs and Navajo vendor tables where artisans sell handmade jewelry and gift items.<\/p>\n

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