Cabazon Dinosaurs 2026 Review: A Hidden Gem For Dinosaur-Loving Kids

Hey Friend!

This summer I had the opportunity to take my dinosaur-loving 3-year-old to Cabazon Dinosaurs and here is my review of that experience.

My son has been obsessed with dinosaurs, and so when we went to visit my parents in Victorville a few weeks ago, I knew I had to make the trip down the hill to see Cabazon Dinosaurs. And let me tell you, the experience was actually way better than I expected!

In preparation for this outing, I looked up photos of the place, and it seemed like most of the photos showed the giant Apatosaurus and T-Rex that are right out front. It looked interesting enough, and I knew my son would think it was really cool. I wasn't sure if it would be cool enough for the hour drive to get there, but I was hopeful!

So while my husband was off doing a training for work, my mom, my son, and I went down the hill to go visit Cabazon Dinosaurs.

Cabazon Dinosaurs: A Hidden Gem

When we got there my son was shrieking with glee, so excited that he got to go up to the giant T-Rex. "This is off to a good start." I thought. My child was happy and excited. Parking is free, and there are plenty of parking spaces which made it easy to find a spot quickly.

One thing I appreciated about this place is that the two giant dinosaurs are completely free to go up to and see. They are not inside the park, so if you are looking for a quick free pit stop, that is a good one. Although, I do believe it was totally worth it to pay to go into the park and see the rest of the dinosaurs.

We took a few photos by the T-Rex and then followed the fence to the entrance of the park. Admission was $15 per adult and $13 per child ages 3-12. The senior and military discount price is $11. I didn't think the prices were too bad (although they do feel a little high) for a unique experience.

Inside the park there is a gift shop right at the entrance that has more dinosaurs, some of which even move, a dinosaur ride, a rock-hunt-win-a-prize game, and a lot of merch. It is also well air conditioned which was nice, because it was super hot outside that day we went.

Mav wanted to look at everything in the shop, which was a little overstimulating for me, his mom (like I said, there was a lot of merch). He also did ride on the dinosaur ride which wasn't anything special, but it was only $2. I don't know how much Mav enjoyed it. He had a look that was a cross between "Wow! I'm riding a dinosaur!" "Is it alive and will it eat me?" and "This ride isn't all that thrilling." But the ride actually went on for quite a while and was totally worth the $2!

The other activity in the gift shop, was a free rock-hunt-win-a-prize game, which was also a unique part of the trip. There was a pretty large area with a bunch of small rocks in it and children had to search in the smaller rocks for a slightly bigger rock that said a type of dinosaur on it. Once they find one, they bring it to the front and get to pick out a free prize. I am all about free things, so I thought this was pretty neat. The prizes themselves were Dollar Store quality, but hey, they were free!

Next we went outside to explore the park. This is where I think the experience really started to shine!

I definitely would call Cabazon Dinosaurs a hidden gem. 

There were way more dinosaurs in the park than I expected. And a lot of them were real works of art. Beautifully done. They were so colorful and staged all over the place. There were so many great photo opportunities, and things to see and touch. It was also very toddler friendly/stroller friendly as all the paths you walk on are paved and they are pretty wide. 

My toddler had no problem running around on the path. It really isn't that much walking, not like going to the zoo and having to walk to each exhibit. Everything here is pretty close together. So it makes for a nice walk for those who maybe tire out more quickly or have shorter legs. And there is so much to see everywhere that you really do want to take it slow as you walk through the park.

My son's all-time favorite part of the whole experience was when we were able to climb up inside to the top of that giant T-Rex. To me this was a little sketchy, a little creepy, and a weird experience, but my son loved it! It is what he talked about most after the Cabazon Dinosaurs experience. I will say, for parents visiting with small children, the stairs are really steep, and the last part where you climb up to the T-Rex's mouth, I carried my son down it because it is so steep and it curves. But, like I said, it was his favorite part of the whole park.

Things You Need To Know Before You Go

I think the biggest downside of the trip was how hot it was and the majority of the park is outside (other than the gift shop). But that wasn't the parks fault, we did go in the middle of July! There were a couple spots with misters which was really helpful, and when my mom got too hot and tired, she was able to sit in the shade under the misters while I explored the park with my son. 

We ended up staying there for just over an hour. We could have probably stayed there longer, but to be honest, it was just too hot. I think if you are planning on visiting Cabazon Dinosaurs, you could expect to be there one to two hours depending on the weather.

I know that my son did want to go back inside the giant T-Rex, and we could have definitely walked the loop again to see all the dinosaurs again, but as I said, it was hot. And while there were misters, there weren't enough. 

But even with us leaving earlier than I would have wanted to, we actually did stay there longer than I originally expected. There were so many things that kept my 3-year-old engaged while we were there. From seeing all the different dinosaurs, to climbing up inside the giant T-Rex, to exploring the gift shop, riding the dinosaur ride, hunting for fossils in the rocks, and panning for gems, there was a ton of things for my son to do.

One thing I want to note is there is no restaurant to buy food or drinks. You can bring your own food and drinks inside Cabazon Dinosaurs if you want to have a picnic lunch, and there are plenty of picnic tables in the park to rest and eat said lunch. We, however, already had plans to go visit Hadley's Cafe which isn't too far from the park. And there are bathrooms located outside of the gift shop. We did not use them so I can't really review them, but there are bathrooms available if you need one while you are there.

When we were done visiting the park, but before we left, we checked out the giant Apatosaurus. There is a second gift shop inside the belly of the Apatosaurus which was cool. It had the same stuff as the gift shop we already explored, and in my opinion wasn't as cool as the other gift shop. It was smaller and didn't have the dinosaur ride or the rock hunt game. But it was cool to go inside the Apatosaurus. Then we took a couple pictures in front of it and left.

Is Cabazon Dinosaurs Worth It?

Overall, I think this was a fantastic experience! My 3-year-old loved it, and I was able to get a lot of great pictures, which makes my mama heart happy. I would for sure go back and drag my husband along with me next time, though I probably wouldn't go back in the middle of summer. I do think the price was a little high, but this is a really unique experience and I do feel like I got a good experience for the price I paid. I think this is a great place to bring your dinosaur-loving kids. 

As always, thanks for reading!