The Montana Dinosaur Trail is a series of fourteen

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

-themed

museums A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

state parks State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

and other attractions in twelve communities located in the central and eastern regions of the state of

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. The trail, a plan to increase attendance at the region's museums and drive tourism in general, was established via the work of a number of museums as well as community and state officials. The idea for a trail uniting the museums and promoting

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

in eastern Montana came from a meeting of the Missouri River Country

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

at the Dinosaur Field Station in

Malta, Montana Malta ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Phillips County, Montana, United States, located at the intersection of U.S. Routes 2 and 191. The population was 1,860 at the 2020 census. History After James Hill and his partners built t ...

and the trail was officially launched via the efforts of the tourism groups of:

Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

Country, Missouri River Country, Russell Country and

Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

Country; two state agencies: Fish, Wildlife and Parks and Travel Montana; and two federal agencies: the Army Corps of Engineers and the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

. The Dinosaur Trail opened in May 2005 and drew more than 196,000 visitors its first year. Since its opening, the trail facilities have hosted between 236,000 and 302,000 visitors each year.MT Office of Tourism statistics from MT Dino Trail Annual Reports Promotion of the Trail includes a "Prehistoric

Passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

" on which visitors collect dinosaur icon stamps from each museum they visit. In addition to the participating museums, the trail has helped increase visitors to other small businesses along the route.

Participating organizations

The fourteen organizations that make up the Montana Dinosaur Trail are the following:
Blaine County Museum
*

Carter County Museum The Carter County Museum, is a local and natural history museum located in Ekalaka, Montana. It was founded in 1936 and is the first county museum in Montana. The museum is one of several in the state on the Montana Dinosaur Trail, a collection of ...

* Fort Peck Interpretive Center
Garfield County Museum
*

Great Plains Dinosaur Museum and Field Station The Great Plains Dinosaur Museum and Field Station is a paleontology museum located in Malta, Montana. Opened in 2008, the museum features exhibits of dinosaurs and other prehistoric fossils that were found in the area and state, including a ''Tr ...

H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum
*

Makoshika State Park Makoshika State Park ("ma-KO-sh(ih)kuh" from the Lakota ''Maco sica,'' meaning 'bad land' or 'land of bad spirits') is a nature preserve and public recreation area located on the southeast side of Glendive in Dawson County, Montana. The state pa ...

Museum of the Rockies Museum of the Rockies is a museum in Bozeman, Montana. Originally affiliated with Montana State University in Bozeman, and now also, the Smithsonian Institution, the museum is largely known for its paleontological collections. The Museum houses ...

Old Trail MuseumPhillips County MuseumRudyard Depot Museum
* Two Medicine Dinosaur Center
Upper Musselshell Museum

References

External links

Official Site
{{authority control 2005 establishments in Montana Dinosaur museums in the United States Museum organizations Natural history museums in Montana Paleontology in Montana Tourism regions of the United States Tourist attractions in Montana