A Day Trip to See Dinosaurs at Jersey's Jurassic Park

Located less than 45 minutes from Red Bank (and most of Monmouth County) it's the new Field Station Dinosaurs park in Secaucus! Whether you grew up watching Jurassic Park, or your kids love dinosaurs, your family will definitely enjoy the few dozen life-size, very realistic animatronic dinosaurs. They move, turn their heads, wag their tails, and ROAAARRRR. The trails through lush green forests weave among every type of dinosaur: Apatosaurus, Stegosaurus, Argentinosaurus, Velociraptors and more. They are really impressive: huge ones with long necks and big tails, predators on two-feet with menacing fangs, quirky spiked ones, or flying pterodactyls.

The entire park has a camp/expedition feel. There are tents among the trees, 4x4s parked by the roadside (one of them carrying cooing baby dinosaurs), yurts and other improvised buildings (that host various exhibits and shows). I visited with my 2-and-a-half year-old son and he had a blast (we both had, actually). There are several stations around the park where children can engage in lots of activities. Most of them are geared towards 5 and up, but my kid kept busy too. There’s puzzle building available, he examined a real dinosaur head, played with a real turtle, touched lizards and a big snake, etc. Every half hour there’s a music and dance shows in the main amphitheater, which engage the children, and there are musicians playing at various other locations too.

One of the most loved kid activities is the fossil dig site: a big sandy area where kids of all ages get shovels and brushes, and dig in the sand to find dinosaur bones. In between the dig site and the amphitheater is the food court, where you can get everything from burgers and hot dogs to popcorn and icecream. There’s a covered picnic tent, and there’s also a special area for birthday parties.

As you come back from that central show/food area, there are even more threatening dinosaurs (including two fighting ones), and then you go up to “The Lookout”, which is dominated by a T-Rex and one of the biggest ones in the park (something like 80-100 feet long). Heading back towards the exit, there’s a big tent that hosts the Dinosaur Alive 3D movie. I was surprised that my son lasted through the entire 25 minutes in his seat, it was actually the first time he sat at a movie, so it must’ve been good!

We went on a Saturday, around 10:30 and it wasn’t that busy at first. It only got crowded after noon, so it’s a good idea to go early, and beat the heat and the crowds. To get there, taking the train is also an option, since there’s less than a half-mile walk from the Secaucus station to the park entrance (the ride from Red Bank is about an hour).

Field Station Dinosaurs is a great destination for a half-day trip. The walk through the park is easy and you could probably finish it in an hour, but if you go to the 3D movie, watch the shows and let your kids engage in activities, you can easily spend 3 hours (like we did). It could be a bit pricey, but buy your tickets online the night before to get some nice savings. I’m looking forward to visiting again in a year or two! More photos are available on our Facebook page.

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