Rapid City, South Dakota.

High on a ridge overlooking Rapid City, South Dakota, several dinosaur sculptures keep watch over the city. The park, operated by the Rapid City Parks Department, contains several sculptures designed by Emmet Sullivan and constructed in a joint project with the City of Rapid City and the Works Progress Administration. Completed in 1936, the park is free and open to the public.

The opening photo, I discovered in researching this article, is not an accurate representation of what it looks like today. Apparently earlier this spring, a hail storm accompanied by strong gusty winds knocked the head off of this sculpture made of a two-inch pipe skeleton and concrete laid over a wire mesh infrastructure. From the article I read, the area around the dinosaur formerly known as a brontosaurus is blocked from visitor access.

Editor’s note: A recent visit to the park by a family member confirmed that the damage to the apatosaurus has been repaired.

A visitor center and gift shop is located near the park’s parking area. The park is closed in the winter but otherwise is open daily from dawn to dusk. There is some significance to the area in that along the ridge where the park is built, dinosaurs and dinosaur footprints from the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous periods have been found.

At the highest point on the ridge, the dinosaurs are lined up along a walkway. A relatively steep climb is required as there is no handicap-accessible route available. These photographs were taken in September 2021, so the depiction is prior to the damage that occurred to the apatosaurus.

I am not a dinosaur expert and only know a few types. I had to look up the name of this duck-billed dinosaur. Wikipedia helped me identify this interesting species which takes its name in part from its first discoveries around Edmonton, Canada.

This is one dinosaur park where kids of all ages are allowed to play on the exhibits. The Internet is filled with photos of families posing on the sculptures that most lend themselves to being climbed.

The dinosaur sculptures are interesting, but for me, I found the most interest in the panoramic views of the area from the highest points on the ridge. What follows is a gallery of panoramic images I gathered from various vantage points at Dinosaur Park.

You can click on any of the images above to pixel peep in 2K HD on my Flickr site, or you can visit the Flickr album here.

John Steiner