Alpine, California -
Dinosaur Land Remains

Dinosaur Land Remains

When I was a little kid, on one of our family trips we drove past a cool-looking "dinosaur place." Of course I begged my parents to stop, but for whatever reason we did not. I always remembered the location, and thought about it whenever I happened to be in Alpine visiting friends or family. Finally a few weeks ago I Googled "dinosaur" and "Alpine" and was happy to see one of the dinosaurs still existed. Today I visited with my 7 year old son. What fun! The earlier tips were helpful, but instead of the approach Shane mentioned, we met a man who lives in one of the mobile homes, and he invited us to go through his yard. He mentioned that the trailer park maintains the area around the dinosaur, and that at Christmas the residents decorate it with lights. [Ernie Bornheimer, 05/16/2010]

Dinosaur Land Remains

It's in an RV park right next to the little stream. I knocked on a resident's door and asked if I could go in her backyard and look at her dinosaur. She laughed and said go ahead. There is a driveway/ path to follow to the stream. There is a locked bridge that is easily gone around but only if you're light. [Shane, 03/05/2010]

Dinosaur Land - Vague Recollections

My grandparents lived on Old Hwy 80. Their original house was torn down to make way for the new freeway, and they built a new home on the lower half of their property, closer to the road now known as Alpine Blvd.

I remember Dinosaur Land -- I visited the park that first summer it opened. It was such a thrill meandering around the park with its fiberglass dinosaurs and artificial marsh pond(s), but like most children, it was always exciting to spend time with grandma. The thing I found most captivating were the peacocks; the male Indian Blue Peacocks in all their glorious splendor strutted about freely around the park.

I remember the fiberglass horse and gorilla in their elevated places along the roadway. For a couple of years there was also a giant fiberglass Santa Claus which could be seen from the road. It lay discarded at the base of my grandparent’s property, where my grandfather posted a sign reading "Fill Wanted." [Christine, 01/27/2010]

Dinosaur Land

Bob the Dinosaur is still around, but is hard to find. It seems the trailer park around him has gotten larger. A lot of people in Alpine have never heard of him; we thought he would be visible by the road, but you have to drive deep into the trailer park. You will see a house to your left with a little road to drive into that could be a driveway. We were hesitant to take it because we thought it was private. But we drove in and there Bob was. There's a gate in front of him now, because people cut a hole in his belly and were living inside...that is what the guy who opened the gate for me told me! Bob was decorated for the holidays.

So when you get to Alpine drive into the trailer park and look around for a driveway that seems to go into the woods. [Nichole G., 12/18/2008]

Dinosaur Land

Regarding Dinosaur Park in Alpine, CA: It was originally called Dinosaur Land and was built in 1962 to be an amusement park. It was scheduled to have a roller coaster shaped like a volcano, life-size dinosaur statues, water rides, dinosaur "characters" roaming the park, and restaurants. It went bankrupt within two years, and all that remains is "Dinosaur Bob." He looks like a brontosaurus whose neck broke at one time or another. Dinosaur Land is now a mobile home park located on Alpine Blvd. You can still see Dinosaur Bob - I'm a 3rd grade teacher in Alpine and he's part of our historical tour of Alpine each year! [Kristen Itokazu, 06/26/2005]

[RA: According to the latest analysis of dinosaur bones, the noble "brontosaurus" may have spent most time with his long neck and head in a position similar to Dinosaur Bob's... ]