The Dinosaur Trail is older than dinosaurs

The name sets a small trap. San Angelo State Park's Dinosaur Trail does pass fossil tracks, but the animals made them in the Permian Age, before dinosaurs appeared. The stone under a West Texas walk is carrying a much older chapter than the trail sign first suggests.

The route runs about two miles in the park's North Unit. Standard park admission applies, and current alerts can affect trail access. Treat the tracks as part of the rock, not souvenirs: the pleasure here is finding signs of ancient movement still open to the sky beside San Angelo.