Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, Part 2: Dinosaur Prints and Scaling the Dino Cliffs

On our first hike together at the Dinosaur Cliffs we had branched off from the trail to explore the cliffs from the top before wandering off into the desert reserve but this time we approached the cliffs from the bottom with the intent of locating the dinosaur prints for which the area and the trail is named. Recent high winds had blown sand into many of the fossilized footprints making them difficult to locate despite Tom having been there before, but after comparing the sand-filled slab to previous photos we were able to locate the prints; I plan on returning another time to get clearer shots.

After viewing the prints we walked the base of the cliffs until we spontaneously decided to leave the trail and climb up the cliffs to the top. Luckily we found a suitable canyon quickly and didn’t run into any issues. Once at the top we skirted the ridges once again and then reconnected with the Grapevine Trail to return to the parking area.