A little north of Palm Springs, CA, there’s a place called Cabazon, CA, that has a roadside attraction that I could never have even thought up, the Cabazon Dinosaurs.

I visited the Cabazon Dinosaurs in April of 2024 when I was in Palm Springs, CA, for a conference.

Now the main attraction here is a set of two MASSIVE dinosaurs made of steel, concrete, and fiberglass, Mr. Rex & Dinny. Mr. Rex is of course a t-rex, and you can actually climb into him and see out of his mouth. This is not for the faint of heart. I’m not going to lie, I chickened out at the last spiral staircase and had one of the women I was with take a photo for me. Dinny is a brontosaurus that used to house a gift shop. They were even featured in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure!

Once you walk past the giant dinosaurs from the parking lot, there is nothing that is going to prepare you for the level of delightfully cheesy tourist trap that is in store for you.

There are over 100 smaller dinosaurs inside in this wild little fenced-in area. They have a spot where you can dig for little rocks with names of different dinosaurs on them to win a prize. They also have a gift shop full of all sorts of cheesy souvenirs about dinosaurs and the phrase “Tell em’ Large Marge Sent You” from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.

I cannot explain to you how much joy this strange little place gave me. It was worth every penny of the $15 entrance fee.

Know before you go:
Admission: Adults $15; Children $13; Seniors & Military $11
50770 Seminole Drive, Cabazon, CA 92230
Open 9am – 6pm daily
Official Website: cabazondinosaurs.com