Clayton Dinosaur Trackway

Historical marker location:

US 64/87, Clayton, New Mexico

( At Clayton State Park)

One of the best dinosaur track sites in the world can be viewed at Clayton Lake State Park. More than 500 fossilized footprints, made by at least eight kinds of dinosaurs, are visible on the lake’s spillway. These tracks were embedded in the mud over 100 million years ago, when most of New Mexico was a vast sea.

In the early 1800s, New Mexico became an important center for trade along the Santa Fe Trail, which connected Missouri to Santa Fe. The trail was used by traders, trappers, and settlers to transport goods and supplies across the frontier.