Dinosaur Discovery Park - Haddonfield, NJ
N 39° 54.590 W 075° 01.740
18S E 497521 N 4417750
First established in 1984, as an Eagle Scout project, the site has grown to be a popular park for visitors all over the country for it is here where the first nearly intact set of dinosaur bones was first discovered. Welcome to Haddy's park.
Waymark Code: WMABJP
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 12/19/2010
Views: 8
The Haddonfield dinosaur discovery site is located in a wooded area at the end of Maple Avenue in Haddonfield and includes historic markers, a bench and an overlook above a deep ravine. Traversed by a stream in a deep ravine, the site of the 1858 Hadrosaurus foulkii discovery sits at the edge of a narrow corridor of Camden County Park land that forms the border between Haddonfield and Cherry Hill.
Since it was officially marked by Eagle Scout Christopher Brees in 1984,
the site has been maintained as a public mini-park. Brees's father, Butch Brees, a member of the Haddonfield Dinosaur Sculpture Committee, serves as curator of the Hadrosaurus Park. Although it is hidden away at the end of a quiet surburban street and not well marked on connecting roads, the site just off Maple Avenue and Grove Street gets at least 100 visitors a month, including a significant number from other countries such as Japan and Germany.
Some visitors are serious paleontology buffs or university students who want to stand at the place where the world's first nearly-complete dinosaur skeleton was excavated. A visit to the actual excavation site at the bottom of the ravine turns out to be no easy task -- the ravine below the mini-park is in its wild state with only crude footpaths through thick underbrush and a good deal of unavoidable shoreline mud.
Haddonfield, Cherry Hill and the Camden Country Board of Freeholders are currently in discussions to establish a walkway and other features that would make the historic location safer and more enjoyable to visit.
I often come here several times a year, sometimes alone, sometimes with the kids. It is a beautiful site. It is constantly being improved upon and upgraded. There is a bench there which visitors place dinosaurs when visiting. There are sorts of dinosaurs scattered about the bench. I also decided to place a geocache deep in the ravine called ROAR. Nearby is also another geocache as well called Up, Up and Away. Parking is a breeze and two paths will take you down into the ravine. There is a sign in sheet for visitors and a small kiosk to gather information. In front of the the historic marker is a steep drop off into the creek bed below. A steep trail (there are two) can safely take you down to the creek, where you can continue to walk and see the actual location of the excavation and find my geocache. Parking is street side or next to the marker.