Dinosaur Stampede Tours

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Tours to the Dinosaur Stampede (at Lark Quarry Conservation Park)

The Dinosaur Stampede, also known at Lark Quarry, is located 110km SW of Winton down a local road with about 45km of dirt/gravel road. Yes, you can drive yourself but:
1. You'd miss out on the local information we can provide on the natural and human history
2. Our longer tours head onto private property that we have access to, to show you the spectacular countryside your wouldn't otherwise see
3. You'd have to drive. If you let us do the driving then you get to sit back and relax for the day!

We run scheduled tours to the Dinosaur Stampede five days a week, on two different tours - a day tour (8.30am-4.00pm) and a 3/4 day tour (9.00am-3.45pm). Each of these tours includes the site tour at the Dinosaur Stampede and morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, as well as access to private property which is where they differ. The day tour heads to Carisbrooke Station and the 3/4 day tour goes to Merton Gorge and Lookout.

Note: During Queensland school holidays, busy periods and when wet weather prevents us from driving on the tracks of the private properties, we offer a Half Day Dinosaur Stampede Tour.
This tour leaves at 7.30am and is back around 12.30pm - heading straight to the Dinosaur Stampede and back. Check availability and prices in the Tour Calendar.

See below for more information on the Dinosaur Stampede, Carisbrooke Station and the Merton area.

DINOSAUR STAMPEDE AND CARISBROOKE STATION DAY TOUR

Tour Includes:
- Site tour at the Dinosaur Stampede at Lark Quarry
- Morning tea
- Lunch
- Access fee to Carisbrooke Station (private property)
- Airconditioned vehicle
- Small groups

Departs: Monday and Thursday
Duration: 7.5 hours
Time: 8.30am to 4.00pm

2024 PRICE
Adult: $185
Senior: $180
Child: $120
Family (2+2): $550

DINOSAUR STAMPEDE 3/4 DAY TOUR (including Merton Gorge)

Tour includes:
- Site tour at the Dinosaur Stampede at Lark Quarry
- Morning tea
- Lunch
- Access to private property (Merton)
- Airconditioned vehicle
- Small groups

Departs: Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
Duration: 6.75 hours
Time: 9.00am - 3.45pm

2024 PRICE
Adult: $165
Senior: $160
Child: $110
Family (2+2): $490

Carisbrooke Station and Dinosaur Stampede Full Day Tour
We travel to Carisbrooke Station to marvel at the natural wonders and history of this spectacular location. See the Three Outback Sisters and just sit back and enjoy the open expanse of the landscape. We then travel to the Dinosaur Stampede at Lark Quarry Conservation Park where we enjoy the guided tour of the footprints and have time to enjoy a stroll around the spinifex walking track. There's so much more than just dinosaurs!

Discounts available if you have pre-purchased a Dinosaur Stampede ticket or combination pass such as the Dinosaur Trail or Winton Dinosaur Capital pass with AAOD. Please contact me via email or the Winton VIC.
This tour does not include the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum.

Dinosaur Stampede 3/4 Day Tour
Journey through Winton’s mesa country to see a snapshot of an ancient environment and dinosaur footprints from 95 million years ago. Along the way we will go off the beaten track to enjoy some of the magnificent country this region has to offer - we drive onto a working cattle station to see Merton Gorge and Lookouts. At the Dinosaur Stampede we enjoy the guided tour of the footprints and have time to enjoy a stroll around the spinifex walking track. There's so much more than just dinosaurs!
Discounts available if you have pre-purchased a Dinosaur Stampede ticket or combination pass such as the Dinosaur Trail or Winton Dinosaur Capital pass with AAOD. Please contact me via email or the Winton VIC.
This tour does not include the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum.

Dinosaur Stampede Half Day Dino Dash
On this half day tour we leave early in the morning from Winton and drive down to the Dinosaur Stampede early to do the site tour there. You'll have time for a short walk around the Spinifex Walk, a bit of retail therapy, morning tea, and then we return to Winton. No frills.
Includes:
- Tour at the Dinosaur Stampede
- Morning Tea
- Informative commentary along the way
Note this tour does not include adventures on private property that the other Stampede Tours do.

April to October - We only offer this tour when our 3/4 and Fyll Day Tours get really busy - leaving at approx. 8.15am, returning at approximately 1.00pm.
November to March - In Summer we offer this tour a bit earlier 7.30am - 12.30pm to be back before the day gets too hot.

Check the Tours Calendar for scheduled tours and availability.

More about Carisbrooke Station...
Carisbrooke is a working cattle station that we have permission to visit on a regular basis - it is not possible to visit the station on your own.
Carisbrooke has some spectacular views along the escarpment of the Cory Range and across the valley filled with flat grazing country. One of the spectacular rock features is the Three Outback Sisters. But there is plenty to see. And, there is also a lot of interesting history including early sheep and cattle grazing history and the landing site of the plane "The Swoose" in 1942. Really, it's great just to get off the beaten track and see some of the country side that you wouldn't even know was there!

More about Merton...
This area is part of a local Cattle Station and is not accessible on your own - we are very lucky to have access to this area for regular tours. The area was first opened up by a local photographer, Peter Knowles, and has been a spot enjoyed by locals and tourists over the decades since. The natural environment of this area is nothing short of spectacular with open gorges and wide views of the valley on the edge of the escarpment. Along the way we look at plants, flowers, birds, lizards - whatever comes our way - oh and of course the rocks and landscapes. You might want to do a tour to the Dinosaur Stampede but this area is something you won't forget!

More about the Stampede...
The Dinosaur Stampede at Lark Quarry Conservation Park preserves approximately 3300 dinosaur footprints that were made approximately 95 million years ago by the animals that roamed the land at the time. It's thought that the wet environment at the time contained forests, swamps and flood plains through which the animals walked and ran doing their daily business. As a snapshot of one moment in time, a group, or groups, of animals ran through some mud near a water hole. The footprints left in the mud were covered by sand and mud and then more layers of mud and sand, drying out to become rock buried deep beneath the land surface.

Millions of years later, as our landscape eroded away, parts of the ancient landscape have been exposed, including the edge of the layer of rock that contains those footprints. Through relatively serendipitous circumstances those footprints were uncovered by paleontologists (and a volunteer named Malcolm Lark) in the 1970's and preserved by Queensland Parks and Wildlife as a Conservation Park (Lark Quarry Conservation Park) and was also the first site to be listed on Australia's list of National Monuments (Dinosaur Stampede National Monument).