In July of 2018, we traveled back to Gettysburg and wanted to research and find the bridge that contains the dinosaur footprints that we read about on-line. We were successful in locating the bridge.
When one thinks about Gettysburg, the last thing that would come to mind would be dinosaurs; however, there are some footprints within the area that are a bit interesting to see in person.
Marianne first read about the dinosaur footprints of Gettysburg on the Gettysburg Daily website when she was researching different areas around the town that we didn't have a chance to visit in the past, and we thought it would be fun to try to go out and see if these prints actually do exist in the stones of the bridge. Sure enough, they are there. Watch our video below for more on-site details.
Getting to the location is not that simple, and if fact, if you were not aware that they were there, you probably would drive right by them. The bridge is on South Confederate Avenue, which is a one-way road leading off of Emmitsburg Road. The map below will help you locate the bridge.
Once you start heading south on Emmitsburg Road, look for South Confederate Avenue and turn right to head East. This is a one-way street, so you can only head that direction.
To get to this stop, travel east on South Confederate (it’s a one way road so if you’re driving you really need to be traveling east) until you get to the William Wells Statue. Use one of these parking spaces, and you can walk a little ways (about 40 yards) down the road to the bridge.
Three dinosaur footprints sit atop the bridge. The bridge was constructed circa 1938. The rocks used to build the bridge are made of sandstone or silt stone. They were taken from the now abandoned Trostle Quarry, located approximately three miles east of York Springs, Adams County, Pennsylvania. The prints are from the Triassic period, of the Mesozoic era, approximately 200 to 250 million years ago. The Mesozoic era is also known as the “Age of Reptiles.” This is a pretty interesting find in such a historical location.
Please let us know down in the comments if you have heard of these before, or have actually been to this location to see the prints.
