Entry No. 92 — the Dallas file — filed under: after-dark
Dinosaur Valley State Park Star Party
Best known for dinosaur tracks in the riverbed, this park southwest of Fort Worth also hosts evening star parties run in partnership with the Fort Worth Astronomical Society. Volunteers set up telescopes in a dark field and walk visitors through planets, stars, and galaxies for a couple of hours after sundown. It is free with park admission (and free with a Texas State Parks Pass), and like all such events it is at the mercy of cloud cover.
The story
Most visitors drive out to Glen Rose strictly to stare at Cretaceous footprint tracks pressed into the Paluxy River bed. What they miss is what happens after the day-trippers head back down US-67. Located roughly 70 miles southwest of Dallas, Dinosaur Valley State Park sits just far enough past the Metroplex's light-pollution perimeter to drop into real darkness once the sun clears the limestone bluffs.
Instead of a canned ranger lecture, the park hands its field over to serious sky obsessives—volunteers from the Fort Worth Astronomical Society (with occasional drop-ins from the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas). They haul high-powered personal optical rigs out into the grass, calibrate their tracking mounts, and spent a couple of hours walking whoever shows up through deep-space targets. You get direct access to glass tuned to pull in planet rings, binary stars, and faint spiral galaxies, pointed by people who spend their weekends measuring focal ratios.
What it's like
Reserve a park day-use entry pass online before driving down Park Road 59, and plan to arrive before dark so your headlights don't blind the stargazers. Once you park, walk out to the designated dark field, keeping flashlights aimed low—red-filtered lights are preferred to preserve night vision. Volunteers set up individual stations in the grass, taking turns aiming their eyepieces and answering questions for a couple of hours after sundown. It’s quiet and low-key, but remember the absolute rule of amateur astronomy: a thin layer of North Texas cloud cover will shut down the whole show.
The move: Make the drive to Glen Rose for a scheduled star-party night, spread out in the dark field, and let the Fort Worth astronomers swing their telescopes from one galaxy to the next.
📍 Before you go Scheduled event dates only; subject to weather/cloud cancellation. Free with park admission, but reserve a day-use entry slot ahead. ~70 miles from Dallas.
- 📍 Glen Rose
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 1629 Park Rd 59, Glen Rose, TX 76043
Hours: Added 2026-06-23 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Creation Evidence Museum — Contrast deep-space galactic observations with a visit to this young-Earth museum located less than two miles down the road.
- Petrified Wood Speakeasy Ruins (Ed Young Station) — Stop by these Prohibition-era ruins crafted from petrified wood and fossilized stone on your way into the park.
- Big Rocks Park — Spend the late afternoon scrambling across massive river-carved limestone boulders before heading into the state park for sundown.
- Fossil Rim Wildlife Center — Feed free-roaming giraffes from your car window in the afternoon before settling onto a dark field to gaze at distant nebulae.
Good to know
How much does the star party cost?
The star party itself is free with standard state park entry (or free with a Texas State Parks Pass), but you must reserve a park day-use entry slot online ahead of time.
Do I need to bring my own telescope?
No. Volunteers from the Fort Worth Astronomical Society bring and set up their own high-powered telescopes for visitors to look through.
How far is the park from Dallas?
It is roughly 70 miles southwest of Dallas, located in Glen Rose in Somervell County.
What happens if weather conditions are bad?
Star parties are entirely weather-dependent and are canceled if rain or thick clouds obscure the sky. Check park updates before heading out.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: tpwd.texas.gov · fortworthastro.com
last checked: 2026-06-23