Entry No. 29 — the Los Angeles file — filed under: roadside-oddity
Cabazon Dinosaurs
Sculptor Claude Bell built these two colossal concrete dinosaurs beside Interstate 10 starting in 1964 to lure travelers to his Wheel Inn diner; Dinny the Apatosaurus took eleven years and Mr. Rex the T. rex followed. The diner is long gone, but the giants remain, and you can climb a staircase inside Dinny's belly to a gift shop. They are famous from their cameo in Pee-wee's Big Adventure.
The story
In 1964, Knott's Berry Farm sculptor Claude Bell bought a patch of desert gravel along Interstate 10 and realized a standard roadside billboard wouldn't cut it to trick speeding drivers into stopping at his Wheel Inn diner. His answer was Dinny—a 150-foot-long, 150-ton Apatosaurus that took him eleven years to frame with iron gridwork and coat in hand-sprayed shotcrete. Mr. Rex, a towering Tyrannosaurus, went up next to complete the concrete skyline.
The Wheel Inn diner eventually shuttered and met the bulldozer, but Bell's cement monsters outlived their creator's diner business. Immortalized on film in Pee-wee's Big Adventure, the beasts have morphed into a shifting canvas: depending on when you make the haul past the outlets, you might catch Mr. Rex decked out in a Santa costume, painted bubblegum pink for Valentine's Day, or sporting seasonal neon paint jobs. Step inside Dinny's tail and you can climb a narrow staircase straight into the dinosaur's belly, where a gift shop operates inside the cavernous concrete ribcage.
What it's like
Pulling up off Seminole Drive, you don't need to pay a cent if you just want to park in the dirt, gaze up at Mr. Rex's claws, and snap photos from the asphalt. But if you pay for park admission, you get to climb up inside Dinny's belly, wander the expanded dinosaur park area, and try gemstone sluicing. It is pure mid-century roadside surrealism—dusty, wind-whipped, and intensely sun-baked—so hit it early in the morning before the desert heat turns the parking lot into an oven.
The move: Climb up inside the brontosaurus together, then split a snack from the Waffle-Saurus truck in the shadow of the T. rex.
📍 Before you go About 85 miles east of downtown LA off I-10 near the Palm Springs outlets; the photogenic dinosaurs are free to view, the climbable interior and adventure park charge admission.
- 📍 Cabazon, California
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 50770 Seminole Dr, Cabazon, CA 92230
Hours: Added 2026-06-23 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Desert Christ Park — Pair two mid-century high-desert oddities sculpted out of white concrete by solitary, single-minded artists.
- The Integratron — Trade prehistoric concrete roadside giants in Cabazon for a wooden sound-dome in Landers inspired by Venusians.
- Tio's Tacos — Follow up Claude Bell's roadside trap with another dense, sprawling folk-art environment built out of recycled materials in Riverside.
Good to know
Do you have to pay admission just to see or take photos of the dinosaurs?
No. Viewing the giants from the exterior and taking photos from the parking lot is completely free; paid admission is only required to enter the park grounds and climb inside Dinny's interior.
How much does park admission cost?
Admission tickets are $15 for adults (ages 13–55), $13 for children (ages 3–12), and $11 for seniors and military personnel.
Can you go inside both dinosaurs?
You can go inside Dinny the Apatosaurus, which houses a gift shop inside its hollow concrete belly. Mr. Rex is viewed from the outside.
Where are the dinosaurs located?
They are located at 50770 Seminole Dr in Cabazon, right off I-10 roughly 85 miles east of downtown LA and a short drive west of Palm Springs.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Wikipedia · Official site · Atlas Obscura · Roadside America · californiathroughmylens.com · abc7.com
last checked: 2026-06-23