What’s the Deal With the Colorful Roadside Dinosaurs in Colorado?

Millions of years ago, dinosaurs roamed the region that's now Colorado. In modern times, people can see relics of these Jurrasic creatures in fossil form at various locations throughout the Centennial State or by viewing excavated dinosaur discoveries on display at local museums.

Get our free mobile app

Another reminder of Colorado's former dinosaurs can be seen near Golden, where local artist, Pat Madison, created a colorful tribute to the prehistoric triceratops that once lived there.

Madison began bringing his artistic dino-sized idea to life when the pandemic first hit. While most of us were baking bread loaves or learning to knit, Madison was busy constructing a family of dinosaurs in the driveway of his home.

When a friend of Madison stopped by and saw the first triceratops underway, he suggested that the Colorado artist create an entire dinosaur family – and even offered to place them on his property.

Fast forward to 2023, and the technicolor dinosaur family is now fully complete and on display for everyone to view. The colorful dinosaurs are situated on a property located at the southwest corner of Highway 93 and West 56th Avenue. The dino family includes a baby, two moms, and a dad. The dad is the first triceratops people see when driving south on Highway 93, and he is the most colorful of the bunch.

Madison was worried about wind potentially blowing the structures away, so he took extra measures to secure them to the ground with rocks and guy wires.

While the dinosaurs are fenced off, people can still get pretty close up for viewing purposes. There's a small dirt lot on 56th Avenue that drivers can pull into to get a better look.

The reason why the artist chose the dinosaur he did, is because one of the very first triceratops fossils was found in Golden. Madison is happy that his colorful pieces of art honor the city's history, and can also be appreciated by people who drive by.

Madison has two other art pieces, "Return of the Cutthroat" and "Rotary Butterflies" that are currently on public display in Golden.