There are actually quite a few places out there where you can experience the Triassic. I've already briefly covered
Ghost Ranch, New Mexico and of course the
Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. Another great place is
Dinosaur State Park (DSP) in Rocky Hill Connecticut. Now before somebody shouts it out I am aware that the main feature, the track bed, is Early Jurassic in age; however, when I visited as a kid in the 1970s they still thought it was Triassic (I've just dated myself I think). Anyhow, DSP also has a Triassic mural and obviously the Triassic-Jurassic transition is an important topic for them.
As I stated above the main feature is a sandstone surface covered (and I mean covered) with dinosaur footprints. The site was discovered in the mid-1960s by a highway construction project and the park was opened in 1968. A large dome protects the trackways. Over 500 tracks are exposed and at least three times that many are buried for preservation.
This place is a great resource and I know that it made a lasting impression on me as a child (I am originally from Connecticut).
You can read more about Dinosaur State Park
here and
here.
Much to my shame, I never made it over to Dinosaur State Park during my time on Long Island (to be fair, having to deal with NYC traffic was a rather large deterrent). It's certainly on my list for some future visit to the coast. . .
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