Cultural

Dinoplagne®

Lieu-dit Sur la Croix

CC Pays Bellegardien

Description

Ain during the Mesozoic Era was paradise! Back then, the landscape resembled the enchanting coastline of the Bahamas today. It was a time when being a giant protected you from ferocious predators, such as theropods like Tyrannosaurus Rex – agile, meat-eating dinosaurs. 30 metres in length and weighing over 40 tonnes, the sauropod that walked through Plagne was one of these giants.

He left behind gigantic footprints, measuring over 2 metres in width, across a 1,000 square metre area of limestone rock. The size of the footprints and the length of the track contribute to the exceptional nature of the site – there’s nowhere else like it in the whole world.

The site of the dinosaur footprints was discovered in 2009 by geologists and biologists from Oyonnax. 3 successive paleontological searches, carried out between 2010 and 2012 by researchers from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the University of Lyon, revealed 115 footprints over a distance of 155 metres - making this the longest sauropod trail in the world! The prints were fossilised 145 million years ago! A world record!

This discovery has enabled scientists to gather important data about the geology of the area, the history of the Jura Mountain range and the dinosaurs that once lived here as well as to improve methods for extracting information from footprints and trails and analysing the data revealed by the searches.

So, it’s not surprising that the site has been protected under the Sensitive Natural Areas program (ENS) since 2015.

Tips

New this year ! Dinoplagne is proposing guided tours in english in july and august every Friday at 10 am. When you book your tickets precise in the comments that you are interested !

Ouverture

Closed temporarily.

Tarifs

Adult: 12 to 14 €
Child : 8 to 10 €
Family pass: 34 to 36 €
Job seeker: 10 €
Student: 10 €
Disabled: 10 €
Group adults: 200 to 250 €
Group children : 150 to 225 €.

Free entry for children < 4 years.
Child entry valid for 5 - 12 years.
Group rate available for > 15 people.

Contact et accès

Route départementale 49
Lieu-dit Sur la Croix
01130 Plagne
Ain (1)

Chercher un itinéraire

Informations complémentaires

Services

Coach access

Équipements

Coach parking
Private parking
Car park
Free car park

Moyen de Paiement

Bank/credit card
Check
Travellers Cheque
Cash
Online payment

Langues parlées

English
French

Langues de visite

French

Animaux

Interdis : Pour des raisons de tranquillité de la faune et de propreté du site, les chiens même tenu en laisse sont interdits sur le site de Dinoplagne.Lorsqu’on aime la nature et les animaux, il peut paraître normal qu’un chien puisse nous accompagner partout lors de nos randonnées. Mais la présence d’un chien, même éduqué et obéissant, n’est jamais anodine dans le milieu naturel. Dinoplagne est un Espace Naturel Sensible du département de l’Ain.Attention si vous envisagez de laisser votre animal de compagnie dans votre véhicule le temps de la visite, le parking n’est pas ombragé….

Visite