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    Backyard Terrors Dinosaur Park

    5.0 (31 reviews)
    Open 9:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

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    What an amazing place! Our toddler had the best time running around and exploring. She loves Dino's and this was a great experience. Must visit for Dinosaur lovers.

    This blew my expectations!! It was so much fun i can say i've never seen such well made dinosaurs and in such an array !! truly a place to go for any age !

    Chrissy F.

    My kids had the best time visiting! I have a 3,7, and 10 year old and we enjoyed the dinosaurs, wildlife and trails. The 3 year old was over the moon yelling with excitement, I think the whole park heard him. They are donation ran only, we didn't have a lot of cash but we found that they have Venmo and PayPal donation options so we were able to donate that way. Lots of pictures and special memories. You can tell the park is very loved and someone poured their love into creating it. We will visit again!

    Jamie W.

    One of the rare places that under promises and over delivers!! We had a great time here, and were astonished at every turn. My grandkiddos had a blast and were sad to leave. These folks creativity is off the chart. *MIND BLOWN that this is just someone's back yard*

    Late D.

    Okay. Go to their website and read their "story". The owner/folks involved in making this a public attraction, my hats off to you. This place is amazing!!! Very detailed work has been put into the park for all to enjoy. I also really loved the trail, and the fact that everything somewhat loops back to starting point. Just really nice layout and makes the experience so much better. 40+ life sized dinosaurs!! Just incredible considering that it's right here in the Tri-Cities. I will definitely return during Halloween time to check out its haunted attractions. If you haven't been here, GO! No excuses, really just GO. There's no admission fee, but they do accept donations and I urge y'all to donate whatever you can afford. What they are doing here is so admirable and it truly is a dying breed as we see more and more family owned attractions become commercialized. Support local!!

    Rachel M.

    What a cool place! My daughter loves dinosaurs and wants to be a paleontologist one day. Today is her 12th birthday, and I took her to see this impressive display of facts and lifelike Dino's in the backyard. Admission is donation based, which makes it super family friendly. They have a picnic area, and a honor payment based shop with toys. At the back of the park, a playscape waits for the kids to climb on. The yard is extremely shaded and well thought out. We were even terrified to walk into the terror exhibit cause the creatures were animatronic. We didn't see any signage leading the way to the park, so definitely follow some gps to get there. It's located at the back of a residential area. We will be back for sure!

    Pictures do this place NO justice! Come see for yourself. All ages will be WOW'd!!! What a treasure for this region!!!

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    6 months ago

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

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    2 months ago

    Awesome time with kids. 5 dollar donation. Playground and lots of interactive dinasoar trivia

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    11 months ago

    AMAZING !!! Absolutely incredible. My niece loved it! It's great for all ages and even had fossil digging activities.

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    1 year ago

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    3 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

    We had a great time with our blind son and grandsons. The park was very informative and very accessible to all our needs.

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Can't believe this place is free. Awesome for kids. Really cool! Has a playground near the back.

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    8 years ago

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    4 years ago

    This place is amazing for kids of all ages! Not only are there realistic dinosaurs to enjoy but plenty of play areas for kids.

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    4 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    7 years ago

    Love this place! My daughter had a blast!!!!!! We definitely want to come again!! Even the little play area was a nice touch!!!!!

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    8 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    6 years ago

    This is a hidden gem in bluff city! We had so much fun! Our two year old loves going here. It's Like a new adventure every time!

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    9 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    6 years ago

    So impressive and so much fun. This guy really took his passion to a whole other level and I highly suggest going to check it out!

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    10 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    Ask the Community - Backyard Terrors Dinosaur Park

    Review Highlights - Backyard Terrors Dinosaur Park

    Since it is donation only, all are able to attend and enjoy a time with the dinosaurs.

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    Land of Oz

    Land of Oz

    5.0(6 reviews)
    26.2 mi

    This has been on our bucket list since we moved to Nc 2 years ago! I wasn't sure what to expect but…read moreit was AMAZING. I definitely feel it's a must see at least once in your life. No detail was missed! We took the chairlift up to Oz and obviously back down. There was amazing views and scenery. Once we got to Oz there was plenty of spots for us to take pictures at and meet the characters. All characters did such a great job in their role! There is some hills and walking that you may need to wear good shoes or take a rest. I saw older people resting quite a bit as some parts can be difficult, I mean you are on a mountain! I'm very overweight and I did fine with resting 2 times after a killer hill. We also did the scenic view trail (extra fee) beautiful! Such a neat place and glad we finally made it out!

    Honestly, I went in with fairly low expectations, and I left surprised at how much fun we had! We…read morearrived at the Beech Mountain Resort parking lot at 9:15am for our 10am time slot. There was plenty to do at the resort, including buying snack foods and shopping at Oz-themed booths. Around 9:30am we boarded the shuttle and then shortly after we left for the Land of Oz; we got there right at 10am. Without giving anything away, I was surprised at how coordinated the event was, and how we followed a pre-planned path, but we never felt like we were being hurried to the next event. I was concerned our tween boys would think the whole thing was hokey, but they had a blast too. All of the actors gave it their all, and I never saw anyone break character, which was impressive considering the amount of improv and crowd work they did. We zoomed through most everything, and we were done by a little after noon. If we had taken our time and gotten food at the Emerald City, we easily could have spent 1-2 more hours. It was an exciting event, and I'm so glad we went. There were lots of people in our time slot (1 shuttle and two school buses full), but everything was so well paced that it didn't feel overcrowded. Bit of advice: bring water and snacks in a backpack unless you are ready to pay a premium to buy them at the Land of Oz.

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    Land of Oz
    Land of Oz
    Land of Oz

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    Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amusement Park

    Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amusement Park

    2.9(11 reviews)
    89.8 mi

    My local West Virginia friend started out the day by driving north from Princeton to Beckley. Along…read morethe way, I mentioned the abandoned theme park attraction and we made a pitstop. I saw that this was a theme park in a West Virginia tourism video on YouTube, but the property fell into disrepair over the years and itself became a tourist attraction in its own right. Some say it's haunted as well. Entrance into the property is by appointment only. When we arrived at the property, we saw the gate locked up with an aged sign posted with a phone number. We assumed that it would be open for tourists, but ended up disappointed. We wandered around the property for a bit and peeked inside the fencing and saw a lot of stuff were in disrepair and felt like it was a bit more than unusual. Too bad they don't fix it up to be a reputable theme park for the local West Virginians who want to come to visit again. With that said, we spent 10 minutes touring around outside the fencing until we decided to call the number on the signage. We did not receive anything. It kept ringing for a minute or so and then we just hung up. After that, we just got back in the car and made our way northward to Beckley. The drive to get us here was exciting as it could be but as it turned out, it was anything but. The disappointment factor was off the charts that day but we assumed it was going to be open and not chained up. We should have called ahead but we didn't. Lesson learned to call ahead to make arrangements. The overall experience here at the abandoned theme park at Lake Shawnee was very interesting and quite off to be in path for sure. It is not something that you would want to see in everyday travels, whether you're visiting or are on business. Since I did not have any history on the theme, park itself, I resorted to finding any information online and it was quite a learning experience to hear that the theme park was in need of desperate face left. But nobody seemed to care over the years and decades, so it just sat there like this and it tends to be a tourist attraction all by itself, willingly or unwillingly. For the most part though, the abandoned theme park at Lake Shawnee is pretty much haunted. As far as I was concerned at least. Even the signature Ferris wheel looked like it seen better days for sure, even though it was relatively brand new in the 1980's. And so, if you decide to venture into the abandoned amusement park in southern West Virginia, consider making arrangements first to get access to the grounds ahead of your arrival. Maybe 10-14 days beforehand so you get full confirmation prior to arrival. Don't be a bonehead like i was. Well, maybe. And so, if you enjoy this kind of thing, consider making a road trip and come out to the abandoned theme park. While there is a lot of dark history surrounding the theme park and definitely is haunted, the park is generally okay during the day like many places out there. Just don't venture at night unless you don't want to get spooked easily. Unless you enjoy that kind of thing like ghost hunters do. The abandoned theme park at Lake Shawnee is located in the outskirts of Princeton, West Virginia. I learned about the cost of admission when I was writing this review and it was sizable. There is an official website where you can book tours online. There's a day time tour and a ghostly overnight tour too. Do so at your own risk with either that you do. I assume major credit cards are accepted if you pay online. They probably accept cash in person too. As far as parking goes, I'm sure there's parking options available when you get to the site itself. As long as they know you are confirmed and are coming, there's plenty of parking here for your benefit. I doubt that there is any viable public transportation that would be readily available for anybody and everybody to come from Princeton or anywhere in between. You would have to have your own personal vehicle or rent one for the most convenient experience. Then there's always Uber or Lyft at your disposal, but best believe that it could be a very expensive ride because of the remote location that you're trying to reach. With that said, if you're really into ghost stories and theme parks that have seen better days, you're more than welcome to enjoy this place. Too bad it's not in-use anymore. Otherwise, it would have been something to look forward to share memories with family or friends. 3.0 stars for the overall experience. Too bad I didn't get a chance to check out the tour. On the flip side, I don't want to scare myself to sleep either. Support local! C

    This location was listed in the Paranormal Trail for West Virginia. Like many others, we tried to…read moreschedule a tour but had no luck. We did end up driving by to try and check it out but you can't really see anything but overgrowth. There is a locked chain length fence with a sign and what looks like a dilipadated trailer home, but after seeing the location for myself I'm glad no one responded because there is no way a tour here could possibly be worth what they are asking.

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    Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amusement Park
    Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amusement Park
    Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amusement Park

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    Mystery Hill

    Mystery Hill

    3.9(66 reviews)
    37.7 mi

    We had such a great time and ended up picking up the base ticket that includes: Gravitational…read moreAnomaly, Hall of Mystery, Bubblerama, Native American Artifacts, 2903 Dougherty House & Farmyard, Rodeo Rampage Bull Ride Challenge. It is a really cool place to visit, walking in that gravitational anomaly room is the weirdest sensation I've ever felt, but it is something cool to experience. In the hall of mystery, we literally let our inner child just wander around. And sadly we weren't able to do the bull ride, because of timing. For sure it is a place where you can spend your day in there. They're very hospitable and our tour guide was very funny.

    A pretty fun straightforward diversion good for rounding out an afternoon in Blowing Rock. I ended…read moreup coming here on a day trip weekend getaway. I'm originally from Michigan and grew up pretty close to the Mystery Spot in the Upper Peninsula, so I was somewhat familiar with this sort of place. I ended up checking out the "gravitational anomaly" room along with the "Hall of Mysteries" but none of the other stuff. There was also Axe Throwing and some sort of Native American History Museum but didn't see those as I was somewhat pressed for time. There was also somewhat randomly a huge obscure soda collection which was kind of cool. And they also had Vernors which as a former Michigander I appreciated. The "gravitational anomaly " room was pretty cool and is obviously the main focus of this place. There were a few demonstrative tools like a water flow demonstration, a rubber ball on a track that apparently defies gravity and a swingset. The room itself isn't too large and those three things were the only "tools" in there but goofing around in the room on your own is plenty entertaining as you can see from the attached pictures. Beyond that the "Hall of Mysteries" was basically a small section of optical illusions and science demonstrations which was interesting enough but something probably more interesting to and suited to kids. Overall the place is cool but kind of feels like it doesn't know what it's trying to be beyond the "gravity room" and feels like it could use a little update and some more focused development/presentation. If you haven't been before it's probably worth experiencing at least once if you're going to be in the area and have time for it. They also have a Zoltar machine, which is always a plus in my book.

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    Mystery Hill - Tomahawk Hill (Axe Throwing)

    Tomahawk Hill (Axe Throwing)

    Mystery Hill
    Mystery Hill - Gem Mine

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    Gem Mine

    Backyard Terrors Dinosaur Park - amusementparks - Updated May 2026

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