Dinosaurs have arrived at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds! And you can see them in a safe drive-thru adventure called “Dinosaur Adventure Drive Thru.” It’s happening the weekends of July 31 – August 2 and August 7-9.

Tickets are $40 for a regular car, truck or minivan that seats up to 7 people. We bought a ticket for opening day for the 6-8pm timeslot. 

This is what our confirmation email said:

So we arrived at 6:20pm and the line was starting to go out past the main entrance off Snelling Avenue to the street. I figured it wouldn’t be long once we got in. 

However, the line of cars actually wound around the fairgrounds and the attraction was on the other side, so we literally sat in our car until 8:20pm – for 2 hours! – before we got to the entrance of the Dinosaur Adventure Drive Thru!

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After being closed for a couple of months, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum had opened its doors to drive-through visits only starting May 1st. We visited during May and below is my recap!

However, I just learned that they are now in Phase 2 – which means they are open for walking on designated paths as well. Check out their website for details and updates.

We had visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum a few years ago when our kids were younger (see my review!), and it was a full day of walking, exploring and playing. But now with so many places closed due to COVID, we were getting excited for any place we could visit, even in our car. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum was open to drive-through visits only, so we booked in advance, paid the $15-per-vehicle fee (free to members), and visited on a Saturday morning in May! (Note: Since our visit they have opened some walking paths and the price is now $15 per person, though members and kids 15 and under are free.)

There were a LOT of cars, but traffic moved steadily. There were some spots where it got backed up and we were stopping and starting, but for the most part it was just a nice, slow drive along their 3-mile drive.

We entered and our printed ticket was scanned (you need to have it ready in advance), and we proceeded through. The visitors center was closed, though I learned that the parking lot there is now open.

Note: All of these pictures were taken from our car, since everyone is required to stay in their car except for using public restrooms in two areas of the drive if needed.

Also – this is not a sponsored review. We paid for our visit and this is just our experience!

The first part of the drive was through some wooded area. I loved this little cabin in the woods!

There were various types of landscaping along the way – sculptured hedges, for example.

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