Where to find Dinosaur Footprints on the Isle of Skye

Where to find Dinosaur Footprints on the Isle of Skye. As soon as the boys heard that you can find dinosaur prints and dinosaur fossils on the Isle of Skye they wanted in. I had read about the new site before our visit and dismissed it. Purely because everything I read said that it is tide and weather dependant. Due to them being covered by sand, seaweed or the sea itself. It felt as though we could be looking for hours and not find anything. 

And then I would end up with two disappointed little boys on my hands. However, they were desperate to try and find them and since it was a stop on the Trotternish Loop we agreed for a quick picnic stop. It would be the only place we would get a chance to see them on the coast of Skye, although it would depend on the tidal conditions.

Where to find Dinosaur Footprints on the Isle of Skye

Getting to Staffin Bay

Staffin Bay is signposted from the road. But you can use the address below to find it. An Corran beach and Staffin Bay to my understanding are one of the same or if different right next to each other. The road down to the beach is narrow in places but not as bad as the Cornish lanes we have driven around. There are also signposted passing places that seem to make people more inclined to pull in. Do not panic if you do not see the beach straight away it is a little drive. I did wonder if we were going in the right direction initially. 

Postcode for An Corran Beach – Unnamed Road, Portree IV51 9JT

Parking at An Corran Beach

When we arrived during the Summer holidays there was still plenty of parking. I think it is the sort of place which gets a relatively high turnaround of cars. Partly due to the fact it is a stop off on a designated route. Many people drive the Trotternish Loop as part of an Isle of Skye Road Trip. But also because people give up and leave relatively quickly. Parking is along one edge of the road. There is no payment required to park unlike some of the other tourist attractions on the island. 

READ MORE – Isle of Skye Road Trip

Which dinosaur prints can you find at An Corran Beach

As you take the short walk down to the beach there is a board telling you about the number of preserved dinosaur footprints that have been found. As well as giving a little bit of information about dinosaur evolution. We initially went thinking that there was three but the board explained that a lot more have been found – up to 17! So this at least gave us some optimism. That we would be able to spot a couple. 

Not at the beach but at our previous stop of Kilt Rock. There was a sign which gave a picture of what dinosaurs could be found – the presence of sauropods. We had read about the three different types of dinosaurs that could be found on the beach. I have added the photo below as it gives you a much clearer picture of the dinosaurs you are looking for. The three different types of prints are:

How to spot the Isle of Skye dinosaur footprints at An Corran Beach

When we arrived there were already quite a few people on the rocks that form a shallow lagoon looking confused. Their heads were down looking for the dinosaur fossils. We arrived around an hour before high tide. I read somewhere that middlish tide is the best time to try and catch them as they are located in the tidal area. Also, they can get covered in sand and seaweed due to the shallow water, so there more chance if it has been raining. As the rain washes away some of the sand can gather over the prints and obscure them at low tide. Sounds complicated?

Well, we didn’t find 17 but we did find two three-toed prints and possibly a third. The two which were the easiest to spot were on the first part of the flat rock you come to. I have added a photo below to help. Many people were walking along the rocks which were higher and more craggy. Also, pot marked they were a bit too high and didn’t seem to fit something that would be on the ground 400 million years ago. Instead, look for the flatter stone which is where we found ours.

The below photo was taken from the car park looking down onto the beach to the left. The man in the brown shorts and t-shirts is standing very close to where we found the below prints. I have added the black outline as they are not as clear on photos as they are in real life.  

Staffin Dinosaur & Fossil Museum

I think it also helped that we knew what we were looking for after seeing this print in the Staffin Dinosaur Museum in the village of Staffin. Staffin museum is on the way to An Corran Beach on the A855. It is a small one-roomed building with parking for a few cars out the front. It costs £4 for an adult and £2 for children or £10 for a family of four. Although it was useful to see what we should be looking for. I am not convinced it is worth the entry fee. 

One end of the room houses some historic crofter homeware such as a spinning wheel and old boot. Plus some old rusty machinery in the carpark. The middle and end of the room hold dinosaur fossil and dinosaur print finds from the local area. It gave us a clearer picture of the dinosaurs we were looking for. It is interesting to see what has been discovered but £10 for 10 minutes I think is probably on the expensive side. Especially when some are only replicas. 

Dinosaur Footprints at Staffin Bay

The boys had a lovely time searching for dinosaur prints. It also makes a great place for a picnic when driving the Skye’s Trotternish Peninsula with kids. The bay is sandy to one side and since everyone comes for the dinosaur prints that part of it was empty when we visited. A good spot for some beach games or building a sandcastle on a sunny day. We also spotted these stone towers when we visited. 

READ MORE – Itiniery for three days on Skye with kids

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Alternative Dinosaur Footprint Site on the Isle of Skye

As well as this easily accessible beach, you can also find over fifty dinosaur prints at brothers’ point – rubha nam brathairean. One of the most recent discovery are new tracksites in a muddy lagoon full of tidal pools. This is a headland on the Trotternish Loop. We did not visit this area so. I can not comment on how suitable it is for children or how easy to find. But they do show rare evidence of the middle Jurassic period. The dinosaurs are thought to be a different type of dinosaur from the ones found on An Corran beach.

Instead, these are thought to be giant long-necked sauropods long-necked cousins of a brontosaurus and carnivorous theropods cousins of t. rex / tyrannosaurus rex. The Isle of Skye must be a part of the world where there is good evidence of dinosaur species and fossil sites. Giving a better sense of the variety of dinosaurs. No wonder it is known affectionately as Dinosaur Isle with the discovery of this second set of dinosaur footprints by a team of researchers from the University of Edinburgh. It is one of the best places to find dinosaur tracks.

Have you been looking for dinosaur footprints in Skye or ever found dinosaur fossils? I would love to hear about what you found there or anywhere else in the UK.

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