In San Antonio’s Government Canyon State Natural Area, a few miles of hiking will lead you to a place where dinosaurs strolled along the sandy shores of the prehistoric Gulf of Mexico more than 100 million years ago. It’s not an easy venture, but well worth it.

To begin your hike, fill your water bottles at the visitors center, then head across the nearby bridge to the trailhead. From there, you’ll trek 2.5 miles of karst-strewn juniper forest along the Joe Johnston Route, once a military supply route with the nickname — Government Road — that gave Government Canyon its name. Signs along the path count down the distance to the dino tracks.

The prints, visible in the limestone in the bottom of Government Canyon Creek, are from two different types of dinosaur. Three-toed imprints resembling giant chicken tracks were likely left behind by a carnivorous Acrocanthosaurus; round, elephantine footprints are the signs of a long-necked Sauroposeidon. These “new” tracks were discovered nearly 20 years ago, but the natural area has only begun to advertise them to the public in the past few years.

You can see the footprints just fine from the trail. You could turn back here, but you’d miss a spectacular view that’s only a slight detour away. From the creekbed, continue north on the trail through a Spanish moss-draped grove to the historic Zizelmann House. The hand-hewn limestone farmhouse, built in the 1800s by German immigrant Christian Zizelmann, marks a fork in the path. Turn left onto the Overlook Trail and follow the twisting route through the woods until you reach the edge of the canyon. From there, you’ll have a bird’s-eye view of the footprints.

To return, continue along the Overlook Trail and keep left along Caroline’s Loop until you rejoin the Joe Johnston Route. Make sure you take plenty of water and try to plan your hike for a cooler time of day — otherwise you’ll find yourself yearning for the good old Cretaceous days, when Government Canyon was not a canyon, but a beach.