Prehistoric Paradise

Crawfish, alligators, and dinosaurs—you can find them all along the river, the concrete river known as Interstate 10.

Prehistoric Park, located at I-10’s exit 115 at Henderson in St. Martin Parish, is the latest creation of Lee Venable, the fifty-eight-year-old builder/entrepreneur who developed Cajun Palms, the hottest RV park around. No kidding, Prehistoric Park features the stars of the Jurassic Period—T. rexes, raptors, and Brontosauruses—in a lush and verdant Cajun forest at the edge of the Atchafalaya Swamp. It’s exactly what a dinosaur environment should look like.

As you make a hard southward turn down North Barn Road and descend into the woods, you’re greeted by a ten-foot cable fence branded with an ominous warning message: “Danger: High Voltage.” Roll down the car windows and listen for the strident bellowing of an extremely irate T. rex. Tease the kids (and feel briefly uneasy if you want), but keep in mind it’s all part of the show. The park is wired with heart-pounding dinosaur screeches to flavor the ancient atmosphere; the fence obviously designed to lure customers inside rather than keep them out.

Prehistoric Park wasn’t exactly a “boy meets the dinosaurs of his dreams and builds a park to love them” idea. The concept was borne out of a real estate opportunity that the builder couldn’t resist.

“I was a camper and developed Cajun Palms eight years ago,” he said. “I took in every inch of the property.” He needed it—Cajun Palms is filled to capacity every weekend and often during the week.    When the chance to option an additional 160 acres came about, Venable asked, “Where do I sign?

He’s adding a 67,000 square-foot climate-controlled amusement center next door to Prehistoric Park complete with a go-cart track, miniature golf courses, laser tag, an old-fashioned arcade, a half-mile-long lazy river, water features, and 360 condos. All of those plans are in the future, however. When they come to be, Henderson, the tiny Cajun fishing-community-turned-Interstate-crossroads, will have the potential to be South Louisiana’s premier resort attraction.

But Prehistoric Park is now. It’s the cure-all for parents who want more than a staycation but don’t want to travel very far. Camping at Cajun Palms to enjoy Prehistoric Park is not required, but it’s more fun if you do. Day-visitors can enjoy the dino park just as much as campers for a daily admission. It’s a bonanza for area schoolteachers who are looking for new educational field trips for their students. Dawn Champagne, the park’s manager, said she distributes a scavenger hunt checklist for teachers and students so they can enjoy the highest educational benefit of make-believe prehistory.

“If they come in and say they can’t find something on the list, I suggest they go back for another round on the trail,” Champagne said. “It keeps them on the trail a little longer.” Champagne can provide the scavenger hunt activity for parents if requested.

In addition to the T. rex, Prehistoric Park features twenty-three full-scale models of the critters made famous by the movie Jurassic Park. They were imported from the Philippines. Venable tried to place each giant lizard in a natural tableau—raptors are goring a leaf eater, a Tyrannosaurus mother is protecting her hatchlings, a towering Brontosaurus is eating leaves off a pecan tree, and a soaring Pterodactyl hovers above, scanning for prey.

It’s within walking or cart-driving distance from Cajun Palms, with three swimming pools and numerous water slides. Venable has also coaxed Johnny Hebert, proprietor of Crawfish Town U.S.A., to provide Cajun food delivery service to campers or a golf-cart shuttle to ferry hungry RV residents to the restaurant.

The word is spreading that the Cajun Palms/Prehistoric Park combo is a fun weekend. “We heard about the attraction from friends of ours who live around here,” said Brandon Stutes of Lake Charles. “We went to a show at the Cajundome, and then we came to Prehistoric Park. The kids just loved it.” His two girls, Adelyn and Elle, really enjoyed digging in the “fossil sandpit,” he said.

Another group of young mothers and children from Bayou Chicot stopped at Prehistoric Park to entertain the children for a while before heading to Baton Rouge for a shopping trip. No doubt the kids will be dreaming of dinosaurs as they nap in the car on their way back to Chicot.

Too bad the dinosaurs didn’t survive. I guess they just weren’t as clever as their famous Cajun Jurassic-era relatives, the alligator and the crawfish. Don’t grieve for the dinosaurs, though. They were big and clumsy. They either had very short arms or really long necks. They needed a lot of food. The fact of the matter is the dinosaurs were ill equipped to adapt to a changing world of volcanoes, giant falling meteorites, and other extinction-level events. But the crawfish and alligator? Now there’s a pair of Jurassic species you can wrap your hands around. And eat.

Survival of the fittest notwithstanding, if the lure of artificial dinosaurs is not enough, there are plenty of real-life dinosaurs around. There are several Atchafalaya Basin tours within two miles of Prehistoric Park, and every boat skipper knows where the alligator holes are. There are lots of other outdoor activities as well. Dad can take in an early morning fishing excursion while mom lounges poolside at Cajun Palms. The children are busy tiring themselves out swimming and diving under lifeguard supervision. Water skiing and birding is available as is Cajun cuisine. The world famous Pat’s Fisherman’s Wharf Restaurant is just down the road. You can also Cajun-zydeco dance yourself to exhaustion at Pat’s, at Whiskey River Landing on the Henderson levee, or at Café des Amis and Pont Breaux’s in Breaux Bridge. Other cultural activities, like a French conversation table, await at NUNU in Arnaudville.

Whatever you do, don’t miss the dinosaurs. The gentle Brontosaurus, the terrible T. rex, the fearsome Velociraptors—these extinct reptiles fascinate grade-schoolers, and parents will be happy they’re fascinated.

Details. Details. Details. 

Prehistoric Park
1135 North Barn Road
Henderson, La.
337-981-DINO (3466)
info@prehistoric-park.com