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Dinosaur National Monument
Fossil Discovery Trail
Ranger MJ & Intern Jamie w visitors on FDT

Length: 1 mile, one-way from either the visitor center or the Quarry Exhibit Hall.

Level of Difficulty: Moderate. Some steep, uneven sections and rocks in the trail. Trail is extremely slippery when it is wet.

Trailhead: You can access the Fossil Discovery Trail from either the Quarry Visitor Center or the Quarry Exhibit Hall. (Please note: The road to the Quarry Exhibit Hall is gated at 5:00 pm each evening.)

Brochure: Available at the Quarry visitor center.

Description: Trail cuts through tilted rock layers, exposing a variety of rocks and three fossil areas. The Morrison Formation stop features an outcropping of several small pieces and a few large pieces of dinosaur bones in their natural state as Earl Douglass found them in 1909.

 
Several small fossil fragments can be seen along the Fossil Discovery Trail
NPS Photos
Along the trail in the Morrison Formation, numerous small dinosaur fossil bones and bone fragments can be discovered eroding from the cliff face.
 
Dinosaur vertebrae fossil eroding from cliff along Fossil Discovery Trail
NPS Photo
Some large dinosaur fossil bones, such as this vertebrae, are exposed in the cliff along the trail.

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Last Updated: November 10, 2011 at 13:14 MST