• Massive petrified redwood stumps

    Florissant Fossil Beds

    National Monument Colorado

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  • Exhibit Installation May 14 - 22

    New exhibits will be installed in the new visitor center May 14 - 22. Access to the park film and exhibits may be reduced. You may want to consider visiting after May 23 if you schedule permits. The park remains open every day from 9am - 5pm.

Plants

Pasqueflowers_a

Pasqueflowers or “Prairie Cactus” - Pulsatilla Patens, in the Buttercup Family,
blooms in foothills to tundra as the snow melts, they are the first flower of spring.

NPS Photo by Sheena Grabski

The word "Florissant" is actually a French word meaning "flowering" or "blooming." Although the valley was actually named after Florissant, Missouri by an early settler, the name is fitting in that the summers often bring blankets of beautiful wildflowers into the mountain meadows and forests.

With a mixture of forests and meadows, shrubs and wildflowers, Florissant provides wonderful opportunities to experience and learn about Montane ecosystems.

Disclaimer: Many wildflowers have different common names, but only one scientific name; therefore, some of the wildflowers you see may have different names than what you know them to be. Additionally, these are only a handful of the ones you may see.

 
  • This is an image of the common wild iris that can be found all over the monument.
    Wildflowers
    9 Photos

Did You Know?

The Historic Hornbek Homestead

The Hornbek Homestead is located within the boundaries of Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. It was built in 1878 and owned by Adeline Hornbek a rancher and single mother of four teenaged children.