• Massive petrified redwood stumps

    Florissant Fossil Beds

    National Monument Colorado

Outdoor Activities

People hiking on a gravel hiking trail past a green grassy meadow with pine covered hills in the background.
Visitors hiking on the self-guided, one-mile Petrified Forest Loop.
Cliff and Jean Dickey
 

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument provides a variety of opportunities for outdoor activities.

The Monument has two, self-guided nature trails that are located near the visitor center and interpret the fossil resources. Near the visitor center is also an outdoor exhibit area.

There are 14 miles of other hiking trails which are best for scenery and possibly wildlife.

Did You Know?

FLFO_mammoth

Most fossils in the monument are from the late Eocene (34.07 million years ago), but a tooth and jaw fragment from a much younger mammoth have also been found. The fossils are from the Pleistocene Epoch and are at least 50,000 years old.