Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument AND Florissant Fossil Quarry

Visiting the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

At 9:30 AM on Saturday, June 21, we will meet at the visitors center (about an hour west of Colorado Springs off Highway 24). Entrance to the Visitors Center costs $10 unless you have a current and valid annual National Parks Pass or an America the Beautiful (or senior) lifetime pass. You must use a pay card or cell phone to purchase the entrance pass. Cash or checks are not accepted. Children under the age of 16 are free and do not require a pass. Given the lead time to receive an online pass, it is recommended that you acquire your pass the day of this visit.

A ranger-led tour will begin at 10:00 AM, so be sure to arrive on time!

Please go to the Florissant Fossil Beds website for more information and to assure a good experience.

Wear appropriate clothing and bring food/water. Bring a picnic lunch to eat on site. There are picnic tables available. Dress and prepare for changeable weather conditions.  Closed toe hiking shoes are recommended.

We will visit the displays and hike one of the trails during the morning to see remains of ancient redwood trees, and locally discovered insect, fish, and water plants. Fossil collecting is prohibited.

After lunch we will go up the road to a privately owned site, Florissant Fossil Quarry, and extract some fossils from chunks of shale. The cost is $15 cash per person per hour IF there are are at least 15 people. You will be provided with pieces of shale to carefully split and study.

They do provide some tools, but if you have some, feel free to label and bring them. These Eocene fossils are about 34 million years old. You may keep the plant and insect specimens you discover.

On the same day, the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society (csastro.org) will be conducting two activities at the park that might be of interest as well. One in the morning and the other at night. The morning event will offer a solar observation set-up. And the 9 p.m. event will be at a ranch nearby. See their website for details.