Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

Cool out of the way NPS site. Beautiful scenery. Accessible on well maintained, flattish trails. Nice interpretative content. Nice junior ranger. Enthusiastic volunteers. Good place to check out.

Very interesting place. It's amazing what time and weather can do to the Earth. If I was much younger I would be so excited to be one of the people searching for artifacts. The petrified tree circle is the easiest trail. I would have loved to walk them all, but my body wouldn't let me, especially at the altitude of park, somewhere around 8000 feet. And by the way, there is no tarp it's, like a previous yelper mentioned.

We were not planning to stop here but we were in the area and it was a beautiful day so we swung off hwy 24 and pulled into the visitor center. We walked the one mile loop and found it to be very informative regarding the petrified redwoods. We really enjoyed the history of the early entrepreneurs who tried to exploit and abuse these fossils. Also interesting that one of these redwoods in now at Disneyland!A great short detour!

So many great hiking spots to choose from and you will not be disappointed. When I've gone on weekdays there's hardly anyone out there. One thing to keep in mind: parking is $10 but you get an entire week pass for just $10. There's a QR code scanner to pay when you park, but good luck getting service. Other than that I'm always hiking here and I love it. Would highly recommend!

I visited the Florrisant Fossil Beds last summer and think that this is a great place for easy hiking and seeing petrified redwoods.There is an entrance fee of $10 per person and there are plenty of open parking spaces. It can get very hot and there is not a lot of shade cover so dress and plan accordingly. The park rangers are nice and knowledgeable. One of the park rangers really went into depth when talking about the monument and why this place is so unique and special. It was great to learn some history about this place and how things came to be here. The hiking trail that we did wasn't very long, maybe a little more than a mile. Along the way there are several petrified redwoods that you can see and they are all different looking, which makes the trail more fun. Overall, this is a great place to go if you're looking for an outdoor activity.

Gorgeous scenery, beautifully maintained and educational trails. We loved the Boulder Creek trail recommended by the park staff!

Loved the Tar Pit loop. This short 1 mile Trek provided amazing views of the region. The loop has tones of preserved redwoods that have been slowly excavated over time. Lots of science and history.

Honestly, the fact that this place doesn't accept cash is ridiculous. When I asked the rude woman behind the counter that is, she slapped a piece of paper on the counter containing their list of reasons. We walked out instead of giving our money to her rude ass.

Absolutely beautiful area, amazingly clean and well maintained trails, and the rangers were wonderful! So helpful! Bought an annual pass to keep experiencing this wonder of nature!

Well worth the drive from Colorado Springs to see this National Monument dedicated to fossils and to get a glimpse of what central Colorado looked like 300 million years ago. Hard to believe that this grassy meadow was once a lush forest with a huge lake. What remains is a rich collection of fossils and petrified redwood trees. Some of the stumps are 14 feet in diameter. The exhibit hall has easy to follow graphical displays. Don't miss the movie which helps you visualize what is out there. Good trails for hiking. Thank God for the scientists and concerned citizens who helped make this site a National Monument and keep it away from land speculators.