Monument, CO - 10 Great Things to Do, Part 7 of 10

The Florissant Fossil Beds

15807 County Road 1
Florissant, CO 80816
(719) 748-3253

Florissant is a little community up in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, just due west of Colorado Springs and Monument, CO. The ride up there, on Colorado Highway 24, goes thru beautiful Ute pass, from Manitou Springs to Woodland Park. (Woodland Park is a post all on it's own!) It will probably take you about an hour to get there from Monument.

But, Florissant is a little bit farther on Highway 24. The town is very small and has no signal and no stop signs on the highway. To get to the fossil beds, you'll need to turn off the highway onto Teller County Route 1. It's paved nicely, not a typical county road. It's about 2 miles after that.

Florissant Fossil Beds National Park specializes in fossils caught in volcanic ash, both insect and plant material. The insect are fascinating!  This photo is of a Damselfly. They also have Tse Tse Fly, Mayfly, Grasshopper, Cockroach, Termite, and more.

There are also petrified redwood trees! Redwood trees don't grow in Colorado. They need tons of moisture and now mostly grow in the Pacific Northwest. However, centuries ago, the climate here was like the Pacific Northwest, which allowed the trees to flourish. That is until the volcanic erruption occurred and stopped their growth.

Besides all this education on fossils, they have beautiful walking trails. Some of the trails will take you by the petrified trees. But even the trails that don't are a great outting in nature's beauty.

Take the time to see our local National Park. The whole family will enjoy itself.