Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

   34 million years ago the area that makes up Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument was a lake edged with large redwood trees. Volcanic ash and mud flows buried the trunks of the standing trees which then became fossilized. The ash and mud also covered plants, insects, birds and small mammals in multiple layers that eventually hardened into shale and preserved the plant and animal life as fossils. A 1870s homestead with a log houses and out buildings is located on the north end of the monument.

  The visitor center is all accessible. A wide, concrete path leads to some of the best preserved tree trunks. The 1/2 mile Ponderosa Loop Trail is marked as accessible but we didn’t go on it so I can’t verify that it is. The other paths and trails are not accessible due to hills and steps but part of the crushed stone Petrified Forest Trail can be done with a little help. Start on it from the parking lot.

  The homestead building are only opened for special events but you can peek in the windows and wander around the site. The homestead is not accessible due to a broken asphalt where the parking lot joins the path, loose stone on the paths and steps at the buildings.

  There are a few RV parking spots at the visitor center. The homestead lot is small. There may enough space to park or turn around large RVs. Monument
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