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Fossil Butte National Monument

4.5 (23 reviews)

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Michael B.

This is a very remote national monument but also an amazing look at fossilized history. The visitors center is basically a fossil museum. You'll find every kind of fish fossil, crocodiles, manta rays, leafs, poops and more! The area was once a lake which is how all the aquatic creatures came to fossilize. Entry is free and and there's no charge to walk or drive around. There are two films available to watch on demand and they actually do add a lot. Be sure to check out the restrooms in the visitors center because there's a really cool surprise inside them!

Fossil
Erika J.

What an underrated National Park site! This is very small, but so well done! They have hundreds of fossils displayed beautifully. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. They add fossils regularly. They have walking trails, but we didn't take advantage of those. I highly recommend this park and will be back!

Super detailed fossil specimens.
Kelly H.

There is no camping or food as of yet, and the interstate is a ways away, so maybe you too learned the existence of this monument from signs on US 30. Either way, if you're driving through the badlands of SW Wyoming, make this your destination, and up the hill you go! The exhibits start right at the walkway, and inside the plant and animal fossils get more detailed and interactive. Life frozen in limestone--and how we get to see it--is inspiring. At the visitor center are a whopping four National Parks Passport stamps plus a few souvenir stickers for purchase (similar to, but not passport stickers). For kids and kids at heart, there are papers and crayons at the fossil crayon rubbing station. The fossil penny press is free, but donations are accepted. Like other National Parks and National Monuments kids can earn a Junior Ranger badge. Please do yourself a favor and attend those ranger programs! If they add camping, we'll be back. If not, we'll still be back. There is no entry fee here, and having RV parking in the lot made this memorable pit stop possible for us. Really, come here!

Craig T.

If you in the area this is worth the visit. Anything related to our National Parks centers are. It centers on an assemblage of Eocene Epoch (56 to 34 million years ago) animal and plant fossils associated with Fossil Lake--the smallest lake of the three great lakes which were then present in what are now Wyoming.

Jr Ranger Badge
Erin J.

I feel like this place is in the middle of nowhere. But worth the hour drive from Bear Lake to see this place. The visitor center is actually pretty cool. And the Jr Ranger booklet here is super fun. The Ranger was nice and fun to talk to! Awesome experience here and lots of cool history.

Passport stamp collectors rejoice!
Ronald S.

I've been fortunate to have visited a number of National Parks this summer with my family. Not knowing a whole lot about Fossil Butte, I added it to our itinerary on the way home to Utah from Grand Teton National Park. I knew my five year old (and her parents) would find the fossils quite fascinating, and we did. But really the park site has way more than the hundreds of fossils inside the visitor center that is worth mentioning. Their attention to making the visitor experience interesting really goes above and beyond. It starts when you are driving in and encounter the iconic National Parks entrance sign. Who doesn't love a family photo at the sign of each NP they visit? But the age-old problem is: who doesn't get to be in the photo? If you are lucky, you might encounter another family with whom you can swap photographer duties. If you are well-prepared, you may have a tripod. At Fossil Butte, you need none of these: they've actually provided a camera stand for you at the sign site, where you can place your camera, set the self-timer, and get the perfect family snapshot. That is some serious attention to detail and understanding of what makes a good park experience. Nice job! Next, you will see off to the side a timeline of earth's history, marking time in 1 million year increments every nine inches travelled, with signs showing notable events at that point (super continents formed, new life forms, etc.). When you reach the visitor center, you begin to see more recognizable events on the timeline, such as the emergence of recognizable species, and then after travelling miles along the timeline both in your car and then the last few hundred million years on foot, at the very last panel you see how tiny human history is in the grand scheme, and how even much smaller recorded history is, in it's pin-point size mark along the timeline. This sort of exhibit really puts into perspective the fossils one will soon see, or the terrain one is surrounded by. Inside the visitor center, the exhibits are well arranged and interpreted. You can watch an archeologist uncovering "new" fossils before your very eyes. Yes, you can be among the only humans in all of history to ever have seen those emerging fossils as the archeologist blasts away layers of limestone that have trapped the fossil over the last millions of years. A very cool experience. The junior ranger program is well executed, also, with meaningful exercises and challenges appealing to and appropriate to all age levels. We've experienced some junior ranger programs that seem to include more busy work than necessary. The Fossil Butte Junior Ranger program puts forth meaningful activities that encourage the children to get out and explore the site rather than "do homework". Rangers are knowledgeable and friendly, very approachable with questions you or your kids may have. The trails are interesting as well. We hiked the historic quarry trail, visited the quarry, saw the old cabin, and learnt a lot about the history of fossil collecting in this part of Wyoming. Very cool. Don't skip the scenic drive, which is an easy 11-mile round trip up into the hills overlooking the fossil butte itself as well as the surrounding landscape. Hard to believe this was all once a tropical sea. The visitor center also has a small but nice gift shop with the obligatory photo postcards and some replica fossils, as well as relevant books and the like. It would be cool if they sold some actual fossils, but I know those might be out of the price range of the typical buyers. For those collecting the National Parks passport stamps, Fossil Butte has a well-maintained passport stamping station with some nice site-specific cancellations of their actual fossils. Again, super cool, and a nice treat for visitors who are into this. I agree with a previous reviewer who said that Fossil Butte is a real gem of the National Parks system. Don't overlook this one, and make sure you give yourself plenty of time to explore it. It's easy to spend the whole day here, so bring plenty of water and a picnic lunch! Thanks, Fossil Butte, for an excellent day out!

Lisa N.

Was such a fun place for my family. The park ranger is great and the visitor center gives a lot of information and it's also really really cool. I just feel bad that we went on a Sunday because the places in the area were not open so if you could go during the week.

Entrance sign with Fossil Butte in background

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We had so much fun going to the Visitor center. The fossils did not disappoint! Well worth the drive.

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Review Highlights - Fossil Butte National Monument

The junior ranger program is well executed, also, with meaningful exercises and challenges appealing to and appropriate to all age levels.

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Fossil Butte Historical Marker - Fossil Butte Historical Marker, Kemmerer

Fossil Butte Historical Marker

3.0(1 review)
6.3 mi

This marker is along US-30 where it parallels the railroad track. It is on the north side of the…read morehighway and there is plenty of room to stop and admire the view while reading the sign. The marker has a lot to take in, so put your car in park while you read. It reads, "Fossil Butte is a 50 million year old lakebed and one of the richest fossil resources in the world. It is part of the Green River Formation, a layer of rock composed of laminated limestone, mudstone, and volcanic ash. Complete paleo-ecosystems are preserved in the formation, which is the geologic remnant of the Green River Lake System of the Eocene era. Designated on October 23, 1972, Fossil Butte National Monument encompasses a part of land that was once under Fossil Lake." "Fossil Lake was the smallest and shortest-lived of the Green River System lakes. At its largest size, the lake covered 932 square miles and existed for approximately three million years. One phenomenon of the Fossil Lake fossils is their density. There are as many as several hundred fossilized fish per square meter in some portions of Fossil Butte. At least thirteen genera of fish are found in the sediments of fossil lake, as well as a wide variety of species, from large predators like gar and bowfin to the now extinct Knightia, Diplomystus, and Priscacara. Plant and invertebrate records are equally diverse. Evidence of lily pads, horsetails, ferns, palms, and poplar and elm trees exist along Fossil Lake's floodplain and lower elevations. The remains of dragonflies, mosquito larvae, and water striders bear testament to the vibrancy of this freshwater ecosystem. In addition, evidence of freshwater mollusks, snails, crayfish, and shrimp has been found." "The paleontologist who worked at Fossil Butte have deposited specimens at the Field Museum in Chicago, IL, the American Museum of Natural History, in New York City, and Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C." It looks like there might be hiking trails here but I didn't see any good parking spots. [Review 17815 overall - 24 in Wyoming - 1336 of 2022.]

Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area

Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area

5.0(4 reviews)
77.5 mi

Aré you kidding me!!!??? This is one of the most beautiful places in planet earth and very few…read morepeople knows about it. We were driving down from Yellowstone to Colorado Springs and planes a few hours break/picnic here, we were so shock by the beauty and spend so much time than by the time we were leaving to a 6+ hour drive my girlfriend said "what about if we stay the night...". So we booked in the only available hotel and kept driving around to see a few other natural beauties that otherwise we wouldn't have seeing... Perfect place to spend a day or a weekend enjoying the outdoors, picnic, boat, kayak, take tons of pictures, and of course, drink plenty of good wine!!!

After spending 5 glorious days exploring Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, I was making…read moremy way back to Salt Lake City, Utah for my return flight home to Florida. Since the drive from Jackson, Wyoming to SLC Airport is almost 5 hours and 300 miles away, I decided to break it up with a pitstop along the way here at Flaming Forge National Recreation Area. I had read and heard good things about Flaming Gorge...being very picturesque...that it peaked my interest to come and see what this place was all about. And like I mentioned it was in almost direct line with my travels back to Salt Lake City. First coming upon the Flaming Gorge area....there's a huge dam built as you make your way south on US 191. At this stage, slow your car down as there's a DAM VISTA (situated on the left hand side of the road) that you turn into and park at a small lot. Here...get out of your car and there's a COOL OVERLOOK that captures views of the entire Flaming Gorge Dam. This area is a nice spot for photos. It sort of reminded me of being at iconic Hoover Dam in Vegas/Arizona. Making your way past and across the Flaming Gorge Dam and bridge, you come upon the Visitors Center. I stopped inside and picked up a souvenir keychain and postcard at the VC though there wasn't much else going on. You do get some ground eye level views of the water and surrounding area but the looks here weren't special. One thing...inside the Visitors Center, you can make an appointment for a tour to walk across the bridge suspended over the dam. This could be a worthwhile opportunity for scenic moments (same at Hoover Dam), but since I was managing my time before my flight home, I couldn't hang around for too long. Now if you continue driving on US 191 towards Manila, Utah...the road eventually turns into Highway 44. Along this Highway 44 for a short distance (few miles)....here's where things GET GOOD! Absolutely stop at RED CANYON! Make a right turn as the sign says and turn into Red Canyon Rec Area and follow the path until the end and park. Get out here and walk to the BEAUTIFUL VISTA AND PANORAMA SPOT highlighting the winding river embedded between the red and green toned rocky landscape! Finally, continuing on Hwy 44 for 28 miles towards Manila, Utah...you'll come upon more grand scenery. I have to mention SHEEP CREEK OVERLOOK!!! As you make your way down the winding countryside road, SLOW DOWN THE CAR and on your LEFT HAND SIDE (it can be missed if you drive too fast), you'll find SHEEP CREEK OVERLOOK. Park and get out of your car and walk up the short hill and you'll discover GLORIOUS AND SPECTACULAR SIGHTS characterizing what Flaming Gorge is all about!! The river water combined with unique colorful and rocky terrain intermingling together made for one of the BEST VIEWPOINTS I can recall IN A LONG TIME! This spot is why I decided to visit Flaming Gorge in the first place! For me...a real humbling moment to gaze into the distance and stop reality for a moment. Eventually, I came upon Manila, Utah. At this small town you can stop for food, gas, supplies, and a gift shop. From here, I continued on my way back to Salt Lake City Airport for my red eye flight home. For anyone interested in discovering Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, I hope my itinerary finds you well. Although there's so much beautiful topography in Utah and Wyoming, this area right on the border of both states deserves more attention and recognition.

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Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area
Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area
Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area

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Fossil Butte National Monument - museums - Updated May 2026

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