After touring Cave of the Winds we headed west on Highway 24 through Manitou Springs toward Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. This is Monument that I've wanted to visit ever since I was in college, studying paleontology. It's always been just a bit out of the way, but I finally made it.

12:42 p.m.
The Monument is about two miles south of the town of Florissant. The sky is blue and it is 57 degrees outside.

Visitor Center

We stopped at the Visitor Center, which is at 8,400 feet in elevation. This is a fee area, so we had to use our Golden Eagle Pass. Just off of the paved parking area there are modern composting toilets and picnic tables up under the shade of the tall pines. Inside of the Visitor Center we spoke with the very informative Ranger and looked at the exhibits of fossils and explanatory information. There is a good selection of books for sale on paleontology and geology. After that we went back to the Tacoma and prepared for our afternoon hikes.

Walk Through Time Loop

3:34 p.m.
We hiked about 5.25 miles by the time we returned to the Tacoma. We started with the .5 mile Walk Through Time Loop, which is a paved. There are also covered exhibits and an outdoor amphitheater in this area, with large fossilized trees and informational kiosks.

Petrified Forest Loop

Then we walked the Petrified Forest Loop, which is 1 mile round trip over natural surfaces. Along this trail we stopped at the Scudder Pit, where there have been some excavations of fish and leaves and other fossils found in the Eocene lake bed. There are also a few examples of large petrified trees, and near the end of the trail, there is an interesting set of signs that demonstrate the approximate relative positions of specific times throughout the Earth’s past. It makes it clear just how far apart the various geological time periods are, and makes it easy to see how little time Man has spent here.

Hornbeck Wildlife Loop Trail

Then we retraced our steps through the Walk Through Time exhibit area and took the Hornbek Wildlife Loop Trail. This was supposed to be a 4 mile loop. It passes through the forest, then out along a shallow valley and over an arm of a ridge and out again across another valley. There are interesting rock formations, a small stream with a rustic bridge crossing it, and then another short climb to a ridge overlooking the Hornbeck Homestead. This is a cluster of old farm buildings that have been preserved. Very interesting.

The sun was beginning to go down behind the tall trees to the west, so we hurried on our way to complete the loop. The trail crosses the highway and heads to the east across a meadow, then climbs up into the trees once again, where it curves back toward the Visitor Center. There is another interesting outcrop of rocks, and then the trail climbs back to the highway once again, crosses it, and heads back to the Visitor Center parking area. This is an easy hike, even at these elevations.

The scenery isn't as spectacular as in some other parks, but there is a subtle, soothing aspect about the juxtaposition of the tall pines, the open meadows, and the variety of browns and buffs that shade the local vegetation at this time of the year. I can only imagine that in the spring there must be acres of wildflowers covering those meadows, and the trees would probably be filled with singing birds. It's a short, easy hike, but well worth the time. If for nothing else, it gets you out of your vehicle and slows you down from your (no doubt) normally rushed life.

3:44 p.m.
By the time we made it back to the Tacoma the sky was turning to dusk. The Monument closes at 5:00 p.m. (local time), so we needed to change out our boots and get going. The air temp was still 59 degrees, so it must have been warmer than that at some of the places along the trail, where we were in full sun. It was a nice hike, with only a slight variation in elevation over some hills and through some trees. The trail was easy to follow and the junctions are well marked. The trail is narrow in some grassy areas, and does pass through a nice stand of trees in a couple of areas. A pleasant hike. We saw quite a few animal tracks of various kinds, but no critters.