Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

Beneath a quiet Colorado valley lies one of the richest fossil beds on Earth: an Eocene lakebed 34 million years old that preserved insects, leaves, and fish in paper-thin detail, along with the petrified stumps of giant redwoods that once grew here.

Stand beside the massive Big Stump, see fossil insects up close, and walk the trails past the petrified forest; young kids can earn a Junior Ranger badge. For a challenge, link the monument's trails into a long loop past the fossil outcrops, then visit the excavation areas with a ranger.