Summer Interpretive Program Schedule (June - August)
The Monument offers a variety of ranger guided programs that run throughout the summer. These include:
Daily, 11:00 AM, Ranger-Guided Hike Are you ready to meet the “Big Stump" Join a ranger for a 1 mile, 1.5 hour hike on the Petrified Forest Loop Trail. Meet behind the visitor center for an interpretive hike on the Petrified Forest Loop.
Daily, 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM, Fossil Learning Lab (Yurt) Get “up-close and personal" with fossils! Join us for ranger-led demonstrations, and hands-on searches for fossils. Meet in the yurt located in the picnic area near the visitor center.
Every Wednesday, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Demonstration Excavation Site Meet geologist, Dr. Bob Carnein at the demonstration excavation site and see the fossil beds in situ and learn about how excavations are conducted. This site is located off the Petrified Forest Loop approximately 1 mile round trip from the visitor center
Saturday/Sunday, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM, Hornbek Homestead Tours, Travel back in time to the late 1870s and take a tour of Adeline Hornbek’s house. A ranger will be on site to provide a peak into the life of a homesteader.
Saturday/Sunday, 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM, Ranger Talk Join a ranger for a 20 - 30 minute presentation and get a basic orientation to the history and prehistory of the area. Meet in the amphitheater behind the visitor center.
Special Activities:
Saturday, Aug. 12, 19, and 26, Wildflower Walks are back! 9 AM - 11 AM. Join Master Gardener & Native Plant Master, Carolynne Cummings Forster for a 2 hour hike throughout the park to learn and appreciate wildflowers growing all around us!
Monday, Aug. 21, Partial Solar Eclipse, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM. Join park staff to celebrate a partial solar eclipse. Learn how to safely view the eclipse by making pinhole cameras. Come celebrate our nearest star!
Friday, Aug. 25, Fee Free Day and Fee Free Night Sky Program, All day and 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM. In honor of the 101st Birthday of the National Park Service, Florissant Fossil Beds will be free all day and night! Join park staff and members of the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society to gaze at the dark skies above Florissant Fossil Beds in search of planets, galaxies, nebulas, and more. Meet at the visitor center.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
