Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

09Jun24

Many national park sites have more than one section and more often than not the two sections are connected by time, history or something else.

Then there are parks like Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Colorado. This park has two vastly different attractions within a mile of each other.

Located south of Denver, the main attraction is what the name implies – there are prehistoric fossils you can visit on a hike around the park.

This part of Florissant Fossil Beds is fascinating and I truly loved the mile long hike during my first visit to the park. During my most recent visit here last summer, I was again walked the Petrified Forest Loop.

This trail leads through the bed of ancient Lake Florissant. It passes numerous giant petrified redwood tree stumps, including the colorful “Big Stump.”

I also took the time to walk by the much shorter Ponderosa Loop near the visitor center. Like the Petrified Loop, you run across other petrified redwoods, including one that has a modern pine tree growing out of it.

All nice and interesting, but this time I wasn’t nearly as captivated by the fossils.

On the other hand, my other visit to the second section of the park was just as enjoyable as the first.

This part of Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument is the 1878 Hornbek Homestead. The site includes the homestead’s main house as well as several outbuildings and period farm machinery.

Located just outside the main park, the Hornbek Homestead sits in a lush valley. Adeline Warfield Hornbek came to this part of Colorado in the 1870s with her four children and claimed the land under the Homestead Act.

Despite numerous hardships, Adeline Hornbek defied the traditional roles of the time to become the owner of a prosperous ranch. You can learn about her struggles and triumphs in the informational signage placed strategically throughout the Homestead.

I couldn’t get enough of touring this homestead and walking the various adjacent trails my first time at Florissant Fossil Beds. And the same thing happened on this visit.

I suspect if I ever go back, I will once again enjoy this section of the park.

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