Park Passport

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument NE

Lat, Long: 42.42170419, -103.753886

Designation: National Monument

In the early 1900s, paleontologists unearthed the Age of Mammals when they found full skeletons of extinct Miocene mammals in the hills of Nebraska -- species previously only known through fragments. At the same time, an age of friendship began between rancher James Cook and Chief Red Cloud of the Lakota. These two unprecedented events are preserved and protected here... at Agate Fossil Beds.

Weather:

Summers can be very warm, high 90's to 100 with the frequent afternoon thunderstorms. Plan to hike early and come down from the higher points if storms threaten. Winter temperatures can dip as low as -20 with snow and wind. Heaviest snows can be expected in late Spring.

Directions:

From US 20: 22 miles south of Harrison, NE on State Hwy 29, then three miles east on River Road (paved) From US 26: 34 miles north of Mitchell, NE on State Hwy 29, then three miles east on River Road (paved). From State Hwy 71: 25 miles west on the unpaved portion of River Road.

For more details ›

Address/Contact:

301 River Road

Harrison, US, 69346

Phone: 3086654113

Email: agfo_ranger_activities@nps.gov

Entrance Fees:

The visitor center sits in the middle of mixed grass prairie.Tipis and Fossil Hills represent the two subjects that Agate Fossil Beds interprets.Thunderheads are common in July.The Dinohyus was a scavenger, nicknamed "Terrible Pig"This buckskin shirt decorated with quills was worn by Red Cloud.