Agate Fossil Beds National Monument

Contact Information:
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument
301 River Road
Harrison, NE 69346
308-668-2211
http://www.nps.gov/agfo/

Size: 3,055 acres

Visitation: 16,080 (2003)

Location: Agate Fossil Beds National Monument is located on the Niobrara River, 22 miles from Harrison, in northwestern Nebraska.

Description: Park was originally part of Captain James Cook's Agate Springs Ranch. The renowned quarries contain numerous, well preserved Miocene mammal fossils and represent an important chapter in the evolution of mammals. The park's museum collection also includes more than 500 Plains Indian artifacts from the Cook Collection.

Activities: Visitors to Agate Fossil Beds National Monument have a unique opportunity to explore both the natural and cultural wonders of the park through interpretive exhibits and hiking trails. In the main room of the park's museum, visitors can look at reproductions of Miocene mammal skeletons, an original slab of bones taken from the fossil hills, and a number of interactive exhibits describing early field excavations, animal behavior, and bone analysis. The James Cook Gallery of Lakota culture is also on display in the Visitor Center and Museum. This gallery is a tribute to Cook's friendship with old friends such as Red Cloud and American Horse. For birders, the park's two hiking trails are great for observing over 140 species birds who migrate through or call Agate home. Both trails, the Fossil Hills and the Daemonelix provide an excellent opportunity to see the wildlife, wildflowers and the geology of the Niobrara Valley.

Getting there: Access to the region by automobile is via Interstates 80, 90 and 25, and various state highways and county roads. Visitors traveling east-west on U.S. Highway 26, turn North on State Highway 29 at Mitchell, Nebraska. The park is 34 miles from Mitchell. Visitors traveling on U.S. Highway 20, turn South on State Highway 29 at Harrison, Nebraska. The park is 22 miles from Harrison. Follow the National Park Service signs.

Operating Hours: Daily, year-round: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; closed Christmas, New Years, and Thanksgiving days. Hours of the Visitor Center and Museum are extended to 6:00 p.m. during the summer.

History: Authorized on June 5, 1965.

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