Celebrate National Public Lands Day by visiting the Pikes Peak region’s closest national park area – Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument on Saturday, September 26, 2015.  In honor of National Public Lands Day, fees will be waived at Florissant Fossil Beds as well as the 400 plus other national park units across the United States.

Calling all teens!  Any teens (13-19yrs) that come to the park this day and complete a hiking challenge (The Hornbek Wildlife Loop, 4 miles round trip) receive a free t-shirt.  The teen hiking challenge is part of the Trails4Teens program at Florissant Fossil Beds. This program encourages teens to explore the Monument’s trails through hiking, playing, serving, and working.

Public Lands Day will include the following programs:

10:00 AM              Interpretive Talk: Join a Ranger in the amphitheater behind the visitor center for a 25 minute talk about the area’s natural and human history.

 10:00AM –  4:00PM     Teen Hiking Challenge: Sign up in the visitor center to hike the 4 mile Hornbek  Wildlife loop. 2 – 3 hours. Complete the challenge and earn a t-shirt.

 11:00 AM              Ranger Guided Hike: Learn about the Monument’s trails on a 1 hour guided hike.

 1:00 PM                Awards Ceremony: Come to the amphitheater behind the visitor center and learn about and celebrate the success of the teens that worked and hiked at the Monument this summer.  Cake, fruit, and refreshments will be served by the Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds.  1 hour.

1:00 PM-3:00 PM  Fossil Learning Lab: Join a Park Ranger in the Yurt (tent) in the picnic area of the visitor center and see how fossils are discovered in the fragile lake shales of the Florissant valley.

For more information please call the Monument at (719) 748 – 3253 ext 202 or email at flfo_information@nps.gov.

The Monument is located at 15807 Teller County Road#1 in Florissant, CO.  The park is approximately 35 miles (1 hour) west of Colorado Springs off of Highway 24.

Follow us on Twitter at @FlorissantNPS and on Facebook/FlorissantNPS or visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/flfo