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A dark brown, football-shaped fossil fish with a fan-shaped tail and spines standing up on its back. Photo: NPS Photo

Fossil Butte National Monument

National Monument · Wyoming

In the ridges of southwest Wyoming are some of the best-preserved fossils in the world.

Plan your visit Directions
  • LocationKemmerer, WY
  • Entrance No fee listed
  • HoursDaily, Sunrise to Sunset
  • Weather now63°F Sunny
  • Alerts 1 active alert

They tell the story of ancient life in a warm, wet environment in and around a freshwater lake. Stingrays swam in the lake.

Turtles basked in the sun. Leaves rustled in the breeze while early horses darted between the trunks.

We reveal more of the past with each fossil found.

Topics
  • Fossils and Paleontology
  • Geology
  • Schools and Education
Hills with tan and red sediments partially covered with green vegetation.
The red and purple layers of the Wasatch Formation sit below the ridgeline of Fossil Butte. — NPS Photo / John Collins

Alerts (1)

InformationTemporary Phone Number for Visitor Center

Our main phone number for the visitor center is temporarily disconnected. Please call 307-877-4456 to reach a ranger.

Things to Do

7 activities. Pick one to find other parks that offer it.

A fossil frog facing left with its back legs splayed out.
Only two fossil frogs have been found in the sediments remaining from Fossil Lake. — NPS Photo / Arvid Aase

Facilities & Services

Find visitor services available in the park. Check current hours and availability before you go.

Other Visitor Services

  • Visitor center in winter with butte behind

    Fossil Butte Visitor Center

    Facility

    Over 2000 fossils are on exhibit. Video programs feature what scientists have learned from the fossils and the rocks they're found in, and how fossils are excavated and…

    864 Chicken Creek Road, Kemmerer, WY (307) 877-4455 Directions

    Details
    Over 2000 fossils are on exhibit. Video programs feature what scientists have learned from the fossils and the rocks they're found in, and how fossils are excavated and prepared. Visitor Center hours vary by the season.

Plan Your Visit

Hours

Daily, Sunrise to Sunset · Fossil Butte National Monument

Hours details
  • Fossil Butte National MonumentDaily, Sunrise to Sunset

    Visitors may enter the park any day sunrise to sunset, but visitor services and motor vehicle access vary throughout the year. Camping is not available.

    MondaySunrise to Sunset
    TuesdaySunrise to Sunset
    WednesdaySunrise to Sunset
    ThursdaySunrise to Sunset
    FridaySunrise to Sunset
    SaturdaySunrise to Sunset
    SundaySunrise to Sunset

Entrance fees

No entrance fees listed.

Weather

63°F
Sunny · feels like 56°
  • Today 69° 49°
    Sunny
    1% rain
  • Tomorrow 74° 50°
    Sunny
    2% rain
  • Saturday 73° 54°
    Sunny
    3% rain

Updated 3 hr ago

What to expect by season

Expect a variety of weather conditions no matter what time of year you visit. Spring, fall and winter can be very cold with snow and icy conditions. In spring, daytime temperatures usually range from 30 F to 65 F. Summer daytime temperatures range from 60 F to 90 F. Fall daytime temperatures range from 45 F to 70 F. Winter daytime temperatures range from -20 F to 30 F.

Contact the park

Photos

  • The moon over a snow-covered butte
    The moon over a snow-covered Fossil Butte, the namesake of the park. — NPS Photo
  • A dark brown, long, thin fossil fish with a forked tail
  • A green valley with a ridgeline across the way with a tan top not covered with vegetation.
  • A fossil of a turtle with a short tail about the same length as the legs
  • A butte with sagebrush and blue flowers on long stalks in the foreground.

Getting There

864 Chicken Creek Road
Kemmerer, WY 83101

By car: Travel 9 miles west of Kemmerer, Wyoming on U.S. Highway 30.

Full directions

There is a highway sign near mile post 44; turn right onto Lincoln County Road 300. The Historic Quarry Trail is approximately 1/2 mile on the right. Continue west on County Road 300 for approximately 1.5 miles to Chicken Creek Road which provides access to the visitor center, scenic drive, Nature Trail and picnic area. Closest airports: Rock Springs, Wyoming (130 miles); Salt Lake City, Utah (150 miles).

Get directions NPS directions Official NPS site

Mailing address: P.O. Box 592, Kemmerer, WY 83101

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