Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument

Jackie wanted to do a spa morning, so I headed out solo to explore two parks. I hired a driver to take me out and about because the first park is pretty remote and I wanted to be safe and efficient in my quest … plus there was a storm coming. The first stop was to Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, which is tucked back behind a neighborhood, and my driver had never ever heard of it before … and he’s lived in Las Vegas for decades! It was also the first time he had taken anyone to National Park Sites and was inspired to bring his family here, when the weather was better, of course! I took a mini hike in the barn desert and I so appreciated the preservation of this land.

“Over the last ~570,000 years, water has transformed the Upper Las Vegas Valley. Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument is an urban park that preserves the unique story of this ever-changing ecosystem.

Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument preserves thousands of Pleistocene (Ice Age) fossils that help tell the story of an ever-changing ecosystem. These fossils were preserved within expanding and contracting wetlands between 100,000-12,500 years ago. Many of the Pleistocene animals of Tule Springs are still alive today, including the coyote (Canis latrans), jackrabbit (Lepus sp.), and aquatic snails. Some animals went extinct, disappearing from North America entirely.”