Tule Springs Fossil Beds NM
Tule Springs National Monument
Established in 2014, the monument was intended to preserve thousands of Ice Age fossils. Unfortunately, not much has happened since it was established. Currently the monument consists of an information kiosk and a temporary trail. Which, we found to be really rocky and hard to walk on.
It’s a great place to come if you want to hunt for fossils; but that’s about it.
Luckily, Nevada has created a state park in the southern portion of Tule Springs that is fully developed and very educational.
Ice Age Fossils State Park
This incredible sculpture marks the entrance of the park.
Completed in 2019, it took four years and thousands of hours of volunteer work to finish.
Visitor Center/Museum
The visitor center provides a wealth of information about the area, has a lot of well labeled fossil displays, shares a history of the dig, the people involved, and outlines the discovery stages it went through.
Megafauna Trail
After exiting the visitor center, we walk the Megafauna trail and learn about the creatures that once roamed here. There are metal sculptures of each animal (sized correctly) along the trail with information boards explaining their habits, interesting facts about them, their size, weight, where they roamed, as well as a fun fact about each.
Dire Wolf – 3.2 ft at the shoulder, 132-150 lbs 
Scott’s Horse – 5 ft at the shoulder, 800 lbs 
Shasta Ground Sloth – 4 ft at the shoulder, 550 lbs 
American Lion – 4 ft at the shoulder, Males 344-1008 lbs, Females 196-578 lbs 
Yesterday’s Camel – 7.25 ft at the shoulder, 1800-2000 lbs 
Columbian Mammoth – 13 ft at the shoulder, 22,000 lbs 
Ancient Bison – 7.5 ft at the shoulder, 1,750-3,500 lbs 
Saber-Toothed Cat – 3.5 ft at the shoulder, 350-620 lbs
Standing next to something that towers over you while you read about how they hunt, adds an element of perspective I haven’t encountered elsewhere.
Big Dig Trail
As we come to the end of the Magnafauna Trail we decide to head down the Big Dig Trail to see where and how these animals were unearthed. The informaton boards along the trail offer insights into the how the dig was conducted, lessons learned from it, and what was uncovered. They also show insights into the people responsible for the dig and how they lived while it was underway.
As an added benefit, many of the boards have covered areas with seating, enabling visitors to briefly escape the sun and heat of the Mojave Desert.
This was a very interesting stop, with an element of surprise. We had no idea this area was so rich in archeological artifacts.
Next stop… Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park
Very interesting Had not heard about these fossil beds before.