fossil exhibit trail

Take a 50 million year trip along a .20 mile handicapped boardwalk. Great for kids and adults and dog friendly, this is a terrific lesson in the changes which occur and will continue to occur in an ever changing earth. The Fossil Exhibit Trail is 5 miles west of the Ben Reifel Visitor Center and is right on Hwy 240 (Badlands Loop Road). The trail has replicas of various fossils found in the Badlands, as well as, interpretive signs, Beginning with Ammonite fossils (75-67 million yrs) which demonstrate a time when the badlands was a shallow sea and represented in the bottom layer of the badlands. Next layer (Yellow Mounds, 67 million yrs) represent ocean mud sediments oxidized and eroded. The Chadron layer (34-37 million yrs) represents sediments from the erosion of the Black Hills and contained alligator and Titanothere (pre-rhino fossils) when the climate was hotter and wet. The Brule Formation (34-30 million years) was a woodland and drier time. Camels, saber-tooth tigers, tree-toed horses and Nimaravins roamed this environment. Finally the top layer is called the Sharp Formation (30-28 million yrs). It's bottom layer is defined by a layer of volcanic ash. The climate was very dry and cooler. The formation dates from 28 to 30 million years ago and contains fossils of Oreodont and large pre-groundhog looking creatures. The Badland area has the largest collection of Oligocene Epoch( Age of the Mammals) fossils. Camels, three-toed horses, saber-tooth tigers, rhino like creatures. The Fossil-Exhibit Trail puts it all together for you in a compact lesson. What will the Badlands look like in the next 10,000 years? The only constant is change.

This short, raised trail provides information on the fossils found in the area with a series of plaques and replica specimens. The surface is suitable and accessible by wheelchairs and strollers. Long enough to keep kids interested. Good location to take pictures.

It was a short loop walk along a boardwalk. Very detailed pictures of what layer the fossils were found in bad the layer of the walk

I enjoyed the informative walk on the boardwalk. Signs gave lots of information about the area. I would have enjoyed seeing some fossils, though. There were pictures, but some real fossils in protective containers would have been a nice touch.

thing in the park, this has to be seen and experienced.easy trail particularly for senior. Like just about every

A quick stop off the loop road to learn more about Fossils. Enjoyed the number of rabbits we saw right off the trail. Nothing too special, but worth a quick stop. We also enjoyed the fossil exhibit area in the Ben Reifel Visitor Center.

We enjoyed seeing a couple of bunny rabbits in the brush, other than that, this is really a spot for education about fossils, not bad, but may not be best use of time if traveling through.

Informative. My kids liked it and it was an easy trail. The trail is made of decking and appeared handicap accessible. Good for small kids.

Paul Ogden is a Park volunteer who led our group through two trails. He does a remarkable job---entertaining, informative, personable. This is a great experience for all ages.

We really enjoyed the trail. It was informative and had castings and pictures of fossil evidence from the park. Being able to imagine what these extinct animals would have looked like was great fun. It enhanced my enjoyment and understanding of the area. It's a boardwalk and an easy treck. Children would love it.

For those of you who like history, this is a great short trail. I thought I'd get to see a few more fossils than I did, but it was still a great way to learn more about the Badlands.

This trail has been fairly recently updated, trailside-exhibit-wise. I miss the old clear-topped boxes that they used to have on the ground next to the trail with the fossil exhibits in them, but now they have moved the fossil castings to eye-level. It's a handicap-accessible trail so everyone can enjoy it and there is an "outhouse" (no water) in the parking lot which is handy.

This is a very short walk on the boardwalk that discusses the fossils found in the area. It might be nice for our children senior citizens and goes with physical handicaps.Otherwise I would recommend the visitor center for a more complete story

We found this to be a well maintained, loop trail from the parking lot. As we set out, we took the time to read the first few trail signs. Then the biting flies and mosquitoes started stalking us. By the mid point of the trail, we were running and it ended up being a race back to the car.We all agreed afterwards that while the trailside exhibits were interesting, they weren't outstanding in any way. Unless you have a major interest in fossils or the Badlands fossils, I recommend you skip this trail and move on to some of the amazing views along the loop road.

Short little trail, with a very slippery boadwalk (when wet). The boardwalk took you around small exhibits (with fossils in the exhibit stand). I thought that there would be examples of fossils within the actual trail, so I was slightly disappointed. It was just ok, but this trail would be great for families with small children.