Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument

Another beautiful NPS site. This was my first stop after landing in Las Vegas and it was well worth it. The views of the mountains are amazing. Walking along the fossil beds was quite an experience as well.

Tule Springs is a hidden gem in the Las Vegas area and one of the most peaceful spots to visit if you need a break from the city. Whether you're walking the trails, exploring the historic ranch, or just relaxing by the ponds, it offers a quiet, scenic experience that’s perfect for all ages. The wildlife, especially the birds and turtles, make it a favorite for families and nature lovers. It’s clean, well-kept, and full of charm — a great place for a picnic, photos, or just some fresh air. I highly recommend checking it out if you’re in Vegas and want something different from the Strip.

No services, but parking on roadside and trail. Appears to be used like BLM at present, but in transition. On outskirts of neighborhood, so a lot of joggers and dog walkers when we visited. We got JR Ranger book by mail in advance, since no visitor center.

Very interesting site. A couple of good interpretive signs. It's hard to see fossils but a lovely view of the Sheep Range and the Spring Mountains. Mummy Mountain is prominent to the east. Alluvial fans from the Sheep Range are prominent.

The small entry fee makes it affordable. Kids under 12 years old are free. The visitor center offers engaging natural history exhibits, immersive videos, and interactive displays. It’s an excellent intro to the park’s lore and gives you a vivid sense of what life was like when the Las Vegas area was lush wetlands, teeming with mammoths, saber‑toothed cats, and dire wolves.

Have to get your passport stamp at Lake Mead welcome center, but this was pretty cool

As other reviews state, there is only a kiosk and a very rough temporary trail here. You're better off going to Ice Age Fossils State Park, a short distance away in the southern portion of Tule Springs. They have a visitor center/museum, bathrooms, a covered picnic area, and multiple smooth trails with information boards, shade, and seating. You can also get your Tule Springs passport stamp in their visitor center. There's a small entrance fee; but it's worth it.

A cool easy access nature area. We went in the evening in winter months so it was very enjoyable.

Awesome place with miles of trails for both walking and biking. Fun for the whole family including the dogs. Come check it out!

Fun walk around the desert with cool rock formations. Entrance had trail map as well as fossil information on what was found in the are. Parking was empty when I was there saw like 3 cars when leaving. There were like 10-15 parking spots there.

I love this trail for me and the dogs. It's super easy and customizable. I like that it's flat so you can see pretty far away. It's large so I don't have to worry about paying people with my dogs. And there's a lot of different paths to choose from so it's not the same every time. I would say this is something great living by it. If it was more than 20 min away I would probably find another place to take the doggies. I've been here for all seasons except summer cause this trail has 0 protection from the sun. I also hope they do more activities. I remember a year ago they did a stargazing event where you can bring your telescope but no idea if they still do that. Parking lot is small. Normally but a problem but when you have beautiful days it'll fill up fast. Also be mindful this is a wild area. I've ran into jack rabbits and coyotes so even though it's super safe I always stay alert.

In A Nutshell: -Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument is good for those of you seeking asylum. -If you want to experience what it feels like to be in the middle of a desert landscape w/ some unique dirt mound formations, some Joshua Trees scattered here & there w/ a dry/cracked creek bed, then come. -It's a good place to clear your mind. -I've seen multiple ATV tracks, so people must come here to ride. -In addition, I've seen many bullet shell casings so people must illegally come to shoot, which I do not recommend as it's FEDERAL PROPERTY. Overall, you literally must drive to the edge of Las Vegas' civilization border to enter this park. I assume many locals who live in the nearby neighborhood probably frequent this park the majority of the time.

Very underwhelming. The trail is easy to follow and the signs at the front are well made. Otherwise not much to look at along the trail. There is quite a bit of trash and indeed dog excrement along the way. Some I think are coyote? I would love to see more signs to explain the importance of some features. Bathrooms at the trailhead would be my first addition. Not really worth the time but I appreciate setting land aside so developments don't take everything over.

Nice quiet place to hike the trails and be at one with nature. Beautiful sights. Very picturesque. Make sure you obey the rules. If you take your dog, please scoop the poop and discard it in the trash at the parking area. There's plenty of parking.

I am a National Park cancellation stamp fien. I will go to great lengths to get a stamp, even the remote ones like this national monument. My only issue is that the NP website does not tell you that in order to get the cancellation stamp you have to go to the Desert National Wildlife Refuge another 15 minutes away from town on the other side, which we did. However, that took a lot of research to figure out. And when it was said and done, this Tule Springs National Monument would be interesting to visit in the cooler months to get the full experience. Very well maintained, but no visitor center or facilities, so you are on your own to explore and need to research the importance of this NP treasure.

While there are no facilities for this national monument yet, it's impossible to doubt how impressive this protected area is. Plan for brutal sun and possibly dangerous territory, all worth it.

This is an "off-trail" nice little national park where you can walk and explore. I have taken my pup and she loves it here. Please keep in mind.. there is A LOT OF GLASS throughout the park.. watch your step. There is also a lot of areas where people go out shooting random objects and just leave their trash so watch out for anything sharp you may step on. It's a really unique rocky/sandy area where you can take some pretty fun pictures at or just explore a new way to walk every time. While on my walk, I did discover some bones so those are definitely out there as well. Pretty neat.

Incredibly underwhelming. Was looking forward to walking among the layered beds of sediments with the fossils, etc, but the trail just loops WAY out and back with not much to see. However, for me, it was par because I am the queen of taking my family to places like this with too much hope. The kids won't even get out of the car anymore.

Being close to the house, this has become one of our favorite go to places to take our German Shepherd out for a nice easy hike. It is really cool that we live very close to a park that prehistoric findings and some great history. The new visitors center off Decatur looks like it is almost complete, however with COVID, unsure when this visitor center will open (just checked the state website and no opening info I saw was listed). With the park spreading several thousand of acres, each adventure will be interesting. Key notes 1. parking along various points of public roads is available 2. The trails are not marked so be aware 3. There are some "official" entry ways into the fossil beds but there are no services like restrooms, trash cans 4. People do not pick up after their pets so watch your step 5. There is a lot of glass and derbies as well, again watch your step 6. Cell phone coverage in town is pretty good, however getting out north of the city, please note cell service may diminish Again, with the small concerns, park is pretty easy to access and honestly really you can walk around for hours and get some good exercise in. I am excited to see the visitor center open and explore the dig sites.

Unfortunately we visited on a day when the road to the entrance off Durango was blocked for construction. (There's always a way, though, right?! ) So, not really any signage, though plenty of very kind locals who were able to give some background on the construction (addition of about 2,500 homes to stretch north). As another Yelper noted, there was quite a bit of glass, and we noted dog poo that hadn't been picked up, likely from people walking their dogs in the area. The terrain was also a weird bumpy with sand balls. That doesn't really matter except to note you may prefer something more substantial than a ballet flat shoe. The kids had fun stretching their legs on the way out of town heading home. Kind of unsure when this project is expected to be more developed and would be happy to go back then. Otherwise, we were underwhelmed. I gave this an extra star for the potential, though!

Where to get your National park stamp! There are a few information booths around the Tule Springs Fossil beds but no defined trails or visitors center. But if you drive up to the Desert National Wildlife Refuge Visitor center 10 -15 miles north 95 you can get both stamps there. We liked the "info booth" and view best off Durango Road. We didn't see anything near "The Big Dig" off Horse road. Overall Interesting history that this is the largest area of prehistoric fossils in the US (Giant woolly mammoths and saber tooth tigers, etc). More info available on the Protectors of Tule Springs Fossil Beds. No families only a sign, but you can hike out through the Nevada wash.

While this review is written, this National Monument is only a few months old and thus is not yet developed. That said, its of worldwide importance with fossils from TWO ice ages ago and the existence of the Las Vegas poppy only found here!

It's not awesome in it's current state, but here's hoping that funds come through and they're able to preserve this area in a manner that's in line with it's National Monument status. In the meantime, a good clean up would help. Burnt out trash, car parts, concrete and broken beer bottles litter the wash area. It's sad that people are so disrespectful.

The wife and I got biking on the new trail off Aliante parkway. We get to view it daily since it's right across the street from our backyard. It's a great place to roam around and lose yourself in the desert. Very peaceful and tranquil. The only thing I would ask is for the a$$hats that let their dogs crap all over and not pick it up, yes it is dog crap and not from coyotes, would be to CLEAN UP AFTER YOUR DAMN DOGS!!!!! It's not a public poop site. Thanks God they poop off the trail itself otherwise I would be complaining directly to the park service. If you go just make sure you bring plenty of water. It's a desert after all and it gets very hot and sometimes very humid so water loss is very high. Oh and please enjoy but not disturb. We would like to keep this place as is. Nature is a wonderful place and I am thankful that I get to look out into the monument everyday and see the beauty of it.

Is it sad that this is absolutely one of my favorite places in Vegas? I heard tell of it from another local who liked to walk her dogs in the scrublands wide in the open. Since then my partner and I would drive down here to look at the sunset. If you go at sunset, certain times of year there are tons of little birds that litter the path and you literally have to drive through them (they will move if you drive slowly enough, I never hit one). I wish people would take better care of it, but I also like it how it is - only locals know or care where or what it is!! and not many locals even care about it.

We knew ahead of time there are no facilities here, but we still went. It will be interesting to see what will be developed to preserve the area the treasures that have yet to be dug up. There is a small Tule Fossil display at the Old Las Vegas Morman Fort