Join Walking Mountains Science Center and the Eagle County Historical Society for a full day of hiking and history as we explore historic geological sites in the Colorado Rocky Mountains and Eagle County. Guides from Walking Mountains will lead participants to historic locations and speak to the geological formations that make these sites significant. Experts, locals, and fellow community members from the Eagle County Historical Society will be on hand to tell the story how American natives and settlers interacted with these sites throughout the years. Join us for stories from the past and a fun, educational day of learning about and from our special valley.

Hike Through History at the McCoy Fossil Beds, Colorado

Join Walking Mountains Science Center and the Eagle County Historical Society for the final outing of the 2018 Hiking through History series as they travel back in time to an era when warm shallow seas flooded Colorado! The McCoy Fossil Beds are a favorite and frequent field site for Walking Mountains’ youth programs and their hiking guides are thrilled to be able to offer one final “Summer Camp for Adults” during the 2018 summer.

About 300 million years ago, Colorado was located much closer to the equator and was in fact submerged by a warm tropical sea. Remnants of this time are visible every time you drive down I70 or Highway 24 whether you are aware of it or not. Lionshead rock, for example, perched high above Minturn and the feline inspiration for much of Vail’s nomenclature, is a series of fossilized coral reefs! At McCoy, hikers will be challenged to imagine these historic marine environments while looking at sharks teeth, embedded in the bedrock of the high desert.

Come find out what your kids are talking about when you hear “walchia” or “brachiopod” after they return from a Walking Mountains field program! The fossil beds are located on public lands and although we won’t be collecting specimens during the field trip, you may just bump into the local rockhound who is willing to share their special locales.

Hikers will joined by expert historians from the Eagle County Historical Society, professional geologist and former director of the University of Oklahoma’s Geology Field Camp outside Canon City, CO., Neil Suneson, and Walking Mountains hiking guides for a day of history and hiking that is not soon to be forgotten. For more information and to register visit.

*This event took place in 2018*