The fossil beds along US-95 are two separate places. Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument is a federal site with open badlands, free entry, and nothing built on it. Ice Age Fossils State Park is a Nevada state park on Decatur Boulevard with a visitor center, exhibits, and a $3 gate. Each runs its own events, and in October 2026 both calendars are full at the same time. That alone makes this the month to finally go see the place your commute passes.
The National Park Service describes the monument as 35 square miles running along US 95 north of Aliante and Centennial Hills, out toward Creech Air Force Base. That's the same corridor Skye Canyon sits on, and a City of Las Vegas planning map for the Kyle Canyon area shows both the community and the fossil beds in that northwest stretch. The fossils themselves are between 100,000 and 12,500 years old, left behind by marshlands in the Upper Las Vegas Wash.
Two Parks, Two Sets of Rules
Your plans for a morning depend on which side of this split you're visiting, so it helps to see them side by side.
| Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument | Ice Age Fossils State Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Run by | National Park Service | Nevada State Parks |
| Where you park | Durango Dr. & Moccasin Rd., or Aliante Pkwy. & Moonlight Falls Ave. | 8660 N. Decatur Blvd., North Las Vegas |
| Hours | Sunrise to sunset | Wednesday–Sunday, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. |
| Cost | Free | $3; kids 12 and under free |
| Visitor center | None | Yes, with exhibits and a gift shop |
| Restrooms and water | None on site | Yes |
The Park Service says plainly that the monument has no visitor center, and points people to the state park's center on Decatur as a separate facility. So the classic Ice Age outing takes two stops. Walk the actual badlands on the monument, then go to Decatur when you want exhibits, a restroom, or a refill.
The Monument Side Is Self-Serve
The monument has two trailheads, and you find them by cross streets because there's no street address.
Durango Loop. It starts at the Durango/Moccasin kiosk. The short loop is 1.7 miles and takes 30 to 40 minutes. The long loop is 2.25 miles and runs 60 to 90 minutes. Total elevation change is 87 feet over loose gravel and packed desert soil. The trail cuts through Ice Age badlands with views of the Las Vegas and Sheep Ranges and the Spring Mountains, and the Park Service offers a self-guided tour for it.
Aliante Loop. It starts at the Aliante Parkway kiosk. It's 2.5 miles, rated easy, with 40 feet of elevation change. Its self-guided audio tour, "The Park is My Lab," is in the free NPS Mobile App.
The Park Service last updated its trails page on June 1, 2026. Dogs are welcome on monument trails under the agency's B.A.R.K. rules, which call for a leash, picking up waste, respecting wildlife, and staying on marked trails. That's handy for anyone whose usual dog walk is one of the parks covered in our Skye Canyon dog park guide.
Plan around the sun. The monument has no shade structures and no water. The National Weather Service forecast posted on the monument's conditions page early on October 1 called for highs of 92 to 96 degrees through the first week of October. Until it cools down, a loop that starts right after sunrise is the sensible choice.
October 17 Is When Both Sides Line Up
For most of the year, the monument gives you a trail and a kiosk. Ranger programming is limited. Protectors of Tule Springs, the monument's nonprofit partner, runs interpretive hikes in spring and fall, but they're for ages 10 and up and registration can be limited. When we checked the National Park Service calendar, it listed no separate ranger-led hike on the monument this fall.
That's why Saturday, October 17, stands out. Pleistocene Palooza, the monument's National Fossil Day event, runs from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the parking area at Durango Drive and Moccasin Road, with visitor parking on the northeast side of the intersection. The Park Service's listing describes it this way:
Discover what remains of Ice Age Las Vegas! This free annual outdoor event is for fossil enthusiasts of all ages.
You can meet scientists, see fossils up close, and visit with live animals, and kids can do the Junior Paleontologist program. It's free and listed as dog friendly. That afternoon, the state park hosts its Monumental Mammoth Scavenger Hunt from 1 to 2 p.m. It's covered by the regular entry fee, with no added charge or registration. Put the two together and you get a morning at the badlands, lunch, and an afternoon on Decatur, with both agencies programming on the same day.
The Rest of the Month, in Order
The state park fills in the other weekends. Unless a note says otherwise, every program below is included with the $3 entry, kids 12 and under get in free, and you don't need to register.
- Saturday, Oct. 3: Candy Scat, 1–3 p.m.
- Sunday, Oct. 4: Tortoise Time!, 9–11 a.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 10: Megafauna Walk & Talk, 9–10 a.m., on the accessible 0.3-mile trail.
- Saturday, Oct. 17: Pleistocene Palooza on the monument in the morning, then the Monumental Mammoth Scavenger Hunt at the state park, 1–2 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 24: Halloween Costumed Night Hike, 7:30–9:30 p.m. Registration is closed because the hike is full.
- Sunday, Oct. 25: Spooky Skeletons, 1–3 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 30: The state park's third annual Nevada Day Celebration, 9 a.m.–noon, with games and crafts.
Oct. 30 is also a free-entry day at Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs, 9200 Tule Springs Road. Most days the city charges $6 per vehicle, and the park is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from October through March. The next free day is November 26. The Park Service is also bringing a Tule Springs fossil display to Nevada Day at the Nevada State Museum Las Vegas that day, but that event isn't at the monument.
The Trail That Changes the Monument Hasn't Opened Yet
All that bare ground is temporary. Construction on the Tufa Trail started in August 2025. It's planned as a 3.3-mile accessible trail in the monument's southern unit, with bilingual exhibits, tactile models, and wayfinding maps. The project is a partnership of the City of North Las Vegas, D.R. Horton, Protectors of Tule Springs, and the Park Service. D.R. Horton committed more than $2.4 million to build the trailbed, and a $71,457.60 federal Recreational Trails Program grant is paying for interpretation and signage.
It's the monument's first permanent accessible trail. The Park Service expects it to open to the public in 2027, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported a June 2027 target. We didn't find any updated date in 2026. Construction in that area also explains the alert still posted on the monument's conditions page: the South Unit is closed south of Grand Teton Drive, between Tule Springs Parkway and North Fifth Street, while trailheads stay open. That alert was last updated in October 2025, so check it before you head to the southern end.
For now, the Durango and Aliante loops are the monument trails you can use, and the state park is the place with the comforts.
Fitting It Around Skye Canyon's Own October
The neighborhood calendar is busy too, so plan the fossil trips around it. The 10th annual Chalk & Cheers takes over Skye Canyon Park from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 24, the same day as the sold-out night hike. On Thursday, October 29, Trunk or Treat runs from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Skye Center parking lot. The Fresh52 market runs alongside it from 2 to 8 p.m. If you still want a pumpkin, Gilcrease Orchard's Fall Harvest at 7800 North Tenaya runs through October 31. It's open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, plus a bonus Friday on October 30. Advance tickets are $4 plus fees on weekdays and $6 plus fees on weekends.
Put it together and a Skye Canyon family could hit the badlands on the 17th, the chalk festival on the 24th, trick-or-treating on the 29th, and Nevada Day on the 30th. For more trails closer to home, our guide to Skye Canyon parks and trails covers the ones inside the community.
At Alexandria Mcgurk, we're keeping an eye on the Tufa Trail as it heads toward its 2027 target, along with everything else changing on Skye Canyon's stretch of US-95. If you're curious what new trails and nearby amenities could mean for your own home's value, start with a free home valuation and we'll go through it together.
