Agate Fossil Beds National Monument - Harrison, Nebraska

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument - Harrison, Nebraska

Come and experience the history of nineteen million years ago, creatures long extinct roamed across a Miocene savanna. Today, we find their fossilized remains in the sedimentary hills of Agate Fossil Beds National Monument.

Paved hiking trails allow visitors to see the quarries where the digs were conducted and observe fossils that have been left in place. The visitor center offers a life-size diorama of the ancient landscape, and other informative interactive exhibits.

Agate Fossil Beds also tells the story of "Captain" James Cook–a former professional hunter, guide and Army scout, and owner of Agate Springs Ranch. For 50 years, the Agate Springs Ranch was a haven for Indian visitors, such as Red Cloud. Cook welcomed and fed his guests, and the Indians gave Cook presents. In time, these gifts became a sizable and important collection of Native American artifacts. The Cook collection is one of the most impressive collections of Native American artifacts in Nebraska and is on permanent display in the Agate Fossil Beds Visitor Center.

Agate is a landscape that reflects many players – from early animals roaming the valleys and hills, to tribal nations calling the High Plains home, to explorers and ranchers passing through or settling in the American West.

Artists-In-Residence Program

Each summer, the staff at Agate continue the legacy of rancher James Cook by inviting American Indian artists back to the Niobrara Valley. In the past, artists have brought skills handed down to them such as creating beautiful bead and quill work, hide paintings, and decorated gourds.

The main attractions for most visitors include the dramatic displays in the Visitor Center showcasing ancient mammals that once roamed the American Plains, and the unique Cook Collection of American Indian artifacts. For those with more time, short hikes from one to three miles allow the opportunity to explore the natural history of the Niobrara River Valley and its current and past wildlife.

The Visitor Center/Museum offer the visitor a number of activities that will be of interest, some are: After the Dinosaurs

A feeling of “then and now” radiates from a life-size diorama of the mounted skeletons (replicas) of the more unusual fossil animals discovered at Agate, and occupies the entire south side of the main gallery in front of three large windows. Other displays focus on other real or replica fossils found in the area and invite interaction on the part of the viewer to think like a scientist. Featured are such beasts as the “terrible pig” Dinohyus, the long necked, claw-toed Moropus, snarling beardogs, and dwarf rhinos in abundance.

Two Cultures, One Land

Also on display are the remnants of a deep friendship between rancher James Cook and the Lakota (Sioux) of Red Cloud and other High Plains tribes.

The James Cook Collection includes stories of Indians who often visited him at his ranch and gave him gifts from the early reservation years, including fancy beaded or quilled moccasins, Indian games, a painted hide of the Custer Battle, guns, decorated clubs, a dog travois, and much more. Black and white photos of Cook’s visitors, a sound track by traditional singer Bill Horn Cloud, and a colorful, contemporary “wintercount” or historical calendar, create a mood for this special collection not to be missed by admirers of indigenous culture.

How to Find It: Follow Highway 29 south from Harrison for 23 miles, well marked from Highway 29

Directions: Plane
Nearest air service is available through Western Nebraska Regional Airport in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, approximately 50 miles southeast of the monument.

Car
Access to region by automobile is possible via Interstates 80, 90 and 25, and various state highways and county roads.

Visitors traveling east-west on U.S. Highway 26, turn North on State Highway 29 at Mitchell, Nebraska. The park is 34 miles from Mitchell. Follow the National Park Service signs.

Visitors traveling on U.S. Highway 20, turn South on State Highway 29 at Harrison, Nebraska. The park is 22 miles from Harrison. Follow the National Park Service signs.

The park is also accessible via an unpaved 25 mile county road (River Road) from Marsland on Nebraska Highway 2.

Aside from River Road and the designated parking areas, visitors are not allowed to drive vehicles within the park boundaries. Vehicles driven by staff, adjacent landowners, and other individuals performing official business are allowed to drive inside the park on non-developed roads.

Public Transportation
No public transportation is available at the park.

Tel: 308.668.2211 Visitors Center

Hours of Operation: Daily 8am to 6pm Summer; 8am-5pm - Winter
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Day

Admission: $3 per person or $5 per vehicle maximum