Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
During the Pliocene, this place looked quite different. Lush wetlands, forests, and grasslands provided excellent habitat for a variety of animals. From fascinating, now-extinct creatures like the saber-toothed cat, mastodon, and ground sloth, to more familiar animals like horses, beavers, and birds, the scientific study of Pliocene fossils is the key to Hagerman.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
It is free to visit the Thousand Springs Visitor Center, home of Hagerman Fossil Beds. You can enjoy the overlooks, hiking trails, and picnic areas at the monument for free. If you want to visit Idaho State Parks, there is a fee.
Hours
| Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument | Daily · Sunrise to Sunset |
When to go
July draws the most visits here and January the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- Thousand Springs Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
The new Thousand Springs Visitor Center, operated jointly with Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, is located about one mile north of Hagerman on Highway 30.
No campgrounds, no webcams or events in Park Service data. What is here comes from the official page. The rest lives there.
Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the Park Service publishes the data.
Explore
Things to do
- Celebrate the Fire Horse
Stop by the Thousand Springs Visitor Center for scheduled Year of the Horse events and lectures.
Opens on the Park Service site - Birding in the Hagerman Valley
The Hagerman Valley is one of the most popular birding destinations in southern Idaho.
Opens on the Park Service site - Enjoy a Picnic
Pack up a meal to enjoy with friends or family at a covered picnic shelter along the park road.
Opens on the Park Service site - Hike the Emigrant Trail
The Emigrant Trail roughly parallels visible remnants of the Oregon Trail, capturing some of the experience of mid-1800s emigrants moving West.
Opens on the Park Service site - Become a Hagerman Fossil Beds Junior Ranger
Visitors of all ages and abilities can become a Hagerman Fossil Beds Junior Ranger.
Opens on the Park Service site - See Fossils on Display
See fossils on display and learn about Hagerman's contributions to the science of paleontology.
Opens on the Park Service site
Show all 7Hide
- Take a Scenic Drive
Take in stunning views of the Snake River, the fossil beds, and the Hagerman Valley along five miles of park road. Stop at the Snake River and Oregon Trail Overlooks for scenic viewpoints and educational exhibits.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
News
- Four southern Idaho national parks welcomed a combined total of more than 430,000 recreation visits in 2025 ↗2026-05-21
Four southern Idaho national parks welcomed a combined total of more than 430,000 recreation visits in 2025, including a record number of recreation visits to the Minidoka National Historic Site.
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
On the National Register nearby
- Morris Roberts StoreBuilding · Hagerman · 2.7 mi
- Hagerman State Bank, LimitedBuilding · Hagerman · 2.9 mi
- Owsley BridgeStructure · Hagerman · 3.3 mi
- Archie Teater StudioBuilding · Bliss · 6.3 mi
Guidebooks for the Rocky Mountains
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Seen this monthAmerican Badger 1×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 195 birds, 34 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Bald Eagle · Common barn owl · Cooper's Hawk · Golden eagle · Great horned owl · Long-eared owl · Merlin · Northern Saw-whet Owl · Northern harrier · Peregrine Falcon · Prairie Falcon · Red-tailed hawk · Sharp-shinned hawk · Short-eared owl · Swainson's Hawk · Turkey vulture · burrowing owl · ferruginous hawk · osprey · western screech owl
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican White Pelican · American Wigeon · American coot · Barrow's Goldeneye · Black-crowned Night Heron · Canada goose · Cinnamon Teal · Clark's grebe · Common Loon · Common goldeneye · Double-crested cormorant · Eared grebe · Eurasian Wigeon · Great Blue Heron · Greater Scaup · Green-winged teal · Hooded merganser · Lesser scaup · Mute Swan · Northern pintail · Red-breasted Merganser · Ring-necked duck · Ruddy duck · Snow goose · Snowy egret · Tufted Duck · Tundra swan · Virginia Rail · Wood Duck · blue-winged teal · bufflehead · common merganser · great egret · long-tailed duck · pied-billed grebe · western grebe
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican Avocet · Black Tern · Bonaparte's Gull · California gull · Caspian tern · Common Tern · European Herring Gull · Forster's tern · Franklin's gull · Killdeer · Least Sandpiper · Long-billed Curlew · Long-billed dowitcher · Marbled Godwit · Ring-billed gull · Sanderling · Semipalmated Sandpiper · Short-billed dowitcher · Spotted sandpiper · Wilson's phalarope · common snipe
Gamebirds & dovesCalifornia quail · Greater Sage Grouse · Mourning dove · Ring-necked pheasant · Rock dove
WoodpeckersNorthern flicker · downy woodpecker
Hummingbirds & swiftsBroad-tailed Hummingbird · Calliope Hummingbird · White-throated Swift · black-chinned hummingbird · rufous hummingbird
Also on the checklistAe'o · American Bushtit · American Dipper · American Robin · American Tree Sparrow · American crow · American goldfinch · American pipit · Bank swallow · Barn Swallow · Belted Kingfisher · Bewick's Wren · Black-billed magpie · Black-headed Grosbeak · Blue Jay · Bohemian Waxwing · Brewer's Blackbird · Brewer's Sparrow · Brown-headed Cowbird · Bullock's oriole · Cassin's Finch · Cedar Waxwing · Chipping Sparrow · Chukar · Common Nighthawk · Common Yellowthroat · Dark-eyed junco · Dusky flycatcher · European starling · Evening Grosbeak · Fox sparrow · Gadwall · Golden-crowned Sparrow · Grasshopper Sparrow · Gray partridge · Hammond's Flycatcher · Harris' Sparrow · Hermit Thrush · House Finch · House Sparrow · Lark sparrow · Lazuli bunting · Lincoln's Sparrow · Marsh wren · Mountain chickadee · Northern Goshawk · Northern oriole · Northern rough-winged swallow · Northern shoveler · Pine Siskin · Red-eyed vireo · Red-winged blackbird · Redhead · Rock wren · Roughleg · Ruby-crowned kinglet · Sage Sparrow · Savannah Sparrow · Say's phoebe · Snow Bunting · Song sparrow · Sora · Steller's Jay · Varied Thrush · Vesper Sparrow · Violet-green swallow · Western kingbird · Western meadowlark · Western tanager · White-crowned sparrow · Willow Flycatcher · Winter Wren · Yellow warbler · Yellow-breasted chat · Yellow-headed blackbird · Yellow-rumped warbler · ash-throated flycatcher · black-capped chickadee · brown creeper · canvasback · canyon wren · cliff swallow · common poorwill · common raven · cordilleran flycatcher · eastern kingbird · golden-crowned kinglet · gray flycatcher · green-tailed towhee · hairy wood pecker · horned lark · house wren · loggerhead shrike · mallard · mountain bluebird · mountain chickadee · northern shrike · red-breasted nuthatch · sage thrasher · spotted towhee · townsend's solitaire · tree swallow · warbling vireo · western scrub jay · western wood pewee
Small mammalsAmerican Beaver · Belding's Ground Squirrel · Black-tailed jack rabbit · Chisel-toothed Kangaroo Rat · Coronation Island vole · Deer mouse · Fox squirrel · Great basin pocket mouse · House mouse · Montane vole · Muskrat · Northern Pocket Gopher · Nuttal's cottontail · Ord's kangaroo rat · Piute Ground Squirrel · Porcupine · Western harvest mouse · Yellow-bellied Marmot · bushy-tailed wood rat · sagebrush vole · vagrant shrew · white-tailed antelope squirrel
PredatorsAmerican Badger · American Mink · Bobcat · Common Otter · Coyote · Cross Fox · Long-tailed Weasel · Striped Skunk · Western Spotted Skunk · common raccoon
Hoofed mammalsMule deer · Pronghorn
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
All 13 activitiesHide
Weather & climate
Hagerman, Idaho, gets 10 inches of rain per year. On average, there are 213 sunny days per year in Hagerman, Idaho. The July high is around 94 degrees. The January low is 22. Our comfort index, which is based on humidity during the hot months, is a 78 out of 100, where higher is more comfortable. The US average on the comfort index is 44.
Questions people ask
Does Hagerman Fossil Beds charge an entrance fee?
No. Hagerman Fossil Beds is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at Hagerman Fossil Beds?
Standard hours are Sunrise to Sunset, every day.
Source: National Park Service
How busy is Hagerman Fossil Beds?
36,667 recreation visits in 2025, number 289 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at Hagerman Fossil Beds?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show AT&T 4G LTE and T-Mobile 5G. No reported coverage for Verizon. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
What is the weather like at Hagerman Fossil Beds?
Hagerman, Idaho, gets 10 inches of rain per year. On average, there are 213 sunny days per year in Hagerman, Idaho.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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