Wide Open For Discovery

The journey continues through additional portions of the monument, including:

  • Foree Trailhead, where two short interpretive trails lead through blue and red fossil-bearing deposits, ending at a stunning viewpoint where you can see basalt flows remaining from 16 million years ago.
  • Cathedral Rock displays a beautiful cliff face exposing ancient pyroclastic flows and ash layers. Its unique banded colors and setting high above the river make it a regional icon.
  • Blue Basin offers a short trail into the basin, featuring casts of turtle and saber-toothed-cat fossils, along with interpretive signs near the discovery site of the original fossils.
  • Cant Ranch National Historic District, across the highway from the Thomas Condon Visitor Center (currently under construction), features displays of old farm equipment plus descriptions of sheep and cattle ranching in the early 1900s.
  • Mascall Overlook presents a spectacular view of Picture Gorge and the Mascall and Rattlesnake formations along with detailed interpretive signs.