30-60 Minutes
Daemonelix Trail
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument
Hike a one-mile trail back in time to the day of the paleocaster, a dry land beaver, and paleosoils, fossilized dirt from the time this landscape was formed. Look out over the vast, open table lands that define the high plaines east of the Rocky Mountains.
This one-mile (1.6 km) trail at the west end of the park offers visitors a tour through through time. In addition to a dry land beaver's curious spiral burrows, the Daemonelix or Devil's Corkscrew, visitors see ancient sand dunes and fossil grassland soils called paleosols. From the number and concentration of their now petrified homes, paleontologists know that the paleocastor, the dry land beaver, formed and lived in colonies much like present-day prairie dogs. From the Daemonelix Trail's highest point, visitors can look out over not only James H. Cook's historic Agate Springs Ranch but also the vast, open tablelands that form the northern terminus of the High Plains east of the Rocky Mountains.
Tags
HikingAnimalsBirdsClimate ChangeFossils and PaleontologyGrasslandsTrailsPetshikingfossilsMidwest
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Details
Duration
30-60 Minutes
Fees Apply
No
Seasons
Winter, Spring, Fall
Time of Day
Day, Dawn, Dusk
Pets
Yes — Pets are allowed as long as they are on a leash no more than 6 feet, you remove your pets waste, respect wildlife, and stay on the trail.
Reservations
No
Location
Daemonelix Trailhead