Fossil Butte
Photo: NPS / public domain- Jun–Sep
- best months
Clear at last check
Weather is good · OpenWeather · checked 19 h ago
Is Fossil Butte open right now?
No closures listed
The National Park Service lists no closures for Fossil Butte National Monument.
As of · Source: NPS · Fossil Butte National Monument. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.
Fossil Butte is a hike within Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming, managed by the National Park Service. The monument's name is its own guide to the destination, and the surrounding land is part of the National Park Service's network of protected areas. Summer is the most comfortable time to visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station show July highs around 83°F with lows near 42°F, while winter highs stay in the 20s. That station sits about 770 feet lower than the monument, so temperatures at Fossil Butte run cooler. Several other stops lie within a few miles. The Historic Quarry Trail is about a mile away, the Fossil Birds Exhibit is about 1.5 miles off, and the Wayside: Plan Your Visit to Fossil Butte is about 1.7 miles away. For paddling, Twin Creek is roughly 7 miles from the monument.
- Historic Quarry TrailHiking1 mi
- Fossil Birds ExhibitHiking1.5 mi
- Wayside: Erosion (Roadside)Hiking1.7 mi
- Wayside: Plan Your Visit to Fossil ButteHiking1.7 mi
- Chicken Creek Nature TrailHiking2.2 mi
Wayside: Slump or Debris Flow (Roadside)HikingPhoto: Leaflet — Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)2.4 mi- Wayside: Why the Rocks of Rubey Point are CurvedHiking3 mi
- Twin CreekCanoeing7.2 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
- Wayside: Slump or Debris Flow (Roadside)Hiking · ~4 min drive
East Hodges Canyon TrailHiking · ~1h 2m drivePhoto: Hermann Luyken, CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons)- Antelop TrailHiking · ~21 min drive
- Emigrant TrailHiking · ~26 min drive
- Emigrant TrailHiking · ~34 min drive
- Fossil Birds ExhibitHiking · ~3 min drive
- Historic Quarry TrailHiking · ~2 min drive
- Emigrant TrailHiking · ~24 min drive
- BIG PARK LOOPHiking · ~48 min drive
- Commissary RidgeHiking · ~44 min drive
Best time to visit Fossil Butte
Best months: June–September. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
28° / 5°
9 wet
Feb
30° / 6°
8 wet
Mar
41° / 16°
8 wet
Apr
52° / 23°
8 wet
May
63° / 30°
10 wet
Jun
74° / 35°
7 wet
Jul
83° / 42°
6 wet
Aug
82° / 41°
7 wet
Sep
72° / 32°
7 wet
Oct
57° / 23°
7 wet
Nov
40° / 14°
8 wet
Dec
29° / 5°
9 wet
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Fossil Butte, WY, 1.5 mi away at 6,785 ft. The station sits about 800 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
