Visitor Center: Thousand Springs State Park & Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument — Attraction in Jerome

Horses made this area of Idaho famous, specifically the Hagerman Horse, excavated by a Smithsonian dig in 1929-1930. The fossil they discovered was considered to be the "first true horse" (single-toed) in evolution. What I found truly disappointing when visiting was that no true fossil of this famous discovery is on display here, only replicas. They are located in the Smithsonian, with some traded around the world.

Many other fossils, some 200 different species including the saber-toothed cat and camel, were found alongside the Hagerman Horse in the Pliocene-era Hagerman Horse Quarry located nearby. Established in 1988, this monument only contains a small visitor center off-site. Currently, there is no public access to the quarry.

By visiting this small visitor center, there is evolutionary history on display (just not its famous Hagerman Horse) through multiple fossil discoveries. The Hagerman Horse Quarry has yielded a complete picture of the flora and fauna found trapped in this local geologic layer. I only hope that when this NPS site is upgraded, a true Hagerman Horse finds...

First of all, be aware that this is a brand-new visitor center as of my visit in June, a cooperation between the National Park Service and Thousand Springs Idaho State Park. that’s important to know because it is easy to mess up and go to the old location in downtown Hagerman.

The new location is really nice, but there is not a huge amount of parking, especially if you are in an RV.

When I was there they were still getting things completed at the visitor center but still had great exhibits. The Hagerman fossil beds are known for the Hagerman horse which has one toe and is unusual because there are a number of bird fossils as well.

at this time, you should visit the NPS website and watch the park film online before you go. When I was there the auditorium was not ready to use yet. It’s also worth knowing that you can’t really visit any of the fossil bed areas.

Thousand Springs State Park has several units to visit in the area. You will need to purchase a day pass to visit...

The visitor center is brand new so they didn’t have all of their exhibits finished yet. So keep that in mind when reading my review…

It’s a lovely modern building with some fossils bones and a full scale horse fossil on display. But what’s lackluster like others have mentioned is that you can’t see any horse fossils outside. They’ve all be dug up and are securely stored somewhere offsite. I completely understand the need to safeguard there artifacts but it the whole point of visiting these historical sites is to SEE something in person. Talking to the lovely and passionate rangers was awesome though. And they mentioned more fossils would be on display after they get settled in.

There is a self guided driving tour with points of interest along the way. But once again, no fossils to be seen.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit here, but if your on your way to Minidonka or Craters of the Moon…it’s a quick...