Devonian Fossil Gorge

Very cool place. I went end of November on a nice day. No maps but there are online resources if you Google. This place is definitely a slow down and look place as the fossils don't just stand out. There is a trail at the end of the gorge that walks beside the river. Bathrooms by the campground this time of year are disgusting as the water is turned off so beware.

A really great stop, just two adults, although I can see a huge draw for children. We travel a lot and I was glad to have found this stop. Visited for about 2 hours but there are trails and a great campground near as well for much longer stays.

Love the gorge - there is a handicap accessible area next to the parking lot with a little information on the Devonian era. A fee boulders line the walkway and you can see fossils on these.

Gorge itself is not handicap accessible, but my 2 and 4 year old get around pretty easily throughout the area. There are tons of fossils if you keep a sharp eye. Coral and shells. The gorge also has little ponds that fill with frogs and may have an occasional crawfish or snake.

Really fun area to take out of town guests or your kids for an outdoor adventure (without tons of hiking).

Don’t damage the rocks / take the fossils.

This place is so fun for families with young ones and dogs. We found a ton of fossils and had a great time climbing the rocks and seeing the dam. The trails are well kept and we even saw some Pelicans down by the beach. The small play area was great for the kiddos too! We took 3 dogs and 2 toddlers who had a blast even though it was rainy and chilly.

This is just nifty. Wander as little or as much as you want, even if you have limited ambulatory capabities. There are excellent specimens in the rocks to the right at the end of the guardrail. The best specimens are along the edges of the flat rocks or on the side. It can be hard to see the ones on the flat rocks that people walk on.

If you ever find yourself on a car trip that goes anywhere in Iowa, see how far out of your way this place is. So beautiful! I don't know much about fossils but was really impressed by what was here! They have a nice brochure online to read off what the numbers mean as you meander through! I had the whole place to myself. I saw in other reviews that people have observed eagles down by the water as you walk this gorge. And I'm happy to say that's absolutely true, I watched two adult eagles hunting for fish in the water, something I have never seen IRL and was so excited to witness. I was by myself but it would be a great place for kids to explore. Could have a picnic down by the water and make it a whole afternoon!

This would be a great place to bring your young explorers. I found it strange you cam walk around the exhibit as much as we did. You could spend 10 minutes or several hours looking and seeing these fossils.

This was an absolutely beautiful park! There was just enough information to read and feel informed without being bogged down with facts. It was nice to meander through the area and take our time to see everything. We also took a short trail up the waterway and got to see some beautiful scenery.

This is a wonderful place for a nature walk with young children. My soon-to-be 3 year old was able to walk around no problem. And we saw TONS of animals! 3 snakes, lots of frogs, ducks, water insects, and more. It’s a quick drive from North Liberty. Highly recommend and will definitely be back regularly!

It was funny how I found this spot. I had searched for worlds largest, predicted text finish Wooden Nickel popped up. I zoomed in and was stopped by the word FOSSIL. I don't remember driving by the wooden nickel. I brought Lobo here and explored. He didn't have as much fun as I did. Still a five star fun place to play and take pictures.

We only stopped by for a short time but it was really worth a visit. Our children just learned formation of fossils in classes, and now they get to see what a fossil really looks like and where to find them out! Want to make your trip more educational? I'd strongly recommend this place to all families with children in elementary school!

After reading "The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs" earlier this year, I have since become paleontology-obsessed. As a result, I've been looking for prehistoric places to visit this summer. My husband and I did a week-long road trip around the Midwest and made the Devonian Fossil Gorge one of our stops outside of Iowa City. It offers a unique glimpse into what Iowa was like (like the Bahamas, apparently!) 325+ million years ago. Incredible to see the fossilized organism imprints everywhere. Would highly recommend for all ages! We brought our dog as this is a free dog-friendly area.

Amazing trails and love the dam!! The fossils are hard to find because they get picked through but I'd you look in uncommon areas you can find some! Would definitely recommend! Found some fossils? In the dead tree that fell down!! So cool.

Very easy to get yo from parking lot, like literally just a few steps away. You will see plenty fossils. Not super busy when we went. We also saw a huge brown snake slither between rocks. The park around the area is also beautiful to visit.

Amazing experience, especially for history/fossil nerds like myself. Great nature trails too

Fun place to visit and look at fossils from when Iowa was under an ocean. Lots of good hiking areas and places to picnic. Eagles nest along the river walk.

Had a blast yesterday, 3 adults 13 kids! Plenty of room for everyone!

Terrific and fun! There must be hundreds of thousands if not millions of fossils visible all over the site.

Game warden was called cause we never knew you had to pay a fee for going to beach or sitting at park enjoying yourself.

Super neat and laid back place to explore. It was nice to hunt all over the gorge and not follow any pre-set path and it was a quick stop on our way to somewhere else and was totally worth the visit!