Marsh Quarry - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

Located on BLM lands, dinosaurs bones were discovered here in the 1870s, 1880s and 1950s. It’s situated in Cañon City on Colorado’s southern front range. Fossils of well-known species of large dinosaurs have been discovered at this site over the last 120 years. Many of the dinosaur fossils discovered at this site are on exhibit at museums around the country, including the Denver Museum of Natural History and so more.

The Indian Springs Trace Fossil Locality Natural Area contains trace fossils of animals that lived during the. Ordovician Period, 450 million years ago.It is considered North America's best site of trace fossils because its shows the movement of the ancient animals. Tracks left by the animals walking, swimming and burrowing in what had been a tidal lagoon's mudflat.

The Royal Gorge Route Railroad is a heritage railroad based in Cañon City, Colorado. A 1950s-era train makes daily 2-hour excursion runs from the Santa Fe Depot through the Royal Gorge along a famous section of the former Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad.

The Museum of Colorado Prisons was initially known as the Colorado State Women's Prison when it first opened its doors in 1935.The Museum was established with a view to collect, preserve, conserve, exhibit, and interpret the historical heritage of the Colorado Prison System. The Museum was also opened to serve as an incentive for historical research, education, and scholarly writings on the subject. It was equally meant to be a means to deter criminal activity.

Fremont Peak looms over the desert community of Cañon City Colorado and makes up an imposing section of the northeast rim of the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River. This scrappy little desert peak is part of a very small sub-range of mountains called the Gorge Hills. It is the highpoint of a narrow ridge of land with abrupt drops on both the east and the west. As a result, a visit to this peak is a pleasantly invigorating desert outing with knock-out views.

Buckskin Joe was a western-style theme park located west of Canon City, opened in 1957 and closed in 2010. It was a re-creation of the Buckskin Joe mining camp. It features of the park included gun fights, 30 authentic buildings from the Colorado 19th century frontier, themed entertainment, full service saloon and restaurant. There was also the Mystery House and a horse-drawn trolley ride. The town featured a donkey as the mayor.