Things to Do

Snowmass Ice Age Discovery

Snowmass Village is home to the finest alpine Ice Age fossil trove in the world, Colorado’s most important fossil discovery, and the largest discovery of mastodons ever recorded.

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Experience the Ice Age

More than 150,000 years ago, glaciers covered the area that would become Snowmass Village. In 2010, a bulldozer operator working in Snowmass unearthed the fossilized remains of a young Columbian mammoth! Soon after, scientists uncovered an entire fossilized ecosystem.

paleontologist in a hard hat and neon vest holds up a fossil

The Dig

In October 2010, a bulldozer operator working at Ziegler Reservoir in Snowmass Village, Colorado uncovered the tusk of a young female mammoth. Over the next 10 months, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science conducted its largest-ever fossil excavation, uncovering more than 6,000 bones belonging to 10 different species of large mammals and over 30,000 small bones from 42 different species of small vertebrate animals.

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Visitor Experiences

To celebrate this incredible discovery, Snowmass has installed various art installations around the Village. Complete the Ice Age Passport Walk by visiting different art and informational exhibits around the Village.

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Don't Miss the News!

There will be another active dig at Ziegler from May through September 2027, in partnership between the Snowmass Water & Sanitation District, the Town of Snowmass Village, and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

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