Waco Mammoth National Monument

6220 Steinbeck Bend Dr, Waco, TX 76708, USA

Address:	6220 Steinbeck Bend Dr, Waco, TX 76708, USA
Phone:	+1 254-750-7946
Site:	nps.gov
Rating:	4.6
Working:	9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

Camille Grow

I took our fossil-obsessed 4 year old and his 2 year old brother. I was a little worried about doing a guided tour with such young kids, because they kinda want to see what they want to see, and can be pretty noisy and disruptive! This was a perfect place for a tour with young kids. For one, it is very inexpensive - adults are $5, kids are $3, and kids under 3 are free, so you dont feel like you are wasting money if you have to quit the dig site early. Second, the dig site isnt that big, so you cant really loose your kids in the building. I left my 4 year old with his dad at one end and followed the 2 year old as he wandered where he would, but I could see my husband the whole time. Kids who arent at all interested in fossils may not last long inside, but I was able to interest mine in the fossils in situ, the table with some toys and illustrations of prehistoric creatures, the mammoth femur bone display, and the paintings. And most of all, the tour guides were very friendly, very accommodating, and not at all bothered that once we entered the dig site building, the kids were wandering everywhere. We felt very welcome and got to spend a full hour inside, making it a memorable experience. As you walk in to the dig site, there are walkways built so that you can look down over the fossils, but the rails are high enough and there is no way for a little one to squirm underneath or between panels. The only worry youd have with kids is them tossing something into the dig site, but there is a sign as you enter warning you to secure all loose objects (and probably take everything away from the kids). As for the free parts of the park, there are walking trails that seem very doable for kids, picnic tables very close to the paved walkway coming down from the visitors center, and a play dig pit for kids. When we visited (early August), the dig pit was closed, but there were tables out with kids workbooks, coloring sheets, geodes, and a park employee showing off a mammoth tooth. I was under the impression before we came that the visit would be free, but to see anything mammoth related, you need to buy the tour. Not a big deal, but that can be a bit misleading from a basic google search. Without the dig site, this is just a nice park for the most part. There are bathrooms in the gift shop/visitors center. The path to the dig site is paved, wide, a very gentle slope, and the tour guide can drive a golf cart down to the site as well for anyone with mobility issues. The dig site is wheelchair accessible, although the gift shop is very small and tight - but you can reach the restrooms.

Kimberly Albee

If youre looking for a great place to take the family on a day trip, this would be it. Its fun and educational (which was the fun part for me)! This place is absolutely awesome. Weve driven thru Waco many times, but never stopped to see it. On a quest to tour our great Lone Star State, we thought Waco would be a good place to go and visit, instead of just passing thru it at 80 mph. This came up on the list of top 10 things to do there, so we drove in from Fort Worth for a day trip. Our guide Jason was great. He was fun, helpful, and knowledgeable on the mammoths, and the site itself. We learned so much about the "mammoth" things going on in our very own state that we knew nothing about before. The experience would not be near as much fun without a guide. Learning about the mammoths was amazing, and the mammoths themselves are truly incredible. We loved every second of it. We will be back to see what they uncover next!

Dusty Rogers

First, lets be clear. If you have a National Park Pass, it does not cover the cost of the tour (which is crazy cheap, by the way). This is stated clearly on their website and on their doors. You must be with a tour guide to access the dig site. (I cant blame them for that - some people...) Please do not show up expecting a free tour because you have the $80 pass and then cuss out the very nice park employees because you chose not to read. This is a family friendly site. Lets keep it that way. With that said, we loved this place! The tour guides are very informative (loved Dava!). They had things up front for the kids to do, and they were willing to answer all our questions even if they werent working the tour. Everyone was super friendly here. No, its not the biggest or most exciting of the national monuments, but thats okay. Its ours! And its not a long drive for us to see a piece of prehistory.

Heather Buen

A rare educational gem for children learning about Colombian mammoths from around 51,000 years ago. Part of the National Park Service if you have a National Park passport definitely stop by for this rather quick tour to get your stamp. When you first walk in you get your tickets from the Welcome Center and they are $5 for adults as of this writing. My two children were 5 and 6 so they were $3 each. The Welcome Center is where the restrooms and gift shop are located so take a restroom break here. Then a short walk on a paved trail to the actual site that overlooks the excavation site. The guided tours that come with the price of admission seem to be about every 30 minutes and they really explain all the animals and bones you will see at the site and give you a point of reference in how massive these animals are. Its a short tour but well worth a day trip from Dallas-Fort Worth

Bill K

We visited the facility in mid-July 2017. The guided tour gave us a very good introduction to the discovery of the fossils at the site. The fossils are in-situ and the information provided at the tour is very useful in understanding the environment a nursery herd of Columbian Mammoths lived at the site about 65k years ago. Park Ranger Kristen did a wonderful job in explaining the details. She is also very patient in answering many questions in scientific terms. She paid special attention to the children in the group and explained things also in terms that they could understand. Many questions came from the children and they received satisfactory answers. The children were also excited to take part in the Junior Ranger program. In summary, it is a great educational opportunity for both adults and children. Highly recommended!

Sourav Dutta

This is one of the newest members of the National Park Service family and deservedly so. In just a 15 minute detour from the I-35 highway, one can see glimpses of a world 200,000 years old. The guided tour costs $5 per person and it is required to gain access to the actual enclosed site containing the fossils. The tour guide is very knowledgeable and provided many insightful titbits as well about the history of the place and how it came to be the only place in North America with the remains of a nursery herd of Columbian Mammoths - the biggest among the Mammoth family. The facility preserves the skeleton of a full grown male Quincy, a full grown female Wanda and a few juvenile Mammoths as well as a camel, a sabertooth tiger and other animals. It is a hours worth of an immersive, entertaining and informative visit. Totally worth it.