Waco Mammoth Is a Free Walk in the Woods, Mammoths Aside

The fossils get the headlines, but Waco Mammoth National Monument is also just a good place to walk. The grounds run about 108 acres of bottomland woods along the Bosque River, and five trails of different lengths and difficulty fan out from the trailhead: short loops like the Eagle Trail, Deer Loop, and Honey Locust that add up to roughly half a mile of easy, shaded paths.

It's a genuinely different kind of stop from the dig shelter where the mammoth bones lie. Out on the trails you're in living Central Texas habitat — the same river corridor that drew Columbian mammoths and saber-toothed cats here in the Ice Age now full of songbirds, roadrunners, and the odd raccoon. The walking is gentle enough for kids and grandparents.

And unlike the guided tour of the dig shelter, the trails and grounds are free to wander. The monument is run jointly by the National Park Service, the City of Waco, and Baylor University, and it's an easy detour off the north side of town for an hour outdoors that doesn't cost a thing.