Morrison, CO

Morrison is a Jefferson County home-rule town about 20 miles southwest of Denver, with the 2020 census counting 396 residents. It is the kind of Front Range place where a tiny town carries a very large geological name: the Morrison Formation, known for Jurassic fossils, took its name from the area. The old town also sits near Dinosaur Ridge, so layers of red rock and dinosaur tracks are part of the everyday backdrop rather than a distant museum subject. The Morrison Natural History Museum has been town-operated since 1995 and works from a former ranch cabin adapted into a museum building.

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Its collections and dig work focus on local fossils, including dinosaur tracks found along the ridge. Colorado Highway 8 and Morrison Road bring Denver traffic through the valley, while the town keeps a distinct center of historic buildings and local gathering places. Morrison's local scoop is a Colorado town where a home-rule government, a fossil museum, and one of the world's best-known dinosaur formations all share a few canyon-side miles.