Poised at the convergence of two vastly different regions, the Beartooth Mountains and the Great Plains, Tippet Rise is home to a unique combination of geologic wonders, from fossilized marine life to ice-age gravel deposits. The art center was founded in part to celebrate the connections between nature, art, architecture, and music. To this end, we offer Geo-Paleo Tours at Tippet Rise, which allow our guests to explore and gain some understanding of the various geological and paleontological features scattered across the art center’s 12,500 acres—features that offer clues to and glimpses of the geologic processes that formed this extraordinary region.

The Geo-Paleo Tours are the result of a partnership between Tippet Rise and the Yellowstone Bighorn Research Association (YBRA), founded by the Princeton Geological Association in 1936 at the foot of the Beartooth Mountains near Red Lodge, Montana. YBRA’s distinguished faculty lead the tours.