The Burgess Shale Formation is a marvelous site for anyone interested in high-quality fossils of Cambrian invertebrates. A day-trip to the site makes a pleasant hike in the Rockies, as well.
(photos by dan.johnson@uleth.ca, from visits in 2002, 2005 and 2009)
The hikes are led by the
Burgess Shale Geoscience Foundation
(very helpful and knowledgeable people!) We had 30 spaces in 2005.
In 2009, spaces were limited, so we did a test hike with family.
If you book well ahead, they will help you plan a successful event.
Along the way, you can
see other peaks, and this glacier (with moraines).
This view is
looking north, looking back on the trail as we hike up and around a
curve.
The Burgess Shale formation is on the right.
full-size image available here:
You'll need hiking boots or good solid shoes, for the loose, broken rock on the trial.
Take water and snacks! The hike lasts 10 hours.
At the site. Fossils can be seen and photographed on the trail or in piles of rock found around the cliffs (but not removed, of course).
The Burgess Shale is"the most precious and important of all fossil localities": Stephen Jay Gould.
Fossils of trilobites and other Cambrian invertebrates cut at various
angles
are apparent
in shale on the path or slopes.
will show you some examples that they have set aside.
Anomalocaris - one of the excellent samples preserved by the Foundation
at the site
brachiopod 
Then head home. Even on the lower path, you can see numerous invertebrate fossils.
Google Earth location:
You need the advance permission and assistance of the
Burgess Shale Geoscience Foundation. Only registered hikes are allowed.
They do a great job of describing the science and nature of the hike.
PS. 2008 is also the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth,
and the 150th anniversary of publication of The Origin of Species.
For those interested in the HMS Beagle...
Happy Birthday, Charles Darwin
