U.S. National Park Service
nps.gov › subjects › fossils › fossil-parks-list.htm
Fossil Parks—Master List - Fossils and Paleontology (U.S. National Park Service)
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/fossilhunting › what's the best area to legally find fossils (and how do i get started)
r/FossilHunting on Reddit: What's the best area to legally find fossils (and how do I get started)
September 13, 2023 -
I don't live in a mountain area, but that doesn't really matter, I'm sure people have asked this question beforez but my two questions are, what areas do I look in and how do I know I'm following the law of my state? How do I start my journey? I'm interested in trilobites and ammonites, and other stuff.
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Well, it would be great helpful if you said what state you lived in.
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The first rule of fossil hunting is that your region means more than the landscape around you. It sometimes surprises people starting out to hear that being near mountains, lakes, beaches, rivers, or even cities has absolutely no bearing on what sort of fossils you can find - or even if you can find fossils at all! Fossils like trilobites or ammonites are millions of years old. The ammonites went extinct with the dinosaurs 66 million years ago and the youngest trilobite is still 250 million years old! That is, quite literally, older than the mountains. The world looked very different so long ago. You're probably familiar with the old supercontinent Pangea, and how all the landmasses shifted about over millions of years to form the world we know today. Mountains form in only a few million years, seas can drain in hundreds of thousands, rivers can come and go in millennia. Theoretically any rock, fossiliferous or not, can make up or underlie these landscapes. The only thing relevant to finding fossils is the very specific history of your specific region (city, state, etc), which has, I guarantee, been logged and tracked obsessively by one geologist or another. This information will tell you where you can find fossils. Now, all that said, some areas are still better for finding fossils, though it's not specific as to what kind. You want somewhere where nature is doing the heavy lifting of getting rid of the overlying rocks; eroding cliffsides or rivers are very good candidates for this. You could also try places where people dig a lot (with permission) like an old quarry or road excavation. Look up your country/state/region's geology, and then look for areas where rock is exposed there. For ammonites you want Jurassic or Cretaceous marine rock for the best chances. For Trilobites the Silurian is better. There are lots of publicly accessible geological maps and regional fossil hunting guides available for a reasonable price, but it might be easier for you to find a local forum where people will share local fossil hunting sites. This is the absolute best way for a beginner to find fossils. These will often cite local laws as well. Generally it's legal to pick up ex-situ (loose on the ground) fossils from any public land, or private land with the landowners permission. Don't dig into the rock face unless you are absolutely certain you're allowed to do so and won't damage the rock.
Videos
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How to find amazing fossils in your area - YouTube
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Fossil Hunting 101 | Where to Look for Fossils, and How to Find ...
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A guide on how to find fossils on the Isle of Wight | Field Studies ...
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Fossil Hunting In Southern Ontario's Most Concentrated Fossil Bed.
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What's the best place to look for dinosaur fossils? - YouTube
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How Do I Find Fossils🤔⁉️ - YouTube
Fossil Guy
fossilguy.com › sites › index.htm
Fossilguy.com: Where to Find Fossils - Fossil Hunting Locations, directions, identification, tips, and fossil examples
Take some fossil hunting trips with your family or friends! BROWN: Fossil Collecting allowed. BLUE: Fossil Viewing ONLY ... This fossil saturated area contains Oligocene to Pleistocene fossils. The main draw is shark teeth, including Megalodon sharks! From Myrtle Beach down to Tybee Island, this is a nice location to fossil collect because it can be done by beachcombing.
What's the best area to legally find fossils (and how do I get started)
Well, it would be great helpful if you said what state you lived in. More on reddit.com
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September 13, 2023Probably a stupid question but how do people find fossils in general?
I call myself an "Urban Paleontologist." I like to look through the architectural gravel around shops and houses for fossils. Here in the midwest you can find some very nice Paleozoic corals and bryozoans this way. If you soak these in vinegar for a couple of days and then lightly polish them you can come up with some very nice specimens. More on reddit.com
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February 24, 2022ELI5: How do archaeologist's know where to dig to find fossils?
Amateur paleontologist here. TL;DR: We look for certain rock types and rock formations that indicate there was a layering event in ancient history when creatures were living there. A fossil (of a creature, or a creature's tracks, or a creature's poop which is called a coprolite) is something that is buried in or under something: sand, mud, cool volcanic ash, peat in a swamp - before the body parts can rot away or predators scatter it and the bones eventually just go to dust. Usually whatever covers the body to protect it is some sort of change in local conditions such as a mudslide, or ashcloud of an eruption (not lava, that just incinerates the bones), or a flooded river delta that brings in lots of mud. Over many millennia, that protective covering of mud or whatever hardens to rock, and minerals seep into the remaining body structure and replace the bone or whatever gaps in the rock were left as the creature rotted away. And you end up with limestone, or shale, or sandstone in clean layers. And it's those layers that are the giveaway. If you have thin layers of sandstone that were laid down when where you're standing was at the bottom of a shallow sea, and suddenly there's a thicker layer that might represent an underwater sandslide, hey that could mean lots of dead fish or shells in there. A lot of badlands fossils were buried in a layer of volcanic ash, or the creature died in a stagnant swamp or tar pit and didn't rot quickly since there was no oxygen, and then the swamp dried up. More on reddit.com
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August 17, 2021ELI5: How do paleontologists know where to find fossils?
The art of fossil hunting is mostly the art of slowly walking a large desert area, looking for rocks that look a little different. At that point you can sweep away the bits. Fossil that are eroded from a hillside might all wash down the hill into a little pile of fossil bits; if you find one of those, you can probably trace where the original are from.
My brother-in-law showed me a place that (geologically) was a series of lava flows and then shallow lakes. In a railway cutting, you could find bits of those lakes, and it you split the rocks carefully, you would get fossil leaves (which was pretty cool).
Why does the "walk around and stare at the ground" work? Because fossils that are now just poking up out of the ground must have a history of first being on top of the ground (except for moles, I guess :-) ), then buried deeply, and now they are being re-exposed. That last bit means that the entire formation is being slowly eroded away; every year more fossils will be exposed and will probably just crumble away.
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August 1, 2021American Museum of Natural History
amnh.org › explore › ology › paleontology › finding-fossils2
Finding Fossils | AMNH
Good places to find fossils are outcrops. An outcrop is a place where old rock is exposed by wind and water erosion and by other people's digging. ... Make sure that you plan to dig in a place where it is okay to collect fossils. Check with an adult if you're not sure. ... Be ready to spend a lot of time looking. Fossil hunting can take lots of time and patience, but what you may find is worth the wait!
The Fossil Forum
thefossilforum.com › fossil discussion › fossil hunting trips
New York Spots? - Fossil Hunting Trips - The Fossil Forum
March 25, 2021 - Anyone know of good places in NY (close to NYC and Long Island) for fossil hunting ? Penn Dixie is way too far and I heard there are some good Devonian fossils in the Catskills. Any spot where I can find a sea scorpion or trilobite ?
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › List_of_fossil_sites
List of fossil sites - Wikipedia
November 8, 2025 - This list of fossil sites is a worldwide list of localities known well for the presence of fossils. Some entries in this list are notable for a single, unique find, while others are notable for the large number of fossils found there. Many of the entries in this list are considered Lagerstätten ...
Udel
dgs.udel.edu › delaware-geology › fossil-sites-delaware
Fossil Sites In Delaware | The Delaware Geological Survey
Delaware offers a few sites for fossil collectors, and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and the Pollack Farm are the best. Other locations throughout the state also offer good hunting grounds for fossil collectors. Just south of Dagsboro, where Route 113 crosses Pepper Creek, the collector ...
U.S. National Park Service
nps.gov › subjects › fossils › fossil-parks.htm
Visit Park Fossils - Fossils and Paleontology (U.S. National Park Service)
October 11, 2024 - You may explore fossils of the national parks either virtually through this website or by visiting a park. Fossils from national parks are also on exhibit in museums around the country where millions of people can experience them.
WTTW
wttw.com › prehistoric-road-trip › detours › where-to-find-fossils-in-your-state
Where to Find Fossils in Your State | Detours | Prehistoric Road Trip | WTTW Chicago
June 18, 2020 - According to the Kansas Geological Survey, you can find them in the limestone that lines Kansas’s roads and highways. Bigger vertebrates have been found in some parts of Kansas, such as the official state fossil – Tylosaurus, a hefty, predatory, marine reptile similar to a monitor lizard or a snake.
Bureau of Land Management
blm.gov › programs › paleontology › collecting-fossils
Programs: Paleontological Resources: Can I collect fossils? | Bureau of Land Management
Non-vertebrate fossils and petrified wood: Anyone may collect, without a permit, a ‘reasonable amount’ of common invertebrate fossils such as mollusks and trilobites, plant fossils such as fossil leaves, and petrified wood from BLM-managed public lands. Such collections must be for personal use, and the fossils may not be bartered or sold.
Fossil Park
mineralwellsfossilpark.com
About Fossil Park
Mineral Wells Fossil Park provides the fossil enthusiast, paleontologist, and student an excellent opportunity to see and collect well preserved "Pennsylvanian Period" fossils with ease and abundance.
Penndixie
penndixie.org
Penn Dixie Fossil Park & Nature Reserve – Unearth the Unexpected!
Penn Dixie Fossil Park & Nature Reserve is a 54-acre park located the site of a former cement quarry in Hamburg, NY. Our visitors can collect and keep Devonian Period fossils including trilobites, brachiopods, crinoids, and more!
The Fossil Forum
thefossilforum.com › fossil discussion › fossil hunting trips
Fossil sites around NYC? - Fossil Hunting Trips - The Fossil Forum
June 26, 2017 - Hi, I moved to NYC recently from Texas (where the fossils are plentiful and everywhere) and am very interested in finding out about fossil sites around New York City or in the (relatively) nearby upstate area. Does anyone have any locations or suggestions? I'd rather not trek as far as ithaca and...
Field Museum
fieldmuseum.org › blog › fossil-hunting-101
Fossil Hunting 101 - Field Museum
October 11, 2016 - We typically look for fossils in desert areas, where there’s sedimentary rock instead of metamorphic or igneous rock. A main rule for determining where to search is geologic age: if you know the age of the rocks in an area, you can begin to search for animals that lived during that time.
FossilEra
fossilera.com › fossils
Where To Hunt Fossils? Fossil Parks & Pay-Per-Dig Quarries - FossilEra.com
U-Dig Fossils is a pay quarry situated in the desert west of Delta, UT. The quarry is in the heart of the famous Wheeler shale which has many types of beautifully preserved Cambrian trilobites, including the famous Elrathia trilobites.
Maryland Geological Survey
mgs.md.gov › geology › fossils › fossil_collecting.html
Fossil Collecting Sites at Calvert Cliffs
The oldest is the Calvert Formation on the northern end, progressing to the younger Choptank Formation and finally the youngest St. Marys Formation in the southern part. The following three locations offer public access and allow fossil collecting, and then only from the beach and any blocks that have fallen from the cliffs.
Lonely Planet
lonelyplanet.com › articles › fossil-dinosaur-usa-outdoor-destinations
Best places to find fossils in the US - Lonely Planet
January 10, 2025 - It also offers the chance to turn your Montour Preserve visit into a broader educational experience with a hands-on farm stay optional add-on. Caesar Creek State Park, near Waynesville, Ohio, is great for finding fossils. Visitors can dig in special areas to uncover fossils from ancient sea creatures that lived 450 million years ago during the Ordovician period.
Florida Museum
floridamuseum.ufl.edu › earth-systems › blog › action-of-the-week-go-fossil-hunting
Action of the Week: Go Fossil Hunting – Thompson Earth Systems Institute
February 22, 2023 - If you are interested in looking for vertebrate fossils, consider getting a fossil permit from the Florida Museum of Natural History! Fossils can be found almost all over Florida, but there are certainly hotspots.
Natural History Museum
nhm.ac.uk › discover › how-to-find-fossils-on-the-beach.html
Fossil hunting: How to find fossils on the beach | Natural History Museum
Fossil hunting is a fun and easy hobby. A fossil collector from the Isle of Wight explains how you can start finding fossils of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals and plants on your next trip to the seaside.
Quora
quora.com › What-is-the-best-location-in-the-world-for-finding-fossils-and-why-Has-this-location-been-extensively-studied-by-scientists
What is the best location in the world for finding fossils and why? Has this location been extensively studied by scientists? - Quora
Answer (1 of 2): As with so many of your other questions QPG, it all depends on what kind of fossils you are looking for. If for petrified trees, there are several places they can be found. The same could be said for fossils of sauropods. Again, there are other places to find fossils of various ...