Ever dreamed of unearthing a piece of Earth’s ancient history? Across the United States, there are amazing spots where anyone can channel their inner paleontologist and dig up fossils from eras long past.
From tiny shells to massive dinosaur bones, these 20 locations offer a chance to hold millions of years of history right in the palm of your hand.
Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado/Utah
Dinosaur National Monument straddles the Colorado-Utah border and is renowned for its exceptional concentration of Jurassic-era dinosaur fossils. Visitors can view over 1,500 dinosaur bones still embedded in the rock at the Quarry Exhibit Hall and explore numerous hiking trails where additional fossils can be spotted.
Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Badlands National Park is a fossil hunter’s paradise, with layers of rock revealing 75 million years of history. The park’s unique landscape has yielded fossils of ancient mammals like saber-toothed cats, rhinos, and horses, providing insight into life after the dinosaurs.
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Calvert Cliffs State Park, Maryland
At Calvert Cliffs State Park, the beach isn’t just for sunbathing – it’s a treasure trove of marine fossils. Beachcombers can hunt for shark teeth and other oceanic relics that the cliffs graciously shed onto the shore.
U-Dig Fossils, Delta, Utah
U-Dig Fossils is like a guaranteed jackpot for fossil hunters. Visitors can split open shale like prehistoric presents, revealing perfectly preserved trilobites from a time when these little sea critters ruled the oceans.
Penn Dixie Fossil Park & Nature Reserve, Hamburg, New York
Penn Dixie is a fossil playground where visitors can unleash their inner explorer. By day, dig up ancient sea creatures; by night, join guided tours to hunt for fossils that glow under UV light – it’s like a prehistoric rave.
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Fossil Butte National Monument, Wyoming
Fossil Butte National Monument is a flipbook of ancient life, with each layer telling a new story. Visitors can join ranger-led fossil digs to uncover fish and other critters that swam in a long-gone lake millions of years ago.
Montour Preserve Fossil Pit, Danville, Pennsylvania
The Montour Preserve Fossil Pit is a botanical time capsule waiting to be opened. Visitors can dig up ferns and other plants that thrived in swampy coal forests long before flowers were even a thing.
Whiskey Bridge, Brazos River, Texas
Whiskey Bridge serves up a cocktail of Eocene-era marine fossils along the Brazos River. Fossil hunters can sift through the riverbank, collecting shark teeth and shells that are way older than any whiskey you’ll ever drink.
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Turritella Agate Fossil Beds, Blue Forest, Wyoming
The Blue Forest area is famous for its Turritella agate – nature’s own snow globe of prehistoric snails. Visitors can search for these unique stones and other petrified wood, each a tiny window into an ancient aquatic world.
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Colorado
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument is like a prehistoric photo album of plants and bugs from the Eocene. Visitors can marvel at incredibly detailed fossil impressions and learn about ancient ecosystems that would put today’s gardens to shame.
Edelman Fossil Park, Mantua Township, New Jersey
Edelman Fossil Park is where the Cretaceous period comes alive in the Garden State. During community dig days, visitors can unearth marine fossils from a time when mosasaurs and plesiosaurs were the big shots in the sea.
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Fossil Safari at Warfield Fossil Quarries, Kemmerer, Wyoming
Fossil Safari is a guaranteed fossil bonanza in the heart of Wyoming. Visitors can chip away at the Green River Formation, unveiling fish fossils that have been waiting millions of years to see the light of day.
Caesar Creek State Park, Waynesville, Ohio
Caesar Creek State Park is a goldmine of Ordovician-era ocean life, minus the gold and the ocean. Fossil hunters can scour the shoreline for brachiopods, trilobites, and other ancient sea critters that called this place home 445 million years ago.
Dinosaur Valley State Park, Glen Rose, Texas
At Dinosaur Valley State Park, visitors can walk in the footsteps of dinosaurs. During dry spells, the Paluxy River reveals trackways of dinosaurs that once stomped through the Cretaceous mud.
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Lafarge Fossil Park, Alpena, Michigan
Lafarge Fossil Park is a Devonian-era buffet of marine fossils. Visitors can join guided tours to dig up and take home pieces of Michigan’s prehistoric past, with no scuba gear required.
Lilydale Regional Park, St. Paul, Minnesota
Lilydale Regional Park is where the Mississippi River gives up its Ordovician secrets. Fossil fans can sift through designated areas, collecting brachiopods and other invertebrates that are older than the first fish.
Aurora Fossil Museum, Aurora, North Carolina
The Aurora Fossil Museum lets visitors play in prehistoric sandboxes filled with fossil-rich sediment. Shark teeth, whale bones, and other marine fossils from the Miocene and Pliocene epochs are just waiting to be discovered.
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Westmoreland State Park, Montross, Virginia
Westmoreland State Park’s Fossil Beach is a shark tooth hunter’s paradise. Visitors can comb the sand for chompers and other fossils that the Potomac River cliffs kindly donate to the beach below.
Mineral Wells Fossil Park, Mineral Wells, Texas
Mineral Wells Fossil Park is a 300-million-year-old sea floor ripe for exploration. Visitors can collect crinoids, brachiopods, and other marine invertebrates that look like they could have inspired alien movie creatures.
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Hagerman, Idaho
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument is a horse country – a prehistoric horse country, that is. While collecting isn’t allowed, visitors can eyeball fossils in the visitor center and maybe spot some eroding from the hills, getting a glimpse of the Hagerman Horse and its Pliocene pals.
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Dig into the Past
From coast to coast, these fossil hotspots offer a chance to touch the distant past and maybe take a piece of it home. Whether you’re a seasoned fossil hunter or just curious about Earth’s prehistoric tenants, these sites promise adventure, discovery, and a new appreciation for the incredible history buried beneath our feet.
Happy hunting!
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