Country

Fossil hunting in United States

The contiguous US, Alaska, and the offshore territories cover almost every geological period from the Cambrian to the present. Each state's collecting laws differ; what's free public collection in Florida may require a permit in Wyoming, and federal land has its own ruleset on top.

Pay-to-dig commercial fossil quarries (U-Dig in Utah, American Fossil Quarry in Wyoming, Mineral Wells Fossil Park in Texas) are the easiest path for new collectors — the landowner sorts permits, you pay a flat fee, you keep what you find. State and county parks usually permit surface collecting of common invertebrate fossils, but vertebrate fossils on federal land are off-limits without a permit under the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act.

Many of the world's most productive Cretaceous-Paleogene fossil beds are in the American West, but the Atlantic seaboard offers easier access for most of the population — Calvert Cliffs in Maryland (Miocene shark teeth) and the Peace River system in Florida (Pleistocene megafauna) are both day-trip destinations from major metro areas.

Top picks: Mineral Wells Fossil Park, TX (Carboniferous invertebrates, free); Penn Dixie, NY (Devonian trilobites and brachiopods, fee); Calvert Cliffs, MD (Miocene shark teeth, free with effort); Florissant Fossil Quarry, CO (Eocene plants and insects, fee).

88 fossil sites