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I am going fossil hunting on some property I have in South Dakota this weekend. The Firesteel creek runs through it and I have found quite a few bison bones on quick 30 minute trips. This time I am spending 2 days along 1.5 miles of creek to look deeper If anyone has pro tips feel free to share

Hi - I need help identifying whether this is a fossil. It has lots of ‘bone-looking’ parts sticking out. Hoping you can help. I found this while hiking in the Black Hills of SD.

I spent some time meandering through South Dakota in May, taking in the sprawling forests and mountains. It’s truly a beautiful area of the country with plenty to see and do. ^ Pareidolia clearly in full effect. Since I was in SD, I knew I had to pay a visit to the BHI - and if you happen to like fossils, I think you’ll enjoy tagging along. The BHI is a private company which specializes in producing cast replicas for museums and the general public. Until October 2020, they played host to the T. rex “Stan,” who was auctioned off for $32 million; it has recently been revealed that Stan is to be in a new museum in the UAE (whether Stan is privately owned or technically in a public trust in the museum I do not know, for those who wonder. In any case, at least he'll be enjoyed by the public). Besides Stan, the BHI is well-known for many other significant specimens including T. rex “Sue,” and Triceratops “Lane” (now displayed in the Field Museum in Illinois, and The Houston Museum of Nature and Science in Texas, respectively). I was looking forward to the visit since I have a couple of their casts, and I’d gotten a glimpse of the place through TFF. It was a rainy morning in the small town of Hill City; even without the sign, I knew I was at the right place. I entered through the gift shop and was immediately struck by the density of the awesomeness before me. My jaw didn’t leave the floor until I somehow convinced myself that I needed to go home. The BHI museum is in a small, one-room building that is packed top-to-bottom front-to-back with fossils. The center is a tight weave of dinosaur skeletons while the walls are lined with lighted cabinets. I was evidently the first visitor that day so I was able to enjoy the space undisturbed for a while. I normally don’t take so many pictures since I usually get lost in experiencing a new place, but I knew I was going to write about it, so I reminded myself to capture more. Some of them should also serve as good reference images (for me at least). (If you’re concerned about “spoiling” the experience for yourself, best get out now since this is pretty thorough.) So sit back and scroll as we take a short walk around the room… Some trace fossils An impressive Tylosaurus proriger from the Niobrara formation of Kansas, complete with sclerotic bones. “Big Al 2,” an Allosaurus (replica) A young Torosaurus skull (I believe part of the frill has been reconstructed) Anzu, pachycephalosaurus, T. rex Edmontosaurus annectens ... and an oddly-postured young Triceratops Sue's skull and a neat sculpture of the dig Denversaurus skull and armor Tarbosaurus skull (replica) Triceratops Smile! Towards the back is a display on the Western Interior Seaway, complete with Baculites and Xiphactinus.

Found these in southwest South Dakota. Looked at thousands of images online before troubling you fine folks. Found in an arroyo below layers of possible fossilized bone and a layer with a variety of chalcedony/agate

Foster, J., Pagnac, D. and Hunt-Foster, R., 2020. An unusually diverse northern biota from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic), Black Hills, Wyoming. Geology of the Intermountain West, 7, pp.29-67. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31711/giw.v7.pp29-67 https://giw.utahgeology.org/giw/index.php/GIW/article/view/69 PDF: https://giw.utahgeology.org/giw/index.php/GIW/article/view/69/87 Yours, Paul H.

I collected these when I was younger and living in the Black Hills, South Dakota. Because they were collected 20-25 years ago I cannot be more specific about the location. My family owned some land in the northern part of the Black Hills and they are most likely from there. I really don't have much knowledge in this area but both seemed interesting and I have always wondered what they might be, if anything. Thanks in advance!

I have a fossil found in the Hell Creek Formation in South Dakota. Through studying I have not found a bone that matches mine in any known Hell Creek dinosaur. The bone is 8 1/4 inches tall, 5 inches long, and a width of 1 3/4 inches. The fossil weighs 2 lbs and 14.2 ounces. My belief is that it is from an ornithischian, possibly a ceratopsian or an ornithopod. It has a large hole in it for bone marrow, and at first glance looks like a human hip bone. Please help ID my fossil! Thanks!!!! -Carnoraptor

Hi All! I discovered a long-forgotten box of rocks in our science storeroom and would appreciate some id help with them. A previous teacher had moved out all of the fossils except a handful they used . I'm sure these only escaped because no one knew they were there. The box was filled with rocks, plus a few masking tape labels, all of which seem to be from the Black Hills, South Dakota area. Rockerville, Tin Mountain Mine, Hill City, and Spearfish are all named. Also in the box was a 1955 Random House book called All About Our Changing Rocks. Thanks in advance for any help with these.

Hi Everyone, I suddenly have a work trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota coming up next week and I'd like to get out and collect some fossils along the way. I'm driving from Denver to Lead, SD and will be driving north on HW 85 and 18 through Newcastle. I'd be really happy to get a few stops in along the way and any potential information would really be great. Unfortunately, I won't have a ton of time to be able to stop and really dig, so some road cuts or target formations would be super helpful for surface collecting. I'm open to every type of fossil. I know there's a lot of fossils in that section of the state so I'm looking forward to hopefully finding some decent stuff! Thanks! Caleb

My largest fossil trip I've ever done is underway, I'm going fossil collecting in the Black Hills of South Dakota! Could someone perhaps please tell me what I'm to expect? Thanks!

Greetings all! Im a newish member to your site and am grateful to have such an amazing resource available for up and coming enthusiasts like myself. This summer,my family has planned a trip to yellowstone and the black hills. My kid sister is an avid fossil nut like myself and we are eager to get down in the dirt. Since we've never been out west before, i was hoping to get some pointers on destinations we should consider.... I'd like to keep as close to the interstate 90 and interstate 80 corridors as possible, so as not to further inconvenience the rest of my family. Cramming everyone into one car will provide enough frayed nerves as it is, and i'd like to keep the stress to a minimum - any suggestions on things near fossil sites that i could send my siblings to would be excellent, every diversion will help! Also, i've read a few pages that suggest acquiring a fossiling permit? Is this legit? Most pages have informed me that vertebrates are off limits but i can dig around on any roadside for invertebrates to my hearts content. Im from Pennsylvania and our state has spoiled us for fossiling, as far as not requiring permits... I've heard that fossil quarries are a great place to go, if pricey - and im considering going to one of those - any suggestions on which? My sister really wants a fish fossil and the results seem to be good at the pay quarries, i was just wondering what the likelihood of hitting pay dirt is... oh, and has anyone been to cycad national park/monument (not sure which one it is, a park or a monument) ? Is it worth the stop? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Cheers!