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If anyone is interested I will be taking / meeting some people from the Fossil Forum to go to Penn Dixie (Hamburg NY) on Friday June 2 and Brechen (about 1/12 hours north east of Toronto) on Saturday June 2. Please PM me if you are interested in joining us. Expect to work hard but come away with some nice goodies. Both localities are good for trilobites, Brechin also adds crinoids and cystoids to the mix as well as brachs and all those other things that I don't collect.

Hi all, I have about 3 months off, and would really just like to journey the US in search of fossils. I live in California, and would be open to some traveling in the states. Is there any trips I can go on with a team or something in search of fossils? Thanks in advance

Any tips for fossiling near Chippokes State Park? I'm hoping to bring my 10yr old triplets over to Jamestown next weekend. Any tips on finding fossils in the area? It's been about 20 years since I was last there, but I recall finding parts of dolphin/whale bones, sharks teeth, and lots of shells (state fossil Chesapecten jeffersonius, etc.). Tide table looks good for a morning search.... Recent googling seems a bit contradictory about what can be found and kept. Any advice?

Hi I just come back from offerton (Stockport uk) found some Carboniferous plants

Hi I will be on Mallorca island for 3 days next week , anyone know some good hunting spot? I'm planning to hunt a little while enjoying the sea.

Just another cold and blustery day here in Central New York! I had to get the kids out of the house, and I wanted to get a fossil fix at the same time. I knew thw going fossil hunting with temps in the teens, was not going to happen. So I decided on the next best thing. Trip to the museum! Located in the Fingerlakes region of N.Y. I what I consider a hidden gem. The Paleontological Research Institute- Museum of the Earth, is a rather small but really nice museum. I found out about it many years ago when I first became a member of the Syracuse Gem &Mineral club. There is virtually no advertising for it. And its location is outside the city limits. It is home to the famous Hyde Park Mastodon that a family found in a pond in their backyard. It is 97 percent complete! I guess you can find cool things anywhere. I took plenty of pics, so I hope you will enjoy this virtual tour.

I thought I would write a short trip report with some of my finds since I enjoy reading the reports other people make alot. This quarry exposes a layer of rock just under the KT boundary of around 65 m.y.a. in an area with an estimated depth of around 200m based on the fauna found here, in this particular location we call the chalk bryozoan chalk because the majority of it consists of bryazoans. When i went on the trip it was snowing but there is always an abundance of fossils witch makes up for it ;P Anyway without further delay here comes some pictures

My mom and I are in town for one more day in Jacksonville NC and would love to find some way to look at Camp Lejune for shark teeth! If no luck with that, does anyone want to meet up or go looking for fossils/teeth for the day..?!

today was my second hunting trip again in offerton (river goyt) , was better than before , here some finds. dont know if the bones are fossilized or not.

Hi guys! Yesterday I had a great time at the cliffs. I left my house at 10:39 pm friday night, and got to the town of Chesapeake Beach around 5:00 am. For almost the entire ride I had to deal with thick patches of fog. I was quite relieved when I got to town. I had some time to kill, so I grabbed some Mcdonalds and made some posts on the forum. I also messaged back and forth with Maxfossils , who gave me some encouraging words. It was a great way to start the day. I pulled in to the parking lot at 6:45and it was barely light out. There was one car already there. As I walked the trail to the beach I noticed how quite it was. As I got to the water it was almost still as glass! Then I saw a guy who was carrying two paint cans walking towards me and he set them down and walked back to the water and strated digging. I said "Hi how are you?". What I got in return was an unfriendly mumble. So I ignored him as proceeded down the beach. The other thing I noticed was the fog hovering over the bay. It looked thick and ominous. It made things hard to see in the already low light. The good thing is that the water was gin clear and you could see everything. I had a good feeling things would be in my favor. As I rounded the first corner, and then the fist debris pile I saw a great sight. The water was so low here that all the debris that normally is under water, was exposed. Soon I found a couple small teeth. Just enough to get the blood flowing. I also saw a lot of shells which normally I don't pay much attention to unless they are real nice. I noticed a small pile of unbroken scallop shells. I reached down to pick them up and realized they were stuck together. When I flipped them over I saw about 5 small complete turritellas stuck to the shells with matrix. For some reason I didn't put this in my backpack. I just kept walking with it in my hand. A few feet away another shell grabbed my attention. I got down on one knee to grab it. Just as I made the decision to keep it. Something made me turn to the right. And there it was a meg, only about 1 foot away half buried in sand! I couldn't believe it, I had only been out there about 30 minutes. But I did not know if it was complete. In my mind I just knew it was split in half. I was almost to afraid to find out. I did not want to be disappointed. I reached down crossed my fingers and whala! It was whole with tip intact Yayyyyyy! I could not believe my luck. I completely forgot the interesting shells a this point. I think I threw them in the excitement, which is in fact a shame. After putting the tooth in a safe place, I continued on finding small teeth here and there. At this point I started hearing strange noises from somewhere in the water. Of course with the fog I couldn't see anything. It took me a while to figure out it was birds and from all the noise, a lot of them. I made my way to my favorite stretch of beach. I was disappointed with what a saw. There was hardly any debris here and the shell line was very small. I managed a few tiny teeth here. I was hoping to snag a cow shark. Not long after that crossed my mind I look down and there was a small but perfect cow shark upper tooth! Wow! I was really happy as this was only my second upper I ever found, with the first one found on my last trip in September, when I was with my Dad and Ropterus at Flag ponds. Then I take a few more steps and I find a cow shark lower. Complete cusps but missing the root. A few more steps and a broken piece of another lower. After this I just walked back and forth on this stretch finding a few stingray plates, pieces of bone, and the occasional tooth. I had the beach to myself for awhile. I started to head back to where I found the meg thinking I would have better luck. As I headed there I started running into a few people. There was a husband and wife, a forum member from Virginia. I can't remember his forum name. It was one I hadn't heard before and he said he hasn't been on for awhile. Then a local guy who said he had been coming for about twenty years. Everyone was very friendly and in good spirits despite the fact none of the found anything decent. With the exception of the gentleman from Virginia, who as he was heading out found a complete cowshark lower. I was surprised no one really stayed long. When I got back to the spot were I found the meg, it was all under water. So I spent the remaining time looking in every nook and cranny I could find. Every once in awhile I would still hear the birds. At one point I turned around and the fog had cleared enough to see thousands upon thousands of birds in the water. It was crazy. I regret not getting a picture. In fact I wanted to apologize to the forum for not taking any pics while I was there. Shortly after this I decided to head back to the car. I think it was around 11:00. I decided to go slow as possible in hopes of scoring a one more goodie. At one point I noticed a guy walking in my direction when he got to me we talked for a bit and I found out he is member Sharktooth Hunter ( Connor). I had a nice talk with him before he headed down a little further. He ended catching back up with me later so we walked back to our cars together on the way out. I really enjoyed having someone to talk with for the final walk back. Also I liked hearing about how he got into fossil hunting. A good way to end the trip. I ended up leaving there about 12:30 and after making a couple stops for gas and food got home about 7:30. I was exhausted but it was worth it. Here are my finds, enjoy! First pic, the total finds. Second and third, meg

Hi folks, I am heading to Schoharie NY tomorrow to find some fossils. As of right now, I am going to the road cut since I do not know the area. Any tips? I will update on what I find when i get back. thanks, Dom

Hi all, I am going to be in Seattle for three weeks, is there anything worth collecting in the area? Any info would be appreciated. Feel free to PM me . Thanks, Herb

This summer we took a rare vacation away from the kids, and headed across the pond to England. While the focus of the trip was on mudlarking on the Thames (finding everything from a Roman pottery fragment, 100-year old coins, a hammered silver coin, tons of pottery shards from the 1400s, clay pipes from the 17th-19th centuries, Tudor pins & nails, etc.) and on walking across the country on Hadrian's Wall Path, we decided to take a day out of the journey to do a little fossil hunting - a first for us. We decided to visit Lyme Regis, on the southern coast of England, where Mary Anning once searched for fossils in the early 1800s. We rented a car in Salisbury, and drove down to Lyme Regis, a two-hour drive away. This was the most challenging part of the trip, as we had never driven purposefully on the wrong side of the road. But it turned out the skinny roads were more daunting than the change of driving habits. We felt constantly pressed in on the left side by the encroaching hedges or ancient stone walls. Needless to say, we made it there alive. We had booked a walk through the Lyme Regis Museum (at £11 each), and we found the museum (still closed, in the early morning) after a short walk from the parking lot. It was a chilly morning, so we wore layers, and brought a backpack and our hiking shoes so that we'd be prepared for any uneven terrain. While we waited for the group to gather (~15 or so), we admired the view. The English Channel was calm and flat. The guides then walked us down to the end of the sea wall walkway, and gathered us all around for a 30-minute instructional talk. They discussed the types of fossils that we could find, how stratigraphy works, the dangers of the eroding cliffs, the ancient flora and fauna of the region, etc. They said that the fossil-finding would be a bit rough today, as the beach is best after a nice storm or two (or in the winter time). We had just gotten through a lengthy spell of amazing weather, which meant that there most likely wouldn't be any amazing fossils. We then walked down a short stairway onto the beach.

Hello, recently I went down to Beaumaris and found some fossils. I was wondering if anyone could tell me what they are? Thanks

After some thought Ive decided to do a trip tomorrow to Green Mill Run in Greenville, NC. I think conditions will be fine until about 5 or 6 PM. I plan on starting early, so anyone interested in joining up let me know. I plan on starting about 7:45am. And working 2 favorite spots of mine.

If anyone is game Sunday morn Oct 2 Post Oak Creek. (Sherman Tex.) Got new screen dying to try them out. Hope to see some of us there. Jess B.

Hey Guys! So I know there is a Fossil hunting trip this Sunday coming up in GMR North Carolina. Is anyone on here close enough to there to let me know how high the creek is right now?? I know there has been tons of rain and I was just wondering if the water might go down by this weekend..? Thanks in advance! HollyJo

So, I finally did it. Since this weekend was labor day weekend and we didn't have any other plans laid out for Saturday, I made my dream trip to Chatsworth a reality. The official time it was supposed to take to get to the site according to google maps was one and a half hours, although it felt like less time, despite GPS blunders along the way. After successfully finding the destination on Tibbs Bridge road, I wasted no time in making my steady way down the path from the bridge to the slowly flowing Consauga river, eagerly pursuing the trilobites below. I was immediately scanning the ground when I reached the bottom of the hill: To be continued...

3 days in the aftermath of my fossil hunting adventures in Nashville, I finally have gathered the time to tell the world about it today. We arrived in Nashville the day before we set out, and looking out the eindow before we even got to our hotel, I could see cliff after cliff with rocks that weathered out of them lining the bottom of them, leabing me to fantasize what lied within the rocks. As it was nearly 10:00 PM when we arrived at our Mariott hotel, we set out to eat dinner at a local restaurant, and came back to rest up for the big day tommorow. I personally had a nearly sleepless night, having fallen into a restless sleep at 4:05 AM. Despite this, I was the very first one up, and I was filled with energy knowing what we would be doing soon. After everyone else had woken up, we ate breakfast at the hotel, and quickly set off for the first site: the Nashville West Target. Having looked the place up many multiple times in the weeks and days preceding the trip on google earth, I put the address into the GPS from memory, and I recognozed the sign leading us to the site when we drove upon it. When we arrived in the parking lot, I couldn't help but take in the full scale of the cliff: We wasted no time in our search, as me and my brother leapt to the task of scanning the foot of the cliff for the 450 million year old treasures. Not even 30 seconds into our hunt, I was beginning to learn why Nashville was said to be "littered with fossils" by suburban turmoil: To be continued...

I am coming down to Pompano Beach/Ft. Lauderdale area in a couple days. Anyone have some fossil hunting suggestions or want to get together?

I had an opportunity to go down to Westmoreland twice this week because I was lucky enough to have off work. The first day I took my GF with me because she had off as well. The first day was pretty nice and sunny, the wind wasn't a factor that day so it was perfect for hunting in the water. Being down there only a short time I found one of the most beat up shamer megs I've ever found. Im not sure how it could've gotten this bad, but atleast it was a good sign. We found a few teeth that day including a decent little Snaggletooth. On the second day i went down by myself and found that the wind had picked up significantly from the previous day. I was limited to whatever was laying on the beach. Luckily, I was able to find a couple teeth including a beat up Mako and a nice upper snaggletooth. Here are some pics for you to enjoy. If anyone has any theories to what happened to this meg, I'd love to hear them. The inside of it is mushy and pretty much broke apart in my hand. Thanks, Boneheadz

I will be heading to Fayetteville NC in March. Any ideas on good sites to explore for some fossils? I am not set on a particular time period, and will have a rental car to drive some and can stay in other locations. Thanks in advance!!

I don’t know where else to ask, I need your expertise. I've had a great opportunity come my way, but i'm out of my element and need help from like-minded fossil collectors. I've collected fossils in the rivers of Florida and in New York state. I love collecting vertebra and joint bones, and of course teeth, but never in the low country of South Carolina. I will be saying at Harry’s Fish Camp on Lake Marion from the 19th to the 27th with some friends. Were all kayak fishermen, but I love fossils, and they know this and are expecting me to take them on a trip or two. We will all have kayaks and can drive to meet anywhere in the area. I have scoured the internet for locations but my searches seem to result in the same 50 or so sites. I know there's fossils in the Cooper, Ashley, Wando, Santee, and Edisto rivers, but there are hundreds of combined miles of river and coast line and have been unable to find any specific locations. My experiences in Florida have taught me that just knowing a ‘area’ to look tends to be a huge waste of time as the prime locations tend to be very specific in strata and depth. I’m all about networking with other fossil and mineral collectors. I'm part of the Rochester Academy of science and the Buffalo Geological Society. We do trips all over the place for fossils and minerals. It is my hopes that I can use this trip to SC to network with other collectors and build life-long friendships. I love hosting people and taking people on fossil and mineral collecting trips up here. I know i could pay for a guide to take me out, but that doesn't build friendships, and the networking in this hobby is just as important as finding awesome stuff. While id love to find someone to take me out, or help me out out of the kindness of their love for the hobby, I would be willing to trade for a few of my prized pyritized fossils I have found in Buffalo NY, or even pay for their time. I really hope someone out there can help me out. Feel free to email me at andrewzioto83@gmail.com. I don’t scuba, low visibility creeps me out.

Hi everyone, I've been trying to plan this for a while as I've wanted to go to Mineral Wells Fossil Park (http://www.mineralwellsfossilpark.com). My plan is to be there around 8:30 am or so, get a few hours done before the sun goes crazy. Afterwards, if anyone knows good locations, we can visit those, otherwise we can call it a day! If anyone is interested in meeting up that day, let me know! The more the merrier. Cheers, Hashem

DEER LAKE TRIP REPORT - MAJOR HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION Deer Lake was our first fossil trip this year. If you haven't been there recently, the Deer Lake fossil site is totally transformed. There is major highway construction that wraps around the site and has exposed tons of Devonian rubble. It looks like an on ramp is being constructed there the way it curves around the site. Most of the areas that were previously posted are now part of the construction. There are walls of Devonian exposure, huge piles of rubble, lots of new exposures. However, in this Mahantango formation, most of the death assemblages are from the late Devonian and are confined to a thin upper layer which seems to be about less than a meter thick - the assemblages we found were in the same layer throughout the site, but hard to locate if you don't know the layer. Everything else is needle in a haystack collecting, sorting through lots of rock and inspecting the newly exposed boulders and rockfaces. We went on a weekend when there was no construction and there were no signs posted - I have a feeling that there will be no access signs at some point. We saw a few student fossil hunters combing the sides of the highway beds. This exposure is very temporary, and it's not clear what will be left to fossil-hunt after the highway is completed. We're familiar with the site and were very pleased with our finds - This is Nan examining some of the construction rubble, in front of one of the exposed faces. The accompanying photo shows all of the fossils we collected - first examination revealed trilobites (Dipleura), brachiopods, bivalve internals, gastropods, a few cephalopods - the larger rocks in the back were not chiseled open because they looked promising and I wanted to take more care and open those at home. Here are some closeups of finds from our Deer Lake trip - notable details include the large Dipleura segments. There is a nice gastropod in the lower left corner of the shell assemblage - this is one of several well articulated gastropods we found. The bivalve internal shows fine details and also two of the bivalves have the pedicle preserved.