Regional guides
Fossil Hunting Guides by Region
Ranked site lists, geology primers, collecting rules, and practical logistics for the most productive fossil hunting regions in the world.
Start here · National guide
Best Places to Fossil Hunt in the United States
Fifteen sites ranked: free shark-tooth beaches, $0 trilobite parks, and pay-to-dig quarries, with collecting rules and the best season for each, plus a link to the state index behind every entry.
Read the US guide →7 sites
7 Best Fossil Hunting Sites in Dorset
Charmouth, Kimmeridge, Seatown, Worth Matravers, and more on the Jurassic Coast UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Read guide →8 sites
8 Best Fossil Hunting Sites on the Yorkshire Coast
Whitby, Saltwick Bay, Robin Hood's Bay, Runswick, Staithes, Cayton, Reighton, and Speeton — 65 million years of Jurassic geology.
Read guide →7 sites
7 Best Fossil Hunting Sites on the Isle of Wight
Europe's highest concentration of named dinosaur species, across Compton Bay, Yaverland, Brighstone, Brook Bay, and more.
Read guide →7 sites
7 Best Fossil Hunting Sites in Florida
Shark teeth at Venice and Caspersen Beach, megalodon in the Peace River, and Miocene megafauna in Bone Valley.
Read guide →7 sites
7 Best Fossil Hunting Sites in Ohio
Ordovician trilobites, brachiopods, and crinoids at Caesar Creek, Hueston Woods, Oakes Quarry, and five more southwest Ohio parks.
Read guide →7 sites
7 Best Fossil Hunting Sites in Bavaria
Solnhofen limestone pay-to-dig quarries in the Altmühltal — the formation that produced Archaeopteryx and the world's best Jurassic Lagerstätte.
Read guide →8 sites
8 Best Fossil Sites in California
La Brea Tar Pits, Shark Tooth Hill, Cabrillo National Monument, and five more California fossil destinations from the Cambrian to the Pleistocene.
Read guide →8 sites
8 Best Fossil Hunting Sites for Kids and Families
Family-friendly sites across the UK and US where children can find and keep real fossils — ammonites at Charmouth and Whitby, shark teeth at Venice Beach, trilobites in Ohio — no permits required.
Read guide →7 sites
7 Best Fossil Hunting Sites in Wales
From Ordovician graptolite slates at Abereiddy Bay to Jurassic ammonites on the Glamorgan Heritage Coast — Wales spans more geological time than any comparable stretch of British coastline.
Read guide →6 sites
Bay Area Fossil Hunting Guide
Where to go fossil hunting near San Francisco — Capitola Beach, Mt Diablo, Half Moon Bay, Bolinas Lagoon, Rincon Point, and Jalama Beach. Miocene and Pliocene marine sites within driving distance of the Bay Area.
Read guide →