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My son and I just visited for the second time in five years (it's a 2.5 hour drive for us). First and foremost, kudos to the volunteers and employees who make this place work. It's apparent that it's a labor of love. We received great instructions and guidance.
Make sure you come prepared. That includes a hat and sunscreen (a must...there is no shade), plenty of water, something to sit on (I used a paper grocery bag), a box to take home your finds, and tools (although they have good tools to rent for reasonable prices).
Then, be patient. There are some fossils which can be easily found by scanning the ground (check along hill sides and wash-out areas where rocks have moved). Dig through what is already loose and you'll find some neat things. After about 3 hours, my son and I found about 10 trilobites (most were incomplete, but the biggest was about the size of a dime), quite a few shells and coral. If you're looking for museum-quality pieces, this probably isn't the place for you (although you might get lucky). If you're looking for a fun family-friendly adventure for a few hours (especially on a nice day), this is the place.
Souvenir prices are really reasonable as well. My son and I each got a t-shirt to commemorate the day...$23 for both.
If you're looking for other similar experiences, I'd recommend Fossil Cliff (Pittsburgh...it's a bit of a hike to get to, not recommended for younger kids), and Caesar Creek (state park in SW Ohio...great for kids/beginners and easy to find a lot). And if you're in the neighborhood, Aurora Fossil Museum (and dig site) is a must in eastern...
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We had high hopes that were totally met for our first fossil dig at this grand slam hit outside Buffalo.
We were met with a friendly introduction to the site and rules by knowledgeable and assertive staff. Down in the park to work the site, we were fortunate to get some tips for finding the diverse assortment of fossils laying there waiting for discovery. Everyone came away with something, and the buckets, tools, and chart provided by the site made 90m pass like the blink of an eye. We were glad to arrive early before the sun really got hot. Bring a hat and sunscreen depending on when you come!
The gift wall came in handy (have the kid grab a “grab bag”), with fun retro shirts and all kinds of other goodies. It’s definitely worth the trip, money, and time to scour the surface for rocks revealing old life hundreds of millions year old, and heading home with way more than rocks in your pocket.
It would be interesting to learn more about the site itself someday! I guess that’s...
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FANTASTIC! A good-old-fashioned, family-friendly, memory-making, totally-worth-the-drive experience at the Penn Dixie Fossil Park and Nature Reserve in Hamburg New York. For a very modest fee, you can spend the entire day hunting a large, fairly flat area that exposes the middle Devonian Windom Shale (approximately 385 MYO). Here you can either do serious excavation (yes, a 16lb sledge hammer and ginormous chisels) to reach the pyritized trilobite beds that lie below the surface or you can surface collect and find numerous specimens of horn coral, crinoid, brachiopods and sometimes complete but less spectacularly preserved trilobites. The staff are knowledgeable, friendly and dedicated to helping everyone find a fossil and the regular visitors are also enthusiastic ambassadors and advisers for practical aspects of fossil hunting. I am a member of a fossil club and will be recommending this as a trip...
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