Ulrich's Fossil Gallery — Attraction in Wyoming

This is the second time I’ve been to Ulrich’s fossil gallery with my mother. The first time was in September 2022 and it was incredible, our guides were attentive and knowledgeable, and we found more fish than we could count.

But this time, unfortunately, was a much different experience. All of the exposed benches had been mined out, and they weren’t preparing any new locations for the rest of the season for people to mine. Apparently a group of kids came through with PBS and did a special, and rather than set up the quarry for the rest of the season, the staff has just given up. They didn’t prepare any benches for us to mine, none of the overburden was pushed back, all that was exposed was some slabs of rock in the pit floor, which had been soaking in the various rains over the last week.

They expected a ground of people whose average age was around 60 to get on our hands and knees and try to work with large sheets of wet, crumbly rock in the pit floor. There was nothing these people could work on while standing up. Half the elderly people gave up within a few hours, the ones who didn’t are probably paying for it today with their backs today. I didn’t hear a single shout of excitement our entire day on the mountain, and frankly I felt embarrassed for telling people at the start how good it was last time I came.

It’s a shame. We fly out here specifically to do this, and had it been different; we were hoping to hunt for fish 2 days in a row. Instead we decided we had our fill of mediocre fossil hunting in a single afternoon. The experience they are providing is not the experience that it was in year past, and I can’t recommend anyone come here expecting to have a good fossil hunt for the rest of the 2024 season.

If their excuse is they don’t want to clean off more benches because winter is coming, then they might as well shut down now, because what my group experienced is not the experience anyone going...

I didn't know about this place until someone mentioned while at one of the other quarries. I'm so happy I was told about this because I was hoping for a different experience on a day that I didn't really have anything else scheduled. If you want to dig - make sure to schedule in advance! I got lucky I think when I scheduled the night prior haha

Because you have to schedule it out - it ends up being a better experience as far as less people being around compared the other quarries. Less sound too. It was relatively quiet....which was a nice change of pace.

The experience I had was wonderful. Now, for those new - it is a gamble on what you get. So long as you understand that....then you will have fun.

Compared to the other quarries where you dig in a public area....you get to dig from the wall. They provide the tools. You just need to bring water, gloves, sunscreen, food, and a can do attitude! I would also suggest a large hat and sunglasses and knee-pads. There is a port-a-potty at the quarry.

Mike is very knowledgeable and is an artist when it comes to prepping fossils and my tour guide John was very helpful and knowledgeable. They offer to cut your specimen down when you get back to the shop and have packing materials to offer afterwards. I will recommend taking their van up because it's a bit bumpy. I've got a truck and I'm glad I took their ride up. (Also because I had my truck filled with other fossil slabs that I didn't want to break)

I will undoubtedly be back and will plan on spending a few days in a row to go fishing here. Worth every penny.

Thank you again...

I had a great time today doing a fossil dig with Ulrich's. Kevin was a wonderful guide and showed me the ropes, then we dug together for about 3 1/2 hours. There were some nice complete finds, some decent partial fish as well as a lot of broken fish, which is normal. After completing the dig, Kevin trimmed the fossil-containing rocks to a more manageable size, and I was very pleased with my finds and the overall experience. I had been thinking of digging at another place, which would have involved a 22-mile one-way trip, but I am glad I chose Ulrich's. Unlike some other places, at Ulrich's you quarry the fossils yourself, taking them directly from the surrounding rock, which means you can pull large pieces of rock if you're careful and potentially find larger intact fish. Also, Ulrich's gives customers a ride to and from the quarry, so I only needed to show up at the fossil gallery. Michael, who runs the gallery, is very friendly and helpful, and he even showed me his downstairs workshop and some key finds. He also let me park my RV on the property for several nights before and after the dig, which added extra value to the experience. Although Ulrich's is slightly more expensive than some other dig sites, the quality of the experience is far higher and, in my view, well worth the cost. I would be glad to dig here again if the opportunity arises. Thanks, Michael and Kevin, for a wonderful experience! I hope to come back...