North Coast Fossil Club members will help identify fossil finds from your collection. Bring as much information as possible about where your fossils were found. While you’re there, check out the artwork and displays of club member’s collections from throughout North America.
To learn more about the club and to see images from its fossil gallery, go to ncfclub.org.
Want to know more? The following information comes from the Ohio Division of Natural Resources Geological Survey geosurvey.ohiodnr.gov.
Fossils and Fossil-Hunting in Ohio
Once covered by vast tropical seas and later by giant glaciers, the Ohio landscape features an abundance of fossils. The glaciated portions of the state are home to Ice Age fossils, including plants and ancient mammals. But southwestern and northwestern Ohio boast a wider variety of much older marine fossils, including the official state fossil Isotelus. In fact, the Cincinnati region lures paleontologists, fossil collectors, and rock hounds from all across the country and beyond who seek and have discovered some of the best fossil specimens in the world.
Ohioans can discover fossils at several state and local parks. To help get started, North Coast Fossil Club offers a list of locations and other materials. You may also want to listen to several informative audio clips about fossil hunting from our Multimedia page here.
Visitors should contact park management staff prior to collecting to obtain any permits and/or rules that may apply.
Public Sites
Southwest
Caesar Creek State Park (Clinton/Warren Counties) – Geology: Ordovician; fossils ranging from 450 to 500 million years old, found in limestone forming the crest of the Cincinnati Arch. Collecting rules apply and a permit must be obtained at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Visitor Center, which also features a display of fossils found at the park. For more information about fossil hunting at Caesar Creek, call (513) 897-1050.
Cowan Lake State Park (Clinton County) – Geology: Ordovician; fossils ranging from 450 to 500 million years old, found in limestone forming the eastern edge of the Cincinnati Arch. Special permission to collect fossils must be obtained from Ohio State Parks. For more information, call (513) 897-3055.
East Fork State Park (Clermont County) – Geology: Ordovician; fossils ranging from 450 to 500 million years old in interbedded shale and limestone. Collecting rules apply. A permit must be obtained at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Visitor Center. For more information, call (513) 734-4323.
Hueston Woods State Park (Preble/Butler Counties) – Geology: Ordovician; fossils ranging from 450 to 500 million years old in limestone and dolomite forming the western edge of the Cincinnati Arch. For more information, call (513) 523-6347.
Oakes Quarry Park (Greene County) – Geology: Silurian; fossils around 425 million years old. Located in the city of Fairborn, northeast of Dayton. For more information, call (937) 754-3090 or see Ohio Geology, 2008 No. 2 [800 KB PDF].
Stonelick State Park (Clermont County) – Geology: Ordovician; fossils ranging from 450 to 500 million years old in interbedded shale and limestone. For more information, call (513) 734-4323.
Trammel Fossil Park (Hamilton County) – Geology: Ordovician; fossils ranging from 450 to 500 million years old in interbedded shale and limestone. For more information, call (513) 563-2985.
Northwest
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Fossil Park (Lucas County) Geology: Devonian; fossils around 375 million years old found in shale of the Silica Formation. For more information, call (419) 882-8313. |
