I decided to spend my time break down some of the larger blocks and see how many trilobites I could find. It also meant there were plenty of big blocks of shale in the quarry that had been recently pulled out with the backhoe. On a summer weekend day the place will often be packed with dozens of people. I arrived at the quarry on what happened to be their opening day for the season so there were only about ten people at the quarry. There is also a rare, burgess shale like, soft bodied fauna in certain layers of the quarry but it really takes a trained eye to identify it, as to most people it just looks like a black stain on a black rock. Besides the trilobites there are a number of other fossils including brachiopods, algae and phyllocarids. Only a handful of complete Altiocullus at the quarry in a season and a complete Olenoides only shows up once every few years. There are two rare types of trilobites found in the quarry Altiocullus (2 species) and Olenoides (2 species). If you spend a few hours splitting rock at the quarry and have a sharp eye you’re more than likely going to see all four of those. There are 4 species of trilobites commonly found at the quarry Elrathia kingii, Asaphiscus wheeleri, Bolspidella housensis and Peronopsis interstrictus. U-Dig is located in a particularly fossiliferous section of the Middle Cambrian (505 million years old) Wheeler Shale. Plus, I was basically guaranteed to find some complete trilobites even if they were just common species. I decided that take a day off and “rest” by visiting U-Dig to split some nice soft shale.

I had been going on three or four days straight of not finding a decent complete trilobite, so not only was my body feeling a bit worn out, but I was getting pretty frustrated.

The process involved days of moving heavy overburden and cracking hard limestone with a sledgehammer.

For a hourly fee, they supply tools, helpful guidance, unlimited rock to split and you get to keep everything you find.įor the previous week I had been in search of rare trilobites in the deserts of Utah and Nevada. It’s a great place for pretty much anybody to find their own fossils including families, kids and people who’ve never collected a fossil. I dug my first trilobite there more than 15 years ago, and countless others have been introduced to the world of fossil collecting at U-Dig. It contains one of the most prolific trilobite assemblages in the world. Find out more information about the park by visiting this page.U-Dig ( a private, fee-dig trilobite quarry near Delta, Utah. Murray City Park is another great option with playgrounds that include musical activities kids of all ages will love. You can learn more about it by clicking here. It includes a swimming beach, visitor facilities, snack shack, fishing ponds, and fantastic views. For a fun-packed day during nice weather, try the Wayne Bartholomew Family Park. Kids will love searching for fossils, but you can also take the family to other fun family parks in Utah. You are most likely to find things like trilobites, but there are so many other cool fossils that have been discovered (and probably have yet to be discovered) in this state. In later periods, fossils of early mammals like giant ground sloths and saber-toothed cats have been found. You can even find fossilized dinosaur footprints in Utah. Beyond things like trilobites, people have found many of the dinosaurs listed above and things like prehistoric crocodiles and turtles. What types of fossils can I find in Utah?Īfter discovering where to dig up fossils in Utah, you can look forward to digging up some fascinating finds. Needless to say, dinosaurs most certainly lived in Utah! In fact, the Utahraptor is the biggest known raptor of them all – even larger than the popularly known Velociraptors. Dinosaurs like the Allosaurus, which looks right out of the movies, Ankylosaurs, and even creatures named after the state like the Utahceratops and Utahraptor were found here. In fact, the Beehive State was perfect for dinosaurs during times like the Jurassic period – and had great conditions to preserve fossils and bones. This park with fossils in Utah is just one of many places remnants of the prehistoric have been discovered.

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