FOssil Lake Safari – 1.5 Hours From Bear Lake

  Best fossil find  - Wonderful experience
The staff is helpful and engaging. The employees are very knowledgeable about the area and fossils. I would go again.

  Fishy Fossil Family Fun!!!  - My family (parents in 70s, 2 "kids" in 40s) came out to Fossil Lake Safari for 1 day. My folks had been before a few years back, and wanted us... read more to come enjoy the fun. We highly recommend coming on this fossil adventure. I found 2 great fish for my classroom after 2 hours. My folks, having been before, found lots of little fishesnright away. My sis had the drustration of mostly little crinoid fossils for the 1st 3 hours, but finnaly got her fishy. We also saw lots of discarded broken fish laying about and in a busket at the saw station. The family running the dig on our day (young daughter included) were bery helpful and very friendly.
THINGS TO KNOW TO ENJOY YOUR FOSSIL ADVENTURE:
1. Summer in WY, especially out in the quarry, is dry, hot, and can be VERY windy. So, dress to protect skin and eyes, bring work/garden gloves if you want to protect your hands, and bring water. Understand that it's fun even if it is crazy windy! We had the place to ourselves for the last hour because the wind was severe and we were the only ones ready to tough it out. If it's windy on your day, put your finds on the bottom of the metal rack they assign to you so they don't have far down if the wind blows the racks over. Also, on a windy day you amd your car WILL be infused with fine sand particals, lol. Get thee to a car wash asap! Lol! We spent 2 hours cleaning out the RV back at the RV park, and still had dust foe 2 more weeks. I got to clean my car mid July, and it made it harder to get clean. I still have it oozing out when it rains. Don't wait to clean your car of that fine sand.
2. Keep in mind that it's likely that you will find a lot of tiny crinoid and shell fossils before you find a fishy fossil friend. Don't get too frustrated, and keep at it.! Habe fun!! Enjoy the experience! The staff on hand are also very friendly and able to direct you to help you be more successful. Even if you find a broken fish it's still very cool to take home!
3. Don't forget to take your finds to the saws at the back. There are clear plexiglass square stencils so they can help you cut down your fish and shell fossil slabs to a more manageable size for transport and display.
4. PLEASE, make sure you have checked your gas levels, tire pressure, and that you have what you need (tools AND how-to knowledge) before you get off the main road onto that LONG and sometimes rough dirt road. THERE'S NO CELL SERVICE, so AAA ain't comming for you. I needed to use my cars emergency tire air compressire to top of 1 of my tires on this trip. AND we were the last guests out of the quary and ended up out stopped out on that road an extra 2 hours helping a single dad (with 2 young kids in the hot cab) helping him figure out how to change his own trucks punctured tire. Know your car, people! You do NOT want to be stuck out there until the next day's shift, hoping for a rancher to pass by, or that there was someone still at the quarry behind you that didn't take a crossroad in another direction away from that main road.
5. PLEASE drive carefully with an eye out for the beautiful wild horses. Slow down for them, watch them frolic by. :)

Happy slab cracking and fish finding!!

  Fossil Adventure!  - It was a great experience, the people running the quarry were knowledgeable, helpful and a lot of fun. We have been telling our friends it is worth the drive.

  Amazing! Must do! We had a once in a lifetime experience there today! - Omg this is a must do. Felt like family there. Great signs to find the place. They just put more up this week. New owners and the managing... read more team is amazing. Caden was always there to help and teach. Doug was so knowledgeable too. We had a private dig and loved it so much went back for a four hour dig the next day. First day found 90 fish. Second dig after we became proficient at splitting the rocks in 4 hours we found almost a 100 fish. My son who is 16 found a crayfish, complete 22 in phareodus and a complete 14 inch phareodus. No joke had a once in a lifetime experience today. Stop thinking about and go here. Tile saws worked amazing too. They also have drinks available to purchase. Thanks fossil lake safari for the memories today!

  AMAZING place to have fun finding fossils!!  - This family owned Fossil Quarry was amazing. Mt husband and I had the BEST time finding soooo many great Fossil treasures. We will most definitely be going back.

  You’ve gotta go!  - That was a great time! If you are into fossils, then you can’t pass this up. My wife and I went for an anniversary getaway and had a blast. The... read more staff were kind, and helpful, and in spite of all of the fossils that they see every day, they were excited with us. I highly recommend these guys!

  Fossil Fun  - Had an amazing time. Will definitely be back with family and friends. I could absolutely tell that everyone loved what they were doing by their interactions with the... read more people digging. Everyone was so helpful and attentive.

This is at least my 10th time at the quarry and September/October of 2023 visits weren't so great. This trip took all the less than optimum memories away and gave me back my joy in coming to Fossil Lake Safari.

Thank you and please tell George hallo from his Arizona teacher friends.

Linda C. from AZ

  Great time getting dirty  - I took my grandkids to the quarry on Saturday. After a little guidance from the guide, learning the rules and the best way to split the rocks, we grabbed our... read more tools (provided by Fossil Safari) and started splitting rocks. In a couple of hours we were able to find some really nice fish. Everyone was finding fish and having a great time. Bring plenty of water and sunscreen or a long sleeve shirt an wide brimmed hat, the Wyoming sun gets hot.

  Excellent time at Fossil Lake Safari  - Everything was top notch! The drive to the quarry was spectacular, the staff was professional, friendly, very attentive and helpful. They checked on me often and identified everything I... read more showed them. Splitting the rock for fossils was like a lottery ticket .you just never knew what you'd get. The equipment was good, the rock with fossils even better, it split nicely and contained many fossils, both nice specimens and some heartbreakers. There was saws for trimming up the fossils, porta pottys and a place to get out of the sun. I came away with about three dozen nice fossils. There was a lot of rock to split. Bring water, packing materials for the fossils, lunch and prepare for a day in the out of doors. I'd bring my grandkids here in a minute. Would I go back absolutely!

  What a day - This was an amazing experience and I could see it being super fun for people with kids. I went by myself on a whim and spent the entire day open... read more to close there. If you've ever wanted to pan for gold but with fossils this is an experience. The staff was incredibly friendly and showed me the ropes and were as happy as I was to see anything I found. Keanu helped me throughout my day and was insanely knowledgeable in everything I had a question on (and I had a lot of them). Unfortunately I can only give 5 stars, if I could I'd give 10.

  A Fun Cenozoic Adventure - Taking a break from this internet age thriving for instant rewards, we spent a day with Fossil Lake Safari, taking away a tactile, fun and engaging Cenozoic adventure.

Following... read more the directions on the website, we took a scenic drive to the quarry. Upon arrival, friendly staff greeted us, gave us tools, explained and showed us what to do. Matt, the owner of the operation, demonstrated how to split rocks and patiently explained everything ranging from the how-to's, geological formation to fossils. Others at the quarry were also friendly and very knowledgeable as well. We found quite a few fossils, with my daughter having the best of luck of finding a rare partial heliobatis (stingray), all of which we got to take home.

We brought our own lunch (sandwiches from the Opera House Store were great), and the Safari had snacks and spring water, which actually did taste better than tap water!

It was a fun, enriching and rewarding experience, one entirely different from our daily experiences. I asked my daughter if she'd go back again, and the answer was yes. Well, I think we will be back!

  Amazingly fun! - We had a great time here finding fossils! Our guides made sure we left with full fossils. They taught us how to split the rock and what to look for.... read more They are kid friendly! You’ll be driving on a dirt road for a good distance but the view is well worth it. Pack a cooler because you won’t want to leave!

  #1 place to go dig fossils  - It was a great experience from checking in to getting a spot to split rock. Everyone is super friendly and loves being out there. The guides were fun, very helpful... read more and informative. I had plenty of rock to split and found lots of great fish! Plus there was snacks, coffee, cocoa and spring water available. I’ll definitely be returning!

  Best Weekend Ever!  - This was our first visit to Fossil Safari. I went with some of my family and we had a great time! The staff were super helpful and gave us some... read more helpful tips on how to find fossils. We found quite a few! We did the half day dig. I would suggest wearing a hat, sunglasses, gloves and long pants. Plenty of water of course. We plan to visit again.

  Making great memories - This was a great activity. We found the coolest fossils and some rare fossils. I highly recommend doing this, you will love. The staff were so nice, knowledgeable and willing... read more to help. Will definitely be back.