3 of the Best Places to Go Dinosaur Fossil Hunting in the States

If you would like to walk on the same ground as some of the largest animals to ever exist on earth once did, there are a few places that should be on your radar. Whether you manage to find an actual fossil or not, rest assured that all locations on this list were once the hunting grounds of ancient predators larger than the largest predator in existence today.

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North Dakota Heritage Center, Bismarck

There are four fossil excavation centers run by the North Dakota Geological Survey and the one in Bismarck is arguably the best dig site for moderately experienced fossil diggers. Even before you start digging though, just take a look around. Everything you see there has been preserved against the worst ravages of time. Consequently, what you see is a shoreline geography predating mankind’s inception by 67 million years!

So far, bone fragments, bones, fossilized footprints, and teeth from tyrannosaurids, the didelphodon, the dromeosaurus, the edmontosaurus, the triceratops, and the brachychampsa have been dug up by paleontologists and hobbyists from the Hell Creek Formation. Nobody can find a full skeleton unfortunately, but you can buy custom pieces to complete real-size dinosaurs on your own.

Wyoming Dinosaur Center, Thermopolis

The Morrison Formation inside the Wyoming Dinosaur Center is not as vast in its potential fossil finds as some of the other locations in United States. What it lacks in quantity, the site makes up in rarity. The camarasaurus, allosaurus, and apatosaurus fossils are not as common anywhere else around the region as they are here. Don’t miss out on the museum tour either, because it has some pretty amazing finds from past fossil hunters to inspire your next dig.

The Medicine Dinosaur Center, Bynum, Montana

Experts recommend digging around the Judith River Formation here, although you will find dinosaur fossils almost everywhere in these parts. The only thing is that most of the area around the Canadian borders is riddled with hadrosaur bones. Not that there is anything wrong with finding fossilized remains of a maiasaura or an edmontosaurus mind you, but they belong to an era where the dinosaurs were already into their avian stage of evolution. There are more than enough fossilized remains of hadrosaurs than the Dinosaur Center needs anymore.

However, if you go with the long program and decide to help the foundation dig more seriously, you will be helping them uncover the remaining bones of two dinosaurs that are already very close to being fully uncovered. The two skeletons belong to species much older (70 – 80 million years) than the billed dinosaurs usually found in these parts. Given that some of the most impressive theropods and sauropods lived during this time, the possibilities are quite exciting.

Unfortunately, there is not much opportunity to dig around for ancient fossils in Maine. This is due to a geographical phenomenon, which the Maine Geological Survey explains here. Nevertheless, the search for dinosaurs is still on in the state, and you should be able to find information about any significant find from the Maine Geological Survey website itself.