Penn Dixie Fossil Park

I was provided tickets in exchange for a post about our experience.

We love finding places to explore, and have been talking about going to Penn Dixie for years.

Located in Blasdell, New York, Penn Dixie is just south of Buffalo.  We used Google Maps to get there, and had no problem finding it.

We checked in at a building at the front of the park.  There is a lot of helpful information as well as items for rent or purchase.  For example you can rent tools, and there are some souvenirs for sale.

Penn Dixie Blasdell New York

We headed out to join a free informational tour.  Our guide, Holly, was very knowledgable and took us to different parts around the park to show us a variety of fossils.  She also helped us with tips about getting fossils out of rocks (more often, leaving them in the rock so they stay intact).

Penn Dixie Blasdell New York

Penn Dixie Blasdell New York

It was also nice to see samples of what we might find when we first arrived, and during the tour.  We found a lot of horn corals (or as we called them, “Sorting Hats”), brachiopods, crinoids, and trilobites (or at least pieces of trilobites).

Penn Dixie Fossil Park Trilobites

Just searching for a few minutes, I found a whole bunch of brachiopods and corals in one spot.  No digging, no tools – just looking through the very top layer of soil.

Penn Dixie

There is no shortage of fossils, and they are always digging out new areas of the park.

Penn Dixie Fossil Park

Penn Dixie Fossil Park

One of the things we were looking forward to seeing most at Penn Dixie were trilobites.  While we didn’t find a whole, intact trilobite, we found lots of pieces and imprints.

Penn Dixie Fossil Park Trilobites

I also liked searching for crinoids, and found lots of segments of stems.

Penn Dixie Blasdell New York

Penn Dixie Fossil Park

After exploring the park for a while, collecting a variety of fossils, we headed out.

Penn Dixie Blasdell New York

We had an interesting time searching for fossils, and it was a fun learning experience for the kids.

We arrived mid-morning on a Saturday, and there was plenty of parking.  There are also porta-potties in the parking lot.

Penn Dixie

What to bring:

~ be prepared for hot weather in the summer!  Hats, sunscreen, water.
~ something to carry your fossils in (ziploc baggies work, and tote bags)
~ we brought tools, and you can also rent tools.  However, we didn’t use too many, as most fossils were loose.  You may want to try your hand at breaking up larger rocks to see what fossils may be present in the layers.

 

Visit Penn Dixie at

https://penndixie.org/