Penn Dixie Fossil Park and Nature Reserve is owned and operated by the Hamburg Natural History Society, Inc. The dig site is a hidden gem just 10 miles south of Buffalo. Visitors can find and collect 380 million-year-old animal and plant fossils that once flourished in an ancient tropical sea that covered Western New York.
Keep the fossils you find
When we spent the day at Penn Dixie, we rented a bucket of tools ($5 for two hammers, a chisel, and a pair of safety glasses) to share among the three of us.
It would have been helpful to bring something to kneel on since the ground is where the action is. A sit-upon we used to make in Girl Scouts would have been perfect! Next time, we’ll bring our own tools along since there is always a risk of them being rented out.
Bring a few containers for fossil finds since you are able to keep anything you find. You’ve got to have a keen eye to discover the fossils, many of which are smaller than pebbles. It was fun being an amateur paleontologist for a few hours!
Penn Dixie strives to be mobility- and family-friendly, offering five shelters, picnic tables, benches, portable toilets, and over 4,100 feet of paved trails for wheelchairs, walkers, strollers, and wagons.
You may not think when you first pull into the lot that you could spend a whole day there among the rocks, but when you are focused on just a small piece of land, searching for the tiniest of fossils, time slips away. It is a simple, engaging experience.
More information about Penn Dixie
Cost: There is an admission fee
Located in Blasdell, roughly 80 minutes / 80 miles from Rochester (get directions)
More information: penndixie.org/
You can learn even more about our fascinating geologic history at the Museum of the Earth in Ithaca.
Explore More
The Museum of the Earth focuses on life beginning in the Cambrian Period, but it covers Earth’s history spanning 4.5 billion years.
Western New York’s Top 4 Rock Cities—All Easy Day Trips from Rochester
Discover four rock cities near Rochester, where moss-draped boulders, narrow canyons, and panoramic trails await.
Geologic History of the Rochester Area
These day trips into Rochester’s geologic history will remind you just how amazing our corner of the Earth is.
Have you been to Penn Dixie Fossil Park & Nature Reserve?
I’d love to hear from you—please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.
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Enjoy the Journey Together!
All four rock parks are in the same general area and have the same general appearance for the same reason: They were all formed at the same time by the same thing- violently flowing water. This same appearance is found in James Clark Reservation State Park south of Syracuse and there the State of New York correctly identifies it as catastrophically flowing water. Debris flows in fact.