Kemmerer fossils in the fish beds in the deep southwestern corner of Kemmerer Wyoming, have been collected since the 1920s. The beds are open to the public as a pay-to-dig site and are a great addition to any fossil field trip.
Kemmerer is a small town in Lincoln County, Wyoming. It lies almost seven thousand feet above sea level and yes, you will travel further up to get to the Fossil Lake Safari site. The area in the Buttes was once a shallow group of lakes that circumstances caused a great deal of localized and frequent small catastrophic death events.
Tens of thousands of fossil fish have been recovered here since collecting began. The State Fossil of Wyoming is the Eocene age Knightia eocaena fossil fish. Now, there is something new to report. This area has been leased by a new company, Fossil Era, which has spent a great deal of time improving the site and literally moving a mountain. They used a D-9 bulldozer to remove hundreds of feet of mountain to gain access to the rich fossil-bearing layers.
Heading to the “New” Kemmerer Fossils Site
I started this fossil field trip by flying from Michigan with my daughter PaleoJen, Jennifer Clark. In Salt Lake City we rented a 4-wheel drive for the trip to Kemmerer. The trip is 2 1/2 hours from Salt Lake City driving past some spectacular scenery.
In Kemmerer, there are at least three fossil shops where you can purchase some beautiful fossil fish, but I urge you to go to the Fossil Lake Safari Quarry up in the hills surrounding Kemmerer and dig your own. We stayed at a nice motel, Fossil Butte Motel, as we were spending a few days there. Much has changed in town since I last visited nearly a decade ago. Every morning PaleoJen and I went to the Place on Pine restaurant for breakfast and then on to the Kemmerer fossils quarry. The quarry is quite easy to find, though it is a bit of a trek. A sturdy 4-wheel drive is essential especially if there is any rain. The dirt and gravel road does get slick at times.
Getting to Fossil Lake Safari
To get to the Fossil Lake Safari (fossilsafari. com) you will drive through the town of Kemmerer, you will come to Ridley’s grocery store on the north side of town and just as you pass this grocery store there will be a junction between Highway 189 and Highway 30. Turn onto Highway 189 heading north.
- Drive 1.3 miles and take a left onto Highway 233 at the sign for Lake Viva Naughton.
- Drive 3.9 miles and take a left onto Dempsey Road (this is a dirt road). There will be a large ranch on your right at the turnoff. If you cross a bridge over the river, you have gone too far.
- Follow the dirt road for about eight miles. You will cross four cattle guards. From the last cattle guard, drive three more miles and you will see a left turn at a diamond-shaped rock marker. Take this left.
- Drive another two miles and the road will fork, take the right fork to go to the Fossil Lake Safari quarry.
Kemmerer Fossils Quarry Improvements
The infrastructure at Fossil Lake Safari has been modernized by the new crew and improved greatly. They have a solar array supplying electricity during the more than ample periods of sunshine. They have installed table chop saws where you can cut your treasures down to size. They provide templates for your use as well. There are several very clean and well-maintained port-o-potties on site with hand washing and sanitizing stations.
They have also provided shelving at the dig site so you can place your finds on your own shelf before you head to the chop saws. They have all the hammers and chisels you will need. After the fossils, the personnel there are the highlight of the trip.
The crew is made up of several quarry managers, each with vast knowledge of the terrain and exposure. When we arrived, the young daughter of the husband-and-wife quarry manager team came out to greet us. She welcomed us to the quarry and guided us to the registration desk where we needed to complete some forms. As we had been there on several occasions, we just picked up our tools and went to dig.
Keeping Your Kemmerer Fossils
The most important change to the quarry is what you are allowed to keep. In the past, you could only keep fossil fish, other rare items were not allowed out of the quarry. Now diggers may keep everything that is valued at LESS THAN $100,000.00. This opens up a huge amount of varied flora and fauna you can take home. The most prized are the stingrays. You can now keep all the stingrays you find. While we were there, three people found stingrays.
The rock is cleaved off the side of the mountain and placed in long rows. You are directed to the rows and allowed to break big rocks into little rocks and again the staff is there to show you the way. I highly recommend that you split the rock down as thin as you can because some of the fish hide in the thinnest layers. You will be rewarded for your efforts. By placing the rock on its edge and then placing the chisel on the rock and gently tapping, splits will form. Place the chisel on that crack and continue hammering. The rock will split and hopefully reveal a treasure.
Make sure to include bubble wrap in your fossil hunting tools and supplies. I have sent home dozens of Flat Rate postal boxes full of fish and very few have broken. The staff can show you how to wrap them and the local post office is ready to manage your precious cargo.
While visiting Kemmerer you should also travel a short distance away to Fossil Butte National Monument. The museum boasts a spectacular array of flora and fauna including fossilized horses, alligators and other creatures that lived – and died in the lake or on the shores.
This story about a Kemmerer fossils field trip previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe! Story by Joseph J. “PaleoJoe” Kchodl.
