Field Trips

100,000 year old Pleistocene shells are abundant and easy to find. Easy walk. Nice day trip for young fossil collectors!
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP.

Feb. 27, 28 & Mar. 1, 2026

TRIP DATES HAVE CHANGED.

FULL - The trip limit has been reached.

Dr. Torrey Nyborg will be our on-site trip leader in Death Valley National Park.

Tentative itinerary: Members will travel Friday, Feb. 27 to hotels near Death Valley (5 hour drive from Los Angeles, (if not rush hour). On Saturday, March 28, spend the day in Death Valley National Park. (No fossil collecting). On Sunday, March 1, drive to Bird Spring Formation outside the National Park. Spend the day looking for triple horn corals and other Permian deposits. Then drive home.

Having done considerable research in Death Valley over many years, Dr. Nyborg is an expert on Death Valley
and teaches in the Department of Earth and Biological Sciences at Loma Linda University.
This is a great educational trip for kids (10 y.o. or older). as well as for us older kids.
There is a $30. vehicle entrance fee to Death Valley National Park. The fee covers the vehicle and all occupants.
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP.

THIS TRIP IS NOW FULL. (The limit has been reached).
Fossils commonly found here include shark teeth, whale or dolphin bones / vertebrae, etc. They have been identified as belonging to the Round Mountain Silt Formation, Miocene in age (15 - 16 million years old).
There is a fee to be paid to the property owner. The amount to be determined.
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP.

As of Nov. 14, 16 members are on the list. The limit is 20.
Steve Mulqueen, a Utah resident and geologist, will lead our group for the 7th time to Utah sites, including U-Dig Quarry for trilobites, Confusion range for ammonites and a petrified wood site near St. George. There is a $100 fee at the U-Dig quarry.
Only those with current SCPS memberships during April 9 to 12, 2026, can participate in this trip.

Fossils commonly found here include shark teeth, whale or dolphin bones / vertebrae, etc. They have been identified as belonging to the Round Mountain Silt Formation, Miocene in age (15 - 16 million years old).
There is a $65. fee to be paid to the property owner.
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP.

The hills are part of the Upper Santa Margarita Formation. The fossils found are from organisms living during the late Miocene to early Pliocene (about 12 to 5 million years ago).
SCPS members have visited this site several times in the past. A few different marine fossils have been found at the site, but fossilized sand dollars are most prevalent. Digging tools were not needed. Most fossils were found on the surface. Not suitable for young members, as the trip requires a hike through considerable tall brush.
Only those with current SCPS memberships during the trip date{s} can participate in this trip.

Members will find various marine fossils, including clams, oysters, mussels and some gastropods from the late Pleistocene epoch.
Nice beach location! Great for young fossil collectors. No limit.
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP.

Wyoming dinosaur and fish fossils. This trip is still in the planning stages. This is a multi-day trip (maybe 4 or 5 days, approximately Aug. 12 - 16) However, members do not have to do the whole trip. Members can look over the final itinerary and decide on which sites to participate. To reduce driving, a couple of members have said they plan to fly to Denver (or other airport near the sites) and rent a car.

The trip consists of the following two sites for sure. We will also visit 2 or 3 other sites, but they are still to be determined.

1. We have been given permission, by an eastern Wyoming property owner, to collect fossils on a ranch that has yielded dinosaur fossils... but there's a price: $500. per person paid to the owner.

2. We will also visit American Fossil Quarry, near Kemmerer, Wyoming. We did it in August, 2025, found lots of great fish fossils (Green River Formation, Eocene epoch). Price: about $100, payable to the quarry.

And as mentioned. we will go to 2 or 3 other sites (no charge) - still to be determined.
More itinerary details will be posted when everything is determined. No limit on participants.
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP DURING THE DAYS OF THE TRIP.

September 26 (or Sept. 19): Members will do an easy walk for about a mile collecting marine fossils, mainly gastropod mollusks, with Turritella (sea snails) being the most common genus found. The fossils are found in the Llajas geological formation of Chivo Canyon, and are from the early to middle Eocene (around 50 million years ago). Nice trip for younger members. No Limit.
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP.Sept

Thursday, Oct. 8: Drive to Fallon, Nevada (near Reno). Check into hotel. Group dinner in Fallon restaurant.

Friday, Oct. 9: Our adventure begins with collecting fish fossils at the Hazen quarry. We have been given permission to collect fossils at an inactive quarry owned by a large corporation. We had been there the past two years. Three-spine Stickleback fish and Nevada Killifish) from the Miocene epoch are plentiful.

Saturday, Oct. 10: We will visit one or two Nevada fossil sites (to be determined).

Sunday, Oct. 11: We will visit another Nevada fossil site (to be determined).
Sunday afternoon, the trip is over. Members can drive home, or visit Virginia City or Bodie Ghost Town etc.
No limit to participants.
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP.

This trip is not confirmed.
Fossils commonly found here include shark teeth, whale or dolphin bones / vertebrae, etc. They have been identified as belonging to the Round Mountain Silt Formation, Miocene in age (15 - 16 million years old).
There is a fee to be paid to the property owner. The amount, to be determined, depends on the property.
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP.