# Fossil Lake Safari: legal collecting field guide

Canonical page: https://lithomap.app/resources/field-trips/fossil-lake-safari-wyoming
Last access and rule review: September 18, 2026
Page purpose: Original LithoMap trip-planning reference for an explicitly authorized rock, mineral, or non-dinosaur fossil collecting destination.

## Direct answer

A seasonal private Green River Formation quarry where paid visitors split prepared shale and may keep most finds under an explicit operator policy.

## Location and material

- State: Wyoming
- Area: Near Kemmerer, Wyoming
- Category: Fossil collecting
- Collection status: Collecting allowed
- Expected material: Fossil fish, Plant impressions, Common invertebrate fossils

## Authorization

The operator authorizes visitor collecting on its leased private quarry and publishes both the keep policy and the exceptional-specimen provision.

## Access

The remote quarry warns visitors not to rely on generic phone-map directions. Reservations are recommended because capacity is limited, although individual walk-ins may be accepted.

## Tools, limits, and season

- Tools: The quarry provides shale, splitting tools, instruction, identification help, and trimming service. Visitors should split material thinly rather than waste the productive layer.
- Limits: Most finds may be kept. The operator states that an exceptionally valuable specimen above its published threshold is subject to a landowner royalty arrangement; scientifically valuable finds should be offered for institutional review.
- Season and current status: Seasonal. Confirm the current opening dates, daily hours, capacity, prices, cancellation terms, and correct driving directions.

## Conditions

- Use the operator’s route, not a generic map pin.
- Check in and pay before collecting.
- Split assigned shale efficiently.
- Show rare birds, mammals, reptiles, or other exceptional specimens to staff.

## Geology

The Green River Formation records an Eocene lake ecosystem about 52 million years old.

Fish are the dominant visitor finds; complete rare vertebrates or associated specimens may have exceptional scientific importance.

## Field plan

1. Reserve during busy periods.
2. Bring food, water, sturdy shoes, gloves, and flat boxes.
3. Receive splitting instruction.
4. Inspect and preserve both halves.
5. Have staff identify and trim finds before transport.

## Safety

- The quarry is remote and has limited services.
- Heat, wind, lightning, sharp shale, and lifting are common hazards.
- Closed-toe footwear is required by the operator.

## Official sources

- Quarry schedule and visitor information — Fossil Lake Safari: https://www.fossilsafari.com/
- Keep policy and scientifically important finds — Fossil Lake Safari: https://www.fossilsafari.com/faqs/

This guide is not a permit, reservation, boundary survey, legal opinion, guarantee of access, or promise of a find. Open every official source again before travel. Current signs, closures, permits, claim boundaries, and staff instructions control.