Where collection is allowed
Maryland DNR explicitly allows fossil hunting on the open beach reached by the Red Trail. Climbing, walking beneath, or collecting under the cliffs is prohibited because of landslide danger.
The beach is reached by roughly a 1.8-mile trail each way. The park charges a day-use vehicle fee and operates under current park hours and capacity conditions.
Tools, limits, and timing
Tools and methods
The official page permits sieves and shovels for sifting beach sand. Tools never authorize approaching or digging into the cliffs.
Amount and use
Collect only from the open beach and obey staff instructions, closures, wildlife protections, and any current quantity rule. An unusual vertebrate find should be left and reported.
Season and current status
The park is day use, and shoreline width, weather, tides, heat, and storm damage vary. Verify park alerts, hours, fee, and beach access before travel.
Rules to confirm at the site
- Stay entirely away from the cliff base and closed zones.
- Search loose beach material only.
- Do not excavate the cliff or a fresh fall.
- Leave unusual, associated, or scientifically important remains in place and notify staff.
An old webpage, saved map, app layer, social post, or prior visit cannot override a current closure, posted boundary, permit condition, mining claim, staff instruction, or landowner decision.
What makes the site geologically useful
The cliffs expose Miocene marine sediment deposited roughly 10 to 20 million years ago.
Waves release and rework fossils onto the beach, so a loose find may be separated from its original bed.
A low-impact trip plan
- 1
Check park alerts and weather.
- 2
Plan for the round-trip hike and carry water.
- 3
Search the authorized open beach at a safe distance from cliffs.
- 4
Record a find without publishing a sensitive vertebrate location.
- 5
Ask park staff how to handle an unusual specimen.
Site-specific preparation
- Cliff collapse is sudden and potentially fatal; the closed area is not a collecting shortcut.
- The beach is unguarded and conditions change with tide and weather.
- Ticks, heat, slippery ground, and the return hike require preparation.
Official sources
Open every relevant source shortly before departure. Fees, booking windows, fire rules, seasons, roads, and collection conditions can change without notice.
- Calvert Cliffs State Park Maryland Department of Natural Resources
- Calvert Cliffs geology Maryland Geological Survey
Access and rule review: September 18, 2026. This guide is educational planning information, not a permit, reservation, boundary survey, or legal opinion.