Where to Find Fossils in New Jersey

Standout fossils spots in New Jersey

Hand-picked from the full list below, with the reason each one earns a trip.

• Jean & Ric Edelman Fossil Park

  Gloucester County County

  The Jean and Ric Edelman Fossil Park preserves a former marl quarry whose bone bed sits right at the 66-million-year-old end-Cretaceous extinction boundary. Its beds have produced more than 100,000 fossils across 100-plus species, including shark teeth, marine crocodiles, sea turtles, and mosasaurs. Run by Rowan University, it is the only active public community-dig fossil quarry east of the Mississippi.

• Big Brook Park

  Monmouth County County

  Big Brook is New Jersey's best known free fossil stream, cutting Late Cretaceous marine beds of the Navesink Formation that are roughly 70 million years old. Collectors regularly find shark teeth (Squalicorax and Cretolamna), belemnite guards of Belemnitella americana, and Exogyra oyster shells weathering out of the streambed. Monmouth County manages it as public parkland with published fossil-collecting rules, which is rare for an East Coast site.

• Poricy Park Fossil Beds

  Monmouth County County

  Poricy Brook exposes the same Late Cretaceous Navesink Formation as nearby Big Brook, and its fossil beds are among the most accessible in the state. Belemnites (Belemnitella americana), Exogyra costata oysters, and small shark teeth are common in the streambed gravel. The nonprofit Poricy Park Conservancy maintains a marked trail to the beds and rents sifting equipment on site.

• Ramanessin Brook

  Monmouth County County

  Ramanessin Brook is a quieter alternative to Big Brook and Poricy, draining the same Late Cretaceous Monmouth Group marine sequence in Holmdel. Sifting its gravel bars turns up shark teeth (Squalicorax and Scapanorhynchus), ray denticles, and fish material weathered from beds roughly 70 million years old. It runs through township open space, and the Friends of Holmdel Open Space run free public fossil walks along it.

• Shark River

  Monmouth County County

  Shark River is named for the fossil shark teeth found where it cuts middle Eocene marine beds, notably the Shark River and Manasquan formations, roughly 45 million years old. A basal quartz sand layer yields shark and ray teeth, while the glauconitic marl above carries molds of clams and other shells. It sits inside a Monmouth County park, so collecting is done through the park's programs or on the exposed gravel bars.

Best counties for fossils in New Jersey

Ranked by the number of mapped fossils spots. County links open the full rockhounding page for that county.

• Monmouth County5 spots
• Gloucester County2 spots

Every fossils spot we track in New Jersey

Sorted by county. Coordinates open in Google Maps.

Where else to find fossils

• Nebraska8 spots
• Missouri7 spots
• Florida6 spots
• Ohio5 spots
• South Dakota5 spots

More minerals to hunt in New Jersey

• Quartz21
• Calcite13
• Amber12
• Datolite12
• Agate10
• Amethyst10
• Galena9
• Prehnite9
• Epidote8
• Malachite8