Calvert Cliffs State Park: Fossil Hunting in Calvert County, Maryland

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

Calvert County

State

Maryland

Nearest road

Juliet Low Trail

Postcode

20657

Coordinates

38.40699, -76.41204

Coordinates are approximate. Confirm the exact ground in the RockHoundR app, where land overlays show which agency manages the area.

Land & collecting status

Generally open to casual rockhounding

Most public-tagged spots sit on BLM, U.S. Forest Service, or other federal land where reasonable hand collecting of common rocks and minerals is allowed. Confirm posted rules and active mining claims before you dig.

Access note: Loose fossils may be collected and kept for free on the public beach at the end of the Red Trail, a hike of about 1.8 miles each way, with a small per-vehicle parking fee. Climbing or digging into the cliffs is prohibited and dangerous, so collect only loose material along the beach. Fossil collecting on Maryland public land is limited to 25 specimens per person per day.

Public-land rules vary by agency, season, and field office. The RockHoundR app pulls live BLM, USFS, NPS, and tribal overlays so you can see exactly which agency manages the ground at this spot.

Best time to visit Calvert Cliffs State Park

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Conditions here are workable year-round, with typical highs from 45°F in winter to 88°F in summer.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, SOLOMONS station (6 mi away).

Geology at Calvert Cliffs State Park

This spot sits on Chesapeake Group; Choptank Formation, mapped as sand and silt that formed roughly 23 to 5 million years ago. Reworked sediments like these can carry fossils eroded from older beds upstream, typically as rolled bone fragments, teeth, and shell material.

Mapped unit

Chesapeake Group; Choptank Formation

Age

23–5 Ma (Miocene)

Rock types

sand and silt

Elevation

30 ft

Geologic mapping via Macrostrat and the underlying state geological survey maps (CC BY 4.0). Bedrock at the surface can vary within a mapped unit.

Sources & verification

Spot details combine the public RockHoundR location dataset, normalized mineral labels, agency land-status checks in the app, and community submissions. Coordinates are approximate until verified in the field.

• Maryland Geological Survey
• Maryland DNR state park rules
• Calvert Marine Museum fossil guidance
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules