NSR Ladonia Fossil Park, Texas, United States

5Laura G 5:00 PM Oct 14, 2017

Above Average Fossil Park
This is only the second fossil park I've ever visited but I loved my visit. I visited the park for National Fossil Day and Ladonia was holding an event. It was almost a two-hour drive from my home. We attended a series of presentations about what we could expect. Because the Sulpher River makes new deposits after each rain, we couldn't expect to find strata with clearly identified dates. Instead, we could find almost anything. Our most common find was fossilized oyster shells. Because this is in a wild area, critters are to be expected. Our presenters reported finding snakes, mountain lions, bobcats, and spiders. However, noise tends to frighten away most critters. Our take-away was bring noisy kids. The riverbed can be tricky to reach. There are some erosion measures that include "steps" down to the riverbed. These steps are safe but steep. (I saw no poison ivy on the way down.) Our presenters told us that there are tracks left by off-road vehicles to the east of the bridge and those can also take fossil hunters down to the riverbed. There is a covered picnic area with port-a-potties near the parking area. There is no potable water available. Bring your own, especially in warm weather. (I probably wouldn't recommend going in hot weather because of the steepness of the steps and the lack of potable water.) We found lots of fossils just laying around. Our best find was of a baculite fossil. We were told that more are deposited each time it rains. However, the park should be avoided during and soon after rain. Flash flooding occurs. Wait a couple of days after a rain before fossil hunting. Kids were all over the place. They had fun playing in the river and hunting fossils. (Wear grubby clothes.) It helps if you bring something to keep your fossils in. We kept small finds in a plastic baggy; larger finds were kept in our backpack. Clothing-wise, I think it's better if you wear jeans and clothes you don't mind getting grubby. The presenters told us that closed-toe shoes were a necessity and recommended hiking boots or steel-toe shoes. Wear a hat. Bring sun protection. Bring water. Bring bug spray. There really isn't any food in the area so I'd recommend a picnic lunch with snacks. Be ready to climb up and down. Be ready to get dirty. Be ready to find some fossils!

5TX_Tommyboy 5:00 PM Jun 20, 2018

A Great Adventure
Rather rugged. Bring your boots. No bathroom facilities but we used our camping equipment and set up temporary facilities. There are two ways to search. One is to sift though the river gravel and you will find small teeth etc. The other is to dig into the river bank, There you will find fewer but larger fossils.