Entry No. 61 — the Dallas file — filed under: fossil-hunting
Mineral Wells Fossil Park
What was once the City of Mineral Wells' landfill borrow pit turned out to be something far stranger: twenty-plus years of erosion peeled back the topsoil and exposed a 300-million-year-old Pennsylvanian sea floor sitting quietly in the Texas scrub. This free municipal park is one of the very few places in the US where you can legally dig up fossils — shark teeth, trilobites, crinoids, brachiopods, echinoids — and walk away with them in your pocket, no permit required. It's listed on Atlas Obscura and covered by Roadside America, which should tell you everything about its vibe. An hour west of Fort Worth, it gets almost none of the foot traffic it deserves, which means the shale is still genuinely productive for a patient digger.
The move: Pack a couple of flat-head screwdrivers and a brush, show up early before the Texas heat peaks, and spend a few hours cracking open shale layers in search of 300-million-year-old sea creatures — then argue over whose crinoid stem is more impressive on the drive back.
📍 Before you go It's tucked northwest of town: from US-180, turn north onto Indian Creek Road and follow it a couple of miles to the lot. From there a short trail leads past a shaded canopy and down a gentle, handrailed embankment into the old borrow pit — that gravel bowl is the dig site. Surface-collecting only, with small hand tools; come right after a good rain, when runoff resurfaces fresh fossils, and arrive early, as there's almost no shade. Facilities are primitive with no running water, so pack plenty along with sun protection and knee pads. Lake Mineral Wells State Park, just east of town, makes an easy pairing.
- 📍 Mineral Wells
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 2375 Indian Creek Rd, Mineral Wells, TX 76067
Hours: Added 2026-06-09 — confirm current hours before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Atlas Obscura · Yelp · Tripadvisor
last checked: 2026-06-09