I have been finding the occasional fossil in NJ since I was a kid, kicking around my local creeks. When a species goes beyond endangered, it becomes extinct, and that's what you are usually dealing with in fossil hunting.
One of the top spots in New Jersey for fossil hunting is Big Brook Preserve in Colts Neck, Monmouth County. (88 Hillsdale Rd., Colts Neck, NJ 07722).
Fossil hunting is great for adults and fun to do with kids if they have some guidance. Check out this family outing.
You need to be prepared with some equipment and need to follow the regulations in many places. For example, at Big Brook, there are several rules and restrictions:- Groups of 15+ require a permit
- The collection of fossils within the preserve is limited to those fossils found within the actual stream waterline. Fossil extraction is prohibited from the walls of streambed above the stream waterline. AKA: stick to the water and the gravel bars; no digging the banks
- The use of equipment for the collection of fossils is restricted to trowels with a maximum blade of six inches, and small screens with an eighteen-inch-square maximum at all times
- No person may harvest more than five fossils per day.
The Fossil Guy's Guide to Big Brook
rockchasing.com/fossils-in-new-jersey/
To explore and learn more about New Jersey's fossils, two places to visit are the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton, and the Edelman Fossil Park and Museum in Mantua.
shark teeth
Shark's teeth are one of the most common fossil finds.
Don't set your expectations too high. You are not going to find a dinosaur like the NJ State dinosaur, the Hadrosaurus foulkii. It is a type of hadrosaur, often called the “duck-billed” dinosaur because of its flat, wide mouth. They were plant-eaters that were about 25 feet long. Finding one in NJ was very special because it’s the first nearly complete dinosaur skeleton ever found. Prior to its discovery (in Haddonfield), scientists only had small bits and pieces of dinosaur fossils.
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