Kemmerer, Wyoming is about 150 miles and two hours 50 minutes from downtown Provo, and the Fossil Butte National Monument visitor center is about 161 miles and three hours, by an OpenStreetMap routing estimate (OSRM, no traffic) from Center Street and University Avenue. The route is Provo Canyon to Heber, US-40 and US-189 to I-80, east into Wyoming, then north on US-189 to Kemmerer. That is close enough for a real day trip, which makes it unusual among the trips on this site that cross a state line.
The reason to go: the rock around Kemmerer is the bed of an ancient lake, and it splits into thin layers with whole fish inside. At private quarries, you pay to dig and you keep what you find. At the national monument next door, you see the best specimens behind glass and you cannot take a pebble. Doing both in one day is the trip.
The season, first
The digging is a summer business, and in late October it is mostly finished for the year.
| Place | Season | Late October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| American Fossil (private quarry) | Summer | Closed for 2026; booking 2027 |
| Ulrich's Fossil Gallery tours | Mid-May through October, weather permitting | End of season; call first |
| Fossil Butte visitor center | Year-round | Open daily 8 to 4:30 through Oct. 31 |
| Fossil Butte scenic drive | Closed in winter and most of spring | Closing for winter |
So the best time to plan this is now, for next summer. The visitor center by itself is a fine winter stop on the way somewhere, but it is not a reason to drive six hours round trip in January.
The private quarries: what you get
The quarries dig into the Green River Formation, which American Fossil describes as holding fossils more than 50 million years old. The idea is the same at each: the quarry supplies the layered rock and the tools, and you split the layers thinner and thinner, looking for a fish, leaf or insect inside.
American Fossil. Closed for the 2026 season and taking bookings for 2027, according to its site. Its 2026 prices, which it marks as subject to change:
| Dig length | Adults (15 and up) | Children (6 to 14) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 hours | $89 | $59 |
| 4 hours | $109 | $74 |
| 8 hours | $169 | $89 |
Children under 6 dig free with a paying adult, and a private dig for up to 10 people is $750. It says you keep every fossil you find, with guides on site to help identify them. Pets have to stay on a leash in the parking area. The company asks diggers to split the rock carefully rather than smash it, since the stone is a limited resource.
Ulrich's Fossil Gallery. The gallery is at 4400 County Road 300, which it describes as about three minutes from the monument's visitor center. Its guided tours go to its quarry and include a demonstration of excavating its "Eighteen-Inch Layer," one of the most productive fossil-bearing layers in the formation.
- $135 per adult. Children under 16 dig free with a paying adult, or can dig their own fossils for an additional adult fee.
- Tours start at 9 a.m., with transportation to the quarry and tools included.
- Cutting, trimming, packing and shipping are available at the gallery.
- Season: mid-May through October, weather permitting. Weekend reservations are required; weekday reservations are recommended.
- Free option for small kids: children 10 and under can dig through the gallery's discard pile for leftover fossil pieces at no charge. Ask at the gallery for tools.
Other operators exist around Kemmerer. We could not read the site of one, Fossil Lake Safari, because of a security certificate error, so it is not described here.
What to bring, per Ulrich's list: layered clothing, sunglasses, water, snacks. Add sunscreen and a hat; quarry work is outdoors on bare rock.
Fossil Butte National Monument: the free half
The monument protects part of the same ancient lake, and its job is the opposite of the quarries': nothing leaves. The Park Service is blunt that fossils can only be viewed inside the visitor center, because on the trails they are sealed inside horizontal rock layers that have to be split and prepared. Collecting fossils or anything else is prohibited by federal law (36 CFR 2.1).
- Cost: free. No entrance pass is required.
- Park hours: sunrise to sunset, year-round.
- Visitor center hours (NPS):
- Spring, May 1 to the Thursday before Memorial Day: daily 8 to 4:30.
- Summer, the Friday before Memorial Day through Labor Day: daily 8 to 5:30.
- Fall, the day after Labor Day through October 31: daily 8 to 4:30.
- Winter, November 1 to April 30: Monday to Saturday 8 to 4:30; closed Sundays and on Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day, MLK Day and Presidents Day.
- Inside: fossil fishes, insects, plants, reptiles, birds and mammals from the ancient lake, plus summer ranger programs that include fossil preparation demonstrations.
- Outside: a scenic drive with views over the valleys and access to unmaintained trails. The Park Service says the scenic road is closed in winter and most of spring.
Getting there from Kemmerer: about nine miles west on US-30. Near mile post 44, turn right onto Lincoln County Road 300. The Historic Quarry Trail is about half a mile in on the right; continue west to Chicken Creek Road for the visitor center, scenic drive, nature trail and picnic area. AllTrails lists the Historic Quarry Trail as a 2.9-mile loop with about 670 feet of climbing, rated moderate.
How the day works
Leave Provo at 6:30 a.m. You reach the quarry around 9:30 with a stop in Evanston. That timing matters for Ulrich's, whose tours start at 9 unless arranged otherwise, so for its tour plan to leave by 5:45 or sleep in Evanston or Kemmerer the night before.
Morning: the dig. Two to four hours is plenty for most kids; the eight-hour option suits serious collectors.
Early afternoon: the monument visitor center, about three minutes from Ulrich's. See what a professionally prepared fish looks like, which helps you appreciate (or reconsider) what you split that morning. Walk the Historic Quarry Trail if legs are fresh.
Late afternoon: downtown Kemmerer, then home by about 7.
Turning it into a weekend: American Fossil places its quarry about 65 minutes from Bear Lake, so a summer weekend can pair a dig on Saturday with the lake on Sunday. Our Bear Lake guide covers the lake and the raspberry shakes.
Kemmerer itself: the J.C. Penney town
The Society of Architectural Historians' record of the J.C. Penney Historic District lays out the story. James Cash Penney opened his first store in Kemmerer in 1902, in a wooden building with living quarters upstairs that no longer stands. The store moved to a larger stone building on Main Street in 1904, then in 1935 into a building from about 1921 that is now called the "Mother Store" of the company, and it still operates. The Penney family's house, built around 1900, is part of the same district, a National Historic Landmark since 1978. Google lists the store on J C Penney Drive, open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Fossil Country Frontier Museum is at 400 Pine Avenue. Its hours were not posted consistently where we checked, so call before you plan around it.
For dinosaur families: how this compares
The Kemmerer fossils are fish, plants and insects, not dinosaurs. If your kids are in a dinosaur phase, our Vernal and Dinosaur National Monument guide is the bones trip, and our dinosaur museums in Utah Valley guide covers the ones close to home. For a free fossil fix without the drive, BYU's Bean Life Science Museum is on campus.
Kemmerer is the one where they get to keep something. Plan it for a summer Saturday, book the dig ahead, and our day trips from Provo guide has the rest of the list.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far is Kemmerer, Wyoming from Provo?
Can you really keep the fossils you dig near Kemmerer?
How much does a fossil dig cost?
Are the Kemmerer fossil quarries open in late October?
Does Fossil Butte National Monument charge a fee?
What are Fossil Butte's visitor center hours?
Is Kemmerer a good day trip for kids?
What else is in Kemmerer?
Sources
The facts in this guide were checked against these sources. Hours, fees and rules change, so confirm anything time-sensitive with the source before you go. How we make Provo.com.
- Operating hours and seasons, National Park Service, Fossil Butte. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Fees and passes, National Park Service, Fossil Butte. Checked October 20, 2026.
- National Park Service, Fossil Butte: Things to do, National Park Service, Fossil Butte. Checked October 20, 2026.
- National Park Service, Fossil Butte: Directions, National Park Service, Fossil Butte. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Current conditions, National Park Service, Fossil Butte. Checked October 20, 2026.
- J. C. Penney Historic District, Society of Architectural Historians, SAH Archipedia. Checked October 20, 2026.
- American Fossil: dig your own fossils (2026 pricing, season status), American Fossil. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Ulrich's Fossil Gallery: fossil dig tours, Ulrich's Fossil Gallery. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Historic Quarry Trail, AllTrails. Checked October 20, 2026.
- OSRM route service (OpenStreetMap data), driving estimates from Center St & University Ave, Provo, Project OSRM. Checked October 20, 2026.
- JCPenney Kemmerer; Fossil Country Frontier Museum (addresses, hours), Google Places. Checked October 20, 2026.
