Field Trips
Collect, Tour, and Explore!
Field trips are fun experiences for all ages! For safety and insurance purposes, an active Membership is required to attend field trips, and a guardian must be present along with anyone that is younger than 18 years old. RSVPs are handled on a first-come first-served basis. Some trips have a high attendance limit, but many have a low limit, so it enhances everyone's experience if you RSVP/cancel promptly.
Fossil Collecting
Trips to collect usually take place in the Southern California area, but trips periodically travel much further! Members have had the opportunity to collect specimens such as trilobites from the Lower Cambrian, shark teeth and mammal bones from the Miocene, and sand dollars from the Pliocene. (Don't know your Eras from your Epoch's? Download our free "Ages of the Earth" poster PDF here!)
Museum and Locality Tours
Touring trips give SoCalPaleo Members access to view important paleontological sites across the American West, or they give Members access to behind-the-scenes tours at notable museums!
Calendar
January 25, 2025
Newport Aquatic Center, Newport Back Bay
Located behind the Newport Aquatic Center, our site is part of the Palos Verdes Sand formation. 100,000-year-old Pleistocene shells are abundant and easy to find. No Limit. ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BE SCPS MEMBERS PRIOR TO THE DAY OF THE TRIP.
Trip Leader:
Bill Ungar
Active Members, RSVP to Attend:
February 15, 2025
Rincon Hill - near Carpenteria
THE TRIP IS FULL. The limit has been reached.
The fossils are in the late Pliocene into the early Pleistocene (3 – 5 MYO) Santa Barbara Formation. The fossils are very well-preserved shells (mostly bivalve and gastropod) in mostly sandy soil.
Limit is 25.
ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BE SCPS MEMBERS PRIOR TO THE DAY OF THE TRIP.
Trip Leader:
Dennis Rainey
Active Members, RSVP to Attend:
March 15, 2025
Sean and Lisa Tohill's Sharktooth Hill property - FULL. The limit has been reached.
THE TRIP IS FULL. The limit has been reached.
Sean and Lisa have invited us to collect Miocene marine fossils, like shark teeth and vertebrae, etc.
ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BE SCPS MEMBERS PRIOR TO THE DAY OF THE TRIP.
Trip Leader:
Mimi Anaya
Active Members, RSVP to Attend:
April 5, 2025
Capitola Beach, near Santa Cruz
THE TRIP IS FULL - Members will walk the sandy shoreline by Capitola Beach in search of late Pliocene marine fossils in the Purisma Formation. On April 5, at 12:30 pm, there is a .49 negative tide, which is good for walking the shoreline in search of fossils. At higher tide, significant parts of the beach are inaccessible.
No Limit. ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BE SCPS MEMBERS PRIOR TO THE DAY OF THE TRIP.
Trip Leader:
Tanielle Redman
Active Members, RSVP to Attend:
April 19, 2025
Sharktooth Hill Caruso Property
DATE HAS CHANGED TO SATURDAY APRIL 19
Miocene marine fossils, including whale and dolphin vertebrae and shark teeth.
Sharktooth trip has a $60. cash fee
LIMIT: The limit is 35 members. As of Jan. 5, 2025, there are 26 on the trip list.
Trip Leader:
Dennis Rainey
Active Members, RSVP to Attend:
May 3, 2025
Ocotillo, CA (Imperial County - 90 miles east of San Diego via I-8)
Marine fossils.
Details to be determined. Stay tuned…
Trip Leader:
Patrick Hsieh, Steve Victor & Dennis Rainey
Active Members, RSVP to Attend:
June 14, 2025
Isla Vista - north of Santa Barbara
Nice beach location! There are plentiful clams, oysters and mussels, and some gastropods from the late Pleistocene epoch.
No limit.
ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BE SCPS MEMBERS PRIOR TO THE DAY OF THE TRIP.
Trip Leader:
Patrick Hsieh & Dennis Rainey
Active Members, RSVP to Attend:
August 13, 2025
5 day trip to Utah, Wyoming & Idaho (Aug. 13 - 17, 2025)
This trip has a limit of 25, and as of Jan. 19, there are already 17 members on the list. IMPORTANT: If you are considering this trip, sign up early, and make your hotel reservations well in advance. The itinerary presently includes visiting Bonanza, UT (fossil fish and leaves from the Green River Formation - Eocene), Kemmerer, WY (fossil fish from the Green River Formation - Eocene), and Spence Gulch, ID (trilobites), with maybe a couple of other short stops along the way. For an itinerary, email Dennis: dennisrainey@yahoo.com
Should be nice, with average temperatures: Bonanza (90), Kemmerer (81), Spence Gulch (81).
There is a fee to be paid to the quarry operator in Kemmerer. The amount depends on the quarry. (Maybe $100. - 150. / pp - Still to be determined. There are no fees for Bonanza or Spence Gulch.
ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BE SCPS MEMBERS PRIOR TO THE DAY OF THE TRIP.
Trip Leader:
Patrick Hsieh & Dennis Rainey
Active Members, RSVP to Attend:
September 13, 2025
Chivo Canyon
Members will do an easy walk for about a mile collecting marine fossils, mainly gastropod mollusks, with Turritella (sea snails) being the most common genus found. The fossils are found in the Llajas geological formation of Chivo Canyon, and are from the early to middle Eocene (around 50 million years ago).
No Limit.
ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BE SCPS MEMBERS PRIOR TO THE DAY OF THE TRIP.
Trip Leader:
Zach Mekelburg
Active Members, RSVP to Attend:
October 9, 2025
5 day trip to Nevada, visiting 3 to 5 fossil sites, with the first site being near Fernley, Nevada.
(Oct. 9 - 13, 2025) or (Oct. 9 - 12, 2025)
Our trip will begin with a visit to the Hazen quarry, where we will collect fish fossils (Three-spine Stickleback fish and Nevada Killifish) from the Miocene epoch. From there, we will visit 2 or 3 other Nevada sites which have not yet been determined.
No Limit.
ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BE SCPS MEMBERS PRIOR TO THE DAY OF THE TRIP.
Trip Leader:
Dennis Rainey and Kim Slaughter
Active Members, RSVP to Attend:
November 8, 2025
Sharktooth Hill (specific property to be determined)
Fossils commonly found here include shark teeth, whale or dolphin bones / vertebrae, etc. They have been identified as belonging to the Round Mountain Silt Formation, Miocene in age (15 - 16 million years old).
There is a fee to be paid to the property owner. The amount, to be determined, depends on the property.
Trip Leader:
Dennis Rainey