Fossil Beach at York River State Park

We started off the new year by looking back -- way back --  with a walk along Fossil Beach at York River State Park. The park itself is gorgeous and home to some of the only "real" hiking in the Hampton Roads area, and well worth a visit just for the scenery, but an added draw is the cliffs along the York River that are dotted with fossils that formed 5.3 million years ago during the Pliocene epoch of the Cenozoic era.

The visit starts off with a short hike (1.5 miles or so; less than half that when the Mattaponi trail isn't closed due to damage), though the steep steps down to the beach may require help for the littlest kids. We spent some time looking through the fossils that previous hunters had found and left near the stairs and saw some treasures -- ray dental plates, scalloped Chesapecten jeffersonius shells (state fossil of Virginia!), even a few shark teeth (it's rumored that you can find Megalodon teeth at Fossil Beach if you're lucky enough).

For the first few minutes of our visit it seemed like the beach was just any other beach, covered in the same old rocks and shells, with fish jumping and crabs scuttling. But with a closer look we started to see what we'd come for: fanlike imprints and tiny holes in the rock that were sponge borings and bryzoans, ancient barnacles and brachiopods and even a few hunks of bone and coral.

 I recommend doing a little research before you go so that you know what you're looking for -- this is a good site. We stopped and looked things up as we went, thank you iphone, but I have a feeling there might have been a lot we missed without even knowing that we missed it. The tide was out when we visited (good timing because at high tide most of the beach is under water) and there was literally something to see on every rock or under every driftwood log. You can't keep the fossils you find in the park, but we did take lots of photos and next time we might try to bring along materials to make fossil rubbings.

I've lived in the HRVA area my whole life and never heard about the fossils at York River State Park. So exciting to discover them! What a way to start the new year, with a new find and new adventures. We're looking forward to more of them in 2016.


York River State Park will be hosting a fossil frenzy hike in February and another one in April. Details here. Mark your calendars!