Located in the northern Cincinnati neighborhood of Sharonville, Trammel Fossil Park is a 10-acre park that offers a fossil-rich hillside and undisturbed natural woodland that is open to the public and free for anyone to explore.
The park was donated by the R.L. Trammel family in late 2003. Mr. R.L. Trammel had been a developer in Sharonville for over 40 years and when he approached the city of Sharonville with the concept of donating the 10-acre plot of land, the city was more than happy to accept.
Today the park serves as a unique place to dig around for fossils and learn a bit about geology and history.
There’s a small portion of the park that has educational signs where you can learn more about the fossils contained in the hillside along with a bit of geological history.
The signs also state that visitors are allowed to collect fossils from the site, but ask that you “only take a representative sample and leave specimens for others to see and collect.”
The most popular place to dig around for fossils is the hillside area, which is packed with dirt and rocks. We recommend wearing gym shoes since the hill is quite steep and there can be some jagged rocks in different places.
Feel free to bring some digging tools and a bucket as well to collect some samples, as the park doesn’t actually provide these tools for visitors.
Also be sure to read the signs scattered throughout the hillside, which indicate the types of fossils that can be found in those specific areas:
Visit Trammel Fossil Park
You can visit Trammel Fossil Park at 11935 Tramway Dr, Sharonville, OH 45241. It’s located near the end of a street that is home to mostly businesses and industry buildings.
The park is open year-round from dawn to dusk and is completely free to the public.
There’s a spacious parking lot as well, so finding a place to park is rarely an issue.
Looking for other neat places to check out in Sharonville? We recommend visiting nearby Sharon Woods, one of Cincinnati’s premier parks.
